Prelude:

John Red Feather was on his way home from performing a cleansing ceremony for some friends of his that had brought, an extremely old house that had some history to it. The house itself, was built back during the early 1900's and rumored to have spirits still living in it. The couple that had bought the house, we’re experiencing weird and ususal things ever since they had moved in. They were hearing strange voices and noises at night. Some times during the night, the furniture and pictures they had brought with them, would either be rearranged or flipped upside down. John had managed to release the spirits still hanging around and sent them on their way.

The stretch of road he was traveling down tonight, was the same road he had traveled down a thousand times before. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened on this stretch of road late at night. The moon was bright and full tonight hanging in the night sky like a polish pearl. The light reflecting off it, lite the night up. Just as John was nearing a spot that had been set aside for visitors to pull over to enjoy the area and take a break. His truck started developing problems. He pulls off the road and into one of the parking spaces that had been made for the visitors to park their cars in. Just as he is about to shut off the truck, he spots a box sitting on a picnic table right in front of the space he is parked at. He also notices a blanket hanging on the outside corner of the box.

John gets out of his truck, leaving the headlights on so he’ll have some thing to light up the picnic table. He approaches the table carefully and once he is next to the table, he looks inside the box.

“Well, What do we have here?” John spots a sleeping baby wrapped up in a bunch of greasy, smelly blankets.

He picks the infant up out of the box. The infant starts to stirs and wakes up. The infant looks up into John’s eyes. John then feels the spirits around this area gather around him.

A Native American woman appears before John. “She is a special child John Red Feather. She has been abandoned by those who are related to her by blood. We ask you and your family to raise her as if she was of your flesh and blood. Teach her our ways and help her learn who she is.”

The woman then turns around and walks back into the night, disappearing from sight.

John looks down at the baby in his arms. He notices that she has fallen back to sleep.

“I have no idea who you are or why the spirits have chosen me and my family to raise you, but I will honor their request and raise you as if you were of my Family.”

John lays the child back down in the box of blankets and picks it up. He carries the box back to his truck and gets in. He notices that his truck is running fine now. A smile appears on his face as he figures out that it must have been the spirits messing with his truck to get him to stop here and take this baby with him. John, backs out of the parking spot and heads back down the road toward his home. The infant doesn’t stirs a single bit during the whole entire time.

Seventeen Years Later:

A buzzer sounds off in a dark room, as a hand comes raising up out of the dark highlighted by the green glow the clock numbers radio gives off. It smacks down hard on the plastic buttons and retreats back into the dark. Exactly nine minutes later, the buzzer goes off again and the same hand that had appeared out of the darkness before. Fumbles around on top of the clock radio and turns the buzzer off. It retreats once more into the darkness from which it came.

“Sayen, Sayen, are you up yet, child?” as a shaft of light chases away the darkness surrounding a red hair woman who is asleep in bed.

She stirs under the blankets covering her, as she turns her head to look at the woman who had been calling her name.

Her eyes try to adjust on the female form with shoulder length black hair standing in the doorway to her and her older sister’s room.

“Mom! I just went to bed four hours ago. Can’t I sleep a little bit longer, please?” Sayen just stares at her mother through sleepy eyes.

“Don’t you have to work today, young lady?”

“Yes Ma’am! I have to be at work at 9:00 a.m. this morning.”

“Well, it’s 8:45 right now young lady. Your going to be late again, just like you were yesterday.” Marilyn Red Feather just stares at her adopted daughter.

“Crap!” Sayen jumps up out of bed and nearly falls over from being tangle up in the blankets.

Marilyn, just shakes her head, as she watches her daughter get ready for work. She knows Sayen is normally better at being on time for work and such, but can’t help feeling that maybe, Sayen has taken on, too much upon herself. Marilyn knows that Sayen has been staying up late working on her paper for a veterinary course she is taking and learning to be a shaman like her grandfather.

Sayen grabs the nearest pair of blue jeans she can get her hands on, after putting on a clean pair of panties, bra and socks. She grabs a clean T-shirt out of her dresser drawers that has the gardening shop she works at printed on it, on after slipping on her blue jeans. She grabs her work boots from under her bed and slips them on and tie them as well. She then runs a brush through her long red hair several times, before gathering it up and putting it into a pony tail. She grabs her baseball cap she normally wears to help keep the glare of the sun out of her eyes as well.

Marilyn had already left her daughters bedroom door, and headed to the kitchen to fix her daughter a lunch to take to work. She makes some cheese toast to eat on the way to work. She knows Sayen is going to be in hurry.

Sayen comes running out of her bedroom and down the hallway towards the kitchen. She runs into the kitchen and notices her mother had made her a lunch to take to work and some cheese toast as well.

“Thanks Mom!” Sayen gives her mom a quick peck on the cheek.

Sayen then grabs her coffee cup she normally takes with her and fills it up with milk. She also grabs two 1-liter bottle waters out of the refrigerator, her lunch and breakfast and heads out to her CJ-7 Jeep.

Sayen hops into the driver seat of her old tan Jeep CJ-7 that was given to her by her grandfather on her sixteen birthday. She starts the Jeep up and put it into reverse and backs out of the dirt drive way. Once she has cleared the drive, Sayen turns the jeep toward the direction on the road she wants to head and heads to work. While she is driving, She munches on the cheese toast her mother made and drinks some of the milk in her coffee cup.

Sayen foot presses down on the gas pedal to increase her speed to make up for being late this morning for work. She knows she shouldn’t be speeding, but she was thirty minutes late for work yesterday and if the clock setting on her display was right, she was going to be forty minutes late if she didn’t increase her speed.

Sayen was to busy taking a sip of milk from her coffee cup to notice the parked Tribal police car that was parked beside some bushes. She zoomed by without slowing down. Just as she zoom by, she hears the siren from the police car and then notice the flashing red and blue lights in her rearview mirror.

“Dam it!” Sayen pulls her Jeep over on the side of the road.

The police car follows suit and pulls in behind the Jeep as well. Sayen watches in her side view mirror to see which of her father’s deputies it was going to be. This wasn’t the first time she had been pulled over for speeding on the reservation. Most of the deputies on the tribal police force knew who she was and knew who her parents were. Heck, it was easy for them to remember her. She was the only red hair woman on the whole entire Indian reservation. They knew she was adopted by the Red Feather family and that her adopted father was the chief of police of the tribal police force and that her adopted grandfather was the tribal shaman.

Sayen kept an eye on the police officer as he walked slowly up to her. Her father had told her, always pay attention to what is going on around you. Especially when you get pulled over by the police. Cause recently, there had been several women assaulted by some men disguise as police officers near the reservation as of late. Sayen wasn’t worried, cause she knew most of the men and women who served under her father.

Once the police officer get to Sayen “License and registration please.”

Sayen examines the police officer standing beside her Jeep. She notices his name badge, the broad shoulders, his strong chin and facial features.

“Sam Bald Eagle, I know you already know who I am and what year my Jeep is. You pulled me over last week for doing the same thing I was doing today.”

A smile appears on his tanned Indian face, as he removes his sun glasses and hangs them from his shirt pocket.

“And your doing the same thing like you were then as you are now. Where’s the fire this morning?”

“I’m late for work. I over slept this morning, happy now?” Sayen just glares at him.

“You’re the one that was speeding Sayen. If anything it’s your fault., Didn’t the spirits warn you I was sitting there waiting for you to come flying by like you did?”

“No!, you know the spirits don’t work like that and stop sounding like you don’t believe in them.” Sayen just shakes her head.

“Tell you what. If you go out on a date with me this weekend, I won’t write this ticket.” He looks at her face and tries to guess what she is going to say.

“You know I can’t do that. My father would have a kitten if he knew I went out on a date with one of his deputies. Besides, me and my Grandfather are going out this whole entire weekend for my shaman training. I won’t be back home till Monday morning.” Sayen brushes back a lock of her red hair that had come loose from under her ball cap.

“I knew you would have an excuse. You always do.” he smiles at her. “I’ll just give you a warning this time Sayen Red Feather, but next time, you owe me a date.” he steps back away from the Jeep.

“Thanks Sam!” Sayen restarts her Jeep and drives off.

She looks down at the time on her dash clock and notice that this time she is going to be thirty minutes late now.

“Dam it! He cost me extra time.” Sayen just shakes her head and keeps her speed just five miles above the speed limit.

Thirty minutes later, she pulls into the parking lot of the gardening center she works at. She jumps out of her Jeep grabbing her lunch and water bottles. Just as she enters the store, Tammy Greenwood, her boss stops her.

“I was beginning to wonder what happen to you Sayen. This is twice in a week you have been late.” Tammy gives Sayen a stern look.

“I’m sorry Tammy, I overslept this morning. I would had been here a little earlier, but I got pulled over for speeding.”

Tammy just shakes her head “Your mother called to tell me you were going to be late this morning. Would it be better if I adjust your hours, so you can be here at a later time instead in the morning?”

“No, I promise not to be late tomorrow morning. Would it be okay if I stayed an hour later to make up for being late, please?”

“Okay, but this is the last time Sayen. If you can’t be here on time tomorrow and the rest of the week. I’m going to change your hours back an hour or so to give you more time to be here on time. I know your working to be a veterinary and that your learning from your Grandfather, but I need for you to be here in the morning to help me open up the store.” Tammy gives Sayen a friendly smile and heads off to take care of a customer.

Sayen heads to the back of the store to stow her lunch and water bottles away and clocks in. She grabs her apron and puts it on and goes about doing her job.