Chapter 4

The next day it was a beautiful foggy morning on the ranch. Mother was having coffee outside, she took a chair and sat it behind the house so she could look out towards the mountains. The boys got up as well, Victor was still asleep. When the sun was coming through his window, he moaned and covered up his head. Edward and Jason went to the kitchen and got some coffee as well and went out to sit with their mother.

"It's beautiful," said Mother.

"It sure is, I'm glad we made this trip here, we finally get a place we can call home, can you imagine, thousands of Natives all lined up on that hill looking down," said Edward.

"I love it here mother, it's a great place and it will help us to remember who we are as Native men, hopefully it will help Victor remember who he is as a Native boy and not a city boy, I can picture it, a lot of Natives just lined up in a row looking down," said Jason.

"I want this to help Victor find himself, he's been silent for too long," said mother.

"I think it will help, the more he hangs with us and Yellow Bird he will find himself," said Edward.

"I hope so," said Mother.

As they were still sitting outside finished their coffee, Victor woke up and looked out his window, he saw the sun come up and the birds chirping and the horses coming up to the fence line. So he got dressed and went outside and looked out from the porch towards the horses. He walked off the porch and crossed the bridge and opened the gate to meet the horses. So he started to pet them. One black horse came up to him and nudged him. He smiled and started petting the horse.

"So what is your story?" asked Victor.

As he was petting the horse, the horse started to walk behind the garage, the horse stopped and looked back at Victor.

"Where are we going?" asked Victor.

The horse led him behind the garage, and to the stone slab. He looked down, got on his knees and just stared at the holes, he finally just sat down on the slab and picked up a stone and just started looking at it, then he looked up and saw the mountains. He got up and walked towards the fence line and looked out when he looked down he saw an eagle feather on the ground, so he climbed over the fence and walked towards the feather, he picked it up, he looked out towards the mountains and started twirling it in his hand. So he went back towards the stone slab and walked around the garage to the front. The horse followed him from behind. His brother comes around the house with his coffee cup in his hand.

"I think that horse likes you," smiled Edward.

"Na, it is just a horse," said Victor.

"What you got there?" asked Edward.

"I found an eagle feather behind the garage on the fence line, so I went over and picked it up," said Victor.

"That's pretty cool, let me see," said Edward.

Victor walked through the gate and on the small bridge.

"Wow, hey Jason look at this," said Edward.

"What is it?" asked Jason coming around the house to the front.

"Victor found it, it's an eagle feather," said Edward.

"Wow," said Jason.

"Actually I didn't find it, that horse wanted me to follow him behind the garage, so I did, and it let me to the stone slab, then I walked towards the fence line because I thought something was moving so I went forward and I found this eagle feather," said Victor.

"That is amazing," said Jason.

"That is cool," said Edward handing the feather back to Victor.

"Hey, you got in touch with your inner Native," smiled Jason.

"Whatever," said Victor letting go of the feather and going inside, Edward watched the feather hit the ground.

Edward bent down and picked up the eagle feather, both boys went inside. Their mother came around the house as well and walked inside the house. They were all getting dressed when they heard a honk a there fence. So the mother poked her head out of the door and saw Yellow Bird.

Yellow Bird turned the mule off and went inside the house.

"So what are you going to do today?" asked Mother.

"Well I want to show them the cave by the Pecos River, then take them down a trail, I want to take them to a favorite spot of mine, it has a drop down towards the edge and massive trees all around, you can camp there if you would like, it's a beautiful spot," said Yellow Bird.

"Oh I see, may I come as well, I'm working on a new story?" asked Mother.

"Sure you can, I'll be taking you where the trees are at, you will get great ideas for your writing," said Yellow Bird.

"Oh I would love that, boys Yellow Bird is here," said Mother.

"Were coming," said Edward walking down the hallway.

He waited for Victor to come out. Victor came out and walked outside, Jason was already on the porch Edward walked into Victor's room and placed the eagle feather on his pillow and walked out. He was the last one out of the house.

"Alright are we ready to go see that cave, your mother is coming with us, I want to show you all my favorite spots on the ranch," said Yellow Bird.

So they got on the mules and drove back to the mess hall to get the other mule so the boy's mother can drive it. So they took off, their mother was driving right behind Edward, he was driving the other mule.

"We had a couple of scouts here to fish and I took them to the fishing hole near that cave I want to show you, one of the scouts came running back saying it was a bear cave, because there were bones in there, it could be a cave for all sorts of animals, including mountain lion den," said Yellow Bird.

As they arrived, they got off the mules and checked out the cave. Yellow Bird had a flashlight and shined it into the cave. The kid was right, there were animal bones in there, old and fresh ones.

"Yeah it's probably a mountain lion den," said Victor.

"Could be, we may not want to go all the way in," said Yellow Bird.

"Yeah, where we are now will do just fine," said Edward.

"Look something is on the walls," said Jason.

"Oh, these are cliff writings, they were made long ago, a look at the history of the people who lived here," said Yellow Bird.

"Amazing," smiled Edward.

"Wow," Victor said in a soft void.

"This is so amazing, it's like taking a step back through time," said mother.

Victor just kept staring at the drawings and was in amazement at them, that these paintings were still here for many years.

"Come on, I want to show you all my favorite spots, this place will give you great ideas for your stories," said Yellow Bird.