Cedar Woman (18 page)

sh
a
d
ows of
t
h
e single,
white, steeple
c
h
ur
c
h
situated
in
t
h
e
center
of
t
h
e s
m
a
ll village.
Ther
e
, in a cr
e
v
ice w
h
ere t
h
e
p
o
rtico
of t
h
e c
h
urch
j
o
i
n
ed with
t
h
e
m
ain
buil
d
i
n
g
,
a
humm
ingbird
lay str
u
ggli
n
g
wit
h
in
a
s
p
i
d
e
r’s we
b
,
its bill
pres
s
ed
to
its cro
p
,
a
n
d
i
t
s
wings glu
e
d
to
its bod
y
, i
m
pr
i
son
e
d
by
t
h
e
t
o
ug
h
f
i
b
e
rs
of
t
h
e
w
e
b.
F
lo
u
n
d
e
r
in
g,
fi
gh
tin
g
f
o
r
it
s life,
its
fra
n
tic
h
eart
b
eat
v
isi
b
le
b
e
n
ea
t
h
its
j
eweled
b
r
east,
t
h
e
ti
n
y ani
m
a
l’s struggle beca
m
e evident
t
o
the young c
h
ild.
Bending over, she gently
releas
e
d
the
s
m
all
creature
from
i
t
s
death
t
r
a
p
,
r
ippi
n
g
t
h
e
w
e
b from t
h
e
foun
d
ati
o
n
o
f
t
h
e
c
h
urc
h
.
I
m
p
ris
o
n
ed
still
wit
h
in
t
h
e
d
ea
d
ly
e
m
brace
of
the
web,
the
bird
thr
a
sh
e
d
, p
a
nic-stri
c
k
en,
within
her
tiny pal
m
.

C
u
p
p
ing t
h
e small
b
ird
g
e
n
t
ly wit
h
in t
h
e
p
r
o
tecti
v
e she
l
ter
o
f
h
e
r hand
s
,
E
v
alena,
called
L
e
na
for
s
h
ort,
walked
to
a
lar
g
e
b
ou
l
d
er,
w
h
ich

l
ay
close
b
y
.
S
q
uat
ti
ng
u
p
o
n
t
h
e
g
r
ou
n
d
,
and
l
eani
n
g
ag
ainst
t
h
e
s
t
one

f
o
r
sup
p
o
r
t
,
s
h
e
slo
w
l
y r
i
pp
ed
a
w
a
y
t
h
e
g
o
o
ey
st
ra
nd
s
t
h
a
t
h
e
l
d
the
hu
m
m
ingbi
r
d
capti
v
e.
W
o
r
k
ing
qui
c
k
l
y
,
s
h
e
gently
re
m
oved
t
h
e
sticky t
h
rea
d
s u
n
til
h
e was free.
Ope
n
ing
h
e
r
h
a
n
d
s to
release
h
im
,
s
h
e rej
o
iced as
he
so
a
red
i
n
t
o
t
h
e
air,
w
i
ngs
beat
i
ng
i
n
a
b
l
ur
of
m
o
t
i
o
n
,
f
a
sc
i
n
at
in
g the child who
r
e
m
ained crou
c
h
ed b
e
side
t
h
e
massive rock.

T
h
is, in
a
n
d of itself, wo
u
ld
h
a
v
e stirred
t
h
e i
m
a
g
i
n
ati
o
n
of t
h
e
v
illa
g
ers,
bu
t w
h
at
i
m
p
ressed
t
h
em f
u
rt
h
er
was
t
h
e
co
n
tin
u
ed
p
rese
n
ce
of
t
h
e
ti
n
y
b
i
r
d
.
Wh
e
n
e
v
er
L
e
na
v
e
n
tu
red
a
l
o
n
g
t
h
e
dus
t
y
s
t
reets
of
t
h
e

v
illa
g
e,
a
b
rillia
n
t
j
eweled
flash
of
c
o
lor
wo
u
l
d
b
e
see
n
,
d
a
rti
n
g
a
b
o
u
t
h
er

head,
her
sh
ou
l
der
s
,
a
nd
occa
s
ionally,
l
i
ghting
in
t
h
e palm
of
h
e
r hand,
as if to
say, “Here is
m
y
p
r
o
t
ector;
h
e
re is
m
y
m
o
t
h
er.”

Reading
an
a
c
count
of
t
h
is
s
p
ectac
u
lar
e
v
e
n
t
in
a
letter
se
n
t
to
h
er by
h
e
r
d
e
vot
e
d
da
ug
h
ter-
i
n-
l
aw,
R
e
va
T
w
o
Strikes
d
eci
d
ed
t
h
at a
new na
m
e
be
given
to
Lena,
to
signify
t
h
e
i
m
portance
of
what
h
a
d
j
u
st