The Garnet Talisman

By Virginia A Trahan

A glowing image appeared before a Navajo sister and brother. It left behind a mysterious necklace before ascending into the sky. This amulet was a gift that clearly had supernatural powers. Eventually their father discovered that the children were delving into magical powers that they knew nothing about and he tossed it into the nearby river.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CVTrahan Publishing
• Release date: Sep 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781736947364

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Also by V. A. Trahan

Graveyard of Metal

Tap Tap

The Garnet Talisman

V. A. Trahan

CVTrahan Publishing

Tioga, TX USA

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 by

V. A. Trahan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

ISBN: 978-1-7369473-5-7

This book was published in the U.S.A. by CVTrahan Publishing

To my seven grandchildren

PROLOGUE

over a hundred years ago, along the Santé Fe Trail, near the Gila River, in what would become New Mexico, a small cluster of Navajo Indians are sleeping peacefully in their Hogans. The soundly sleeping bodies of the family are lying in a circle like the spokes of a wheel.

Happy Eyes, the eldest daughter, and her younger brother, Little Dance, the more curious of the two, are awakened by a bright flash of blinding light across their faces. Little Dance rolls over to avoid the light.

Happy Eyes is momentarily blinded. She shakes Little Dance awake to see this amazing vision. Something magical and mystical comes over them, hypnotically, and magically it reaches their inner peace. The brilliance draws them toward the light, sharply and inquisitively.

The two run outside to see what caused this illumination of the sky.

Happy Eyes turns back and reaches for the corn pollen inside the Hogan next to her father, Big Cloud. She attempts to be quiet so as not to disturb anyone. Sprinkling the pollen on the doorway is to show their first waking thoughts are of the Holy People. She is not taking any chances.

She runs to catch up with Little Dance. They follow the light ray to its end and notice the fiery beam leads them to the bank of the river, adjacent to the cornfield.

This year the corn is dry and small and the rains are scarce. The soil around the stalks is hard with the top layer dusty.

As they run to the site, they have to adhere to the strict confines of their daily routines to keep harmony in their life. They suddenly halt. Then they run some more. They slow their pace. Any poor decisions could disrupt their lives.

Wait!

Happy Eyes chases her brother who doesn't hesitate and runs ahead toward the mystical light, not thinking of the consequences.

A frightening silence surrounds them. The children tremble when they see a strange, magical, fiery figure. They wonder, what are its intentions?

The children are frightened when the creature rips an ear of corn from the stalk. It then grips a shiny object on its neck and lifts it over its head. It is like a necklace. The creature offers the necklace to the children with its long arm like extremity. The children just stand and stare, awe struck. The creature drops it, then appears startled and disappears right before their eyes.

The flame is gone now. Only a few embers are still glowing. The children stand trembling like they’d just seen a ghost. Who or what was that? The mystery creature is gone now, just like that!

They walk over to the spot where once a light radiated from the sky and now from the earth. The ground is glowing intensely. They freeze. There in front of them, at their feet, is an amazing glowing article that resembles a shiny eagle’s claw. It is gripping an object covered with glistening bright yellow garnet stones. The stones are the color of the eyes of a wolf. The dazzling pendent is still smoking from the flames that had caused the blinding light. It looks hot.

This gift was once around that strange fiery creature’s neck. What does it mean? It must have some special meaning. Why had he offered it to the children to keep? Was his offering a friendly gesture? They look up. It was from the sky; they stare at each other.

Little Dance says, This must be a good sign.

Is it a good sign? Happy Eyes asks, holding both her hands up in the air. She is looking up into the beautiful starry night.

Little Dance reaches to pick it up. He's not afraid. His older sister slowly backs away from the gift that was left by the visitor. The two siblings show concern that they have delved into unknown territory. They know they cannot tell mother or father. There may be severe consequences. This would have to be their very special secret, but Happy Eyes realizes it may be impossible to keep this secret from her parents.

Suddenly, it begins to rain! Rain was not expected. The corn appears vibrant and no longer dry and limp. Could this be a sign?

The sound of the rain and a single beam of sunlight awakens the rest of the family. It's time to begin the day. Navajo women and younger children tend to farming and ranching, while the men and the older boys hunt for dinner.

They all quickly step outside to feel the rain sprinkling on their faces. Sweet Water, the mother, is happy to see the rain. She is comforted to see her son up early and tending to the sheep. She sees Happy Eyes, her daughter, standing in the cornfield.

The rain is pouring over the cornfield from a single, large, dark cloud. It continues for quite a long time. The cornfield is revived before the family's eyes to a healthy, crisp, fruitful appearance.

Little Dance calls one of his missing sheep, but he cannot find it.

While gripping the cluster of garnets set in the eagle’s claw, Happy Eyes raises the necklace up and says, Corn Beetle, please help my brother find his sheep.

Suddenly, the sheep comes running and bleating toward her brother. He corrals it without an effort. The sheep is home safe.

The two children run toward their father.

Big Cloud, with a curious look on his face, questions his daughter, What do you have in your hand, Happy Eyes?

As the children come nearer, he gets a better look at the sparkling item. Little Dance is reluctant to show it to him. She holds it tight. He stares at it and fear begins to build on his face. He believes this may have disastrous consequences.

A distinguishing feature of the Navajo's driving force is their belief in the Holy People. Mercurial and Capricious offer rays of life from the sun, but if angered may cause fields of corn to wither and die. Lesser divinities such as Big Fly, Corn Beetle, Wind People, Gila Monster, and let's not forget the trickster, Coyote, are every bit as threatening. Chinde are even more fearsome than the Holy People. They are the ghosts of the Earth's surface dead.

Big Cloud is certain that the frightening item in his daughter’s hands is somehow related to the things he has witnessed this morning: the sudden rain, the sheep’s odd behavior, the reviving of the corn. Fear builds. He’s certain the good events will come to an end because they may displease the Chinde.

He turns around, facing the excited children, and snatches the necklace from his daughter. He runs as fast as he can to the bank and throws the garnet claw necklace far into the center of the river.

Happy Eyes, Little Dance, Big Cloud, and the rest of the family stand frozen. What just happened?

Chapter I - The Find

April 28th, present day

It was seven a.m. and daylight had burst into a warm Saturday morning in Pone, New Mexico, about a mile from the Gila River.

Marc Macione was kicking a stone along a flat rocky road. It turned into a steep straight up hill, appropriately named ‘Slow Up Road.’ He was ahead of his father on their junk hunt. This was the typical early Saturday morning scavenging route they took. Until they reached the hill climb leg of the road, it was flat and an easy-breezy walk. It was a cinch, actually enjoyable, with the sun streaming on them like a warm blanket. The road eventually meandered uphill and became steep and difficult to navigate. It was a good hike, because today’s the best day they had to scope out the local scrap yard. The trucks had arrived on Friday evening full of wonderful snippets of scraps: bikes, coffee pots, dishes, tables and so on.

Marc was a short, spindly, quick witted, just-turned-thirteen-year-old. He was wearing his father's oversized t-shirt. His frayed blue jeans were too small for him and looked like high waters. But that never bothered him. He was poor but didn’t know it, or didn’t care.

His forty-five year old father, Frank, looked much older than his age. He was plodding along behind Marc, limping and hacking away, with a classic hangover. Marc was a few steps ahead of his ill-fated father. He noticed his dad was stumbling along the trail with a bit of difficulty.

Are you okay Dad?

Frank responded with an, Uhuh.

Frank must have fallen during his drunken binge last night because he had a black eye and possibly a broken toe; or just badly stubbed.

The path they knew so well was muddier than usual from a recent rain. This was what they did every Saturday morning; scavenged junk piles. The two were heading to the Pone town dump.

Frank was pulling an old, rusty, red-wagon that they used for collecting smurgs. Smurgs were just little do-dads that a person enjoys to decorate his or her house with. A picture, a vase, a statue that you or anyone else enjoyed looking at may be considered a smurg. That’s the term Carol, his wife, had used when she went shopping for stuff like do-dads and ‘who knows what.’

Despite Frank’s beleaguered booze night, Marc wasn’t going to let his father miss the big sale today, or tomorrow. Their lives were riding on it.

Come on Dad. I’ll help you today. We’re bound to find something great. Trust me. I’ve got this.

Frank responded, If you say so.

You’ll see.

Today was Pone’s Second Saturday Sale and the beginning of the summer schedule at the local park grounds. Frank had an outside booth there for two days, once a month.

At the sale, they were about to open a few flea market booths. Crowds gathered every weekend during the summer months. They were opened once a month from September through May.

Today was the big day! Balloons outlined the park for the summer weekend fun. Frank shared a small table space at the sale barn.

Frank’s bills were mounting and he had to get on track. The Pone Second Saturday Sale was expected to open at eight a.m. Today Frank had very little to sell. For the last two years scavenging and a variety of handy man jobs had been scarce. The little Frank made was barely enough to have kept them afloat up until now.

When Frank’s wife had died two years ago due to a long bout with cancer, he stopped teaching. He was heartbroken. Their love story started at college in their senior year. Within a year after graduation they married. Nine months later Marc was born. They both had loved New Mexico with the beautiful landscapes and friendly people. After college they planted themselves there. That was their home. The beauty of the Rocky Mountains with its winding rivers, the magnificent Painted Desert and their love of Carlsbad Caverns with all its magical history drew them to start their family there.

They loved the atmosphere of the Pone Elementary School’s hiring staff. They were like family right from the start. Frank was hired to teach seventh grade math. Carol was hired as the art teacher for the elementary school. Her love of painting the New Mexico landscapes were what gave her the most pleasure. She was hoping to eventually free-lance with her art someday. The whole school was caught in the spell of this adorable couple.

Shortly after moving into their red brick ranch house, they found their family dog. Frank was jogging along a park trail that was across the street in an open field when he came across a malnourished, mange covered, golden retriever. The dog was covered with mats and hairless patches and was very hungry; but also very friendly.

Frank brought the neglected canine home. This was a big dog! Frank called him ‘The Big Galoot.’ He was a large boned, furry, golden ball of love. He looked like he was smiling from the very beginning.

Carol was pregnant and felt this friendly canine would fit into their family perfectly. They saw him as the dog that never stopped smiling, so they named him Happy. He was as sweet as any dog they’d ever known; a perfect fit; the dot on the eye. Happy watched over Marc when he was born like a guard of the king and he hasn’t left Marc’s side since.

Frank had been in a state of funk ever since Carol passed. Her death took the spirit out of the household. He had been drinking just about every night and sleeping in during week days.

He was told to take time off, possibly a year from his job as a teacher. The school administration said he could take as long as he needed and he took advantage of those words. His year long sabbatical had turned into two.