Aurora

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. Before the dance on this particular night, we sat snuggled together on the porch bench, wrapped up together under comforters tugged, pulled, drug from warm upstairs beds. Daughter one on the left, daughter two on the right. A rare occasion for the girls, their mom allready long to bed, hated me letting them stay up for the spectacle. I'd like to think it was different for them, believed they loved me telling again how the heavenly show came to be.

Heads on each shoulder I'd point out the Tee-Pees just at the tree line, where the great one and his son lived, straight point my finger gunfight style, to tell them about the great snake slithering between the big and little bears. How he had caused so much trouble for all the heavenly creation.

The younger grabbing my gun hand to look down the sights to find each bear. Having heard the stories, big sister would whisper, point, draw the bodies of big and little bears. The young one would pretend and say, that she could make them out.

Just as the moon started up, before the purple, I'd point at each constellation remind them how all the creatures went to visit the only one and his son. They sat around the fire between the Tee-pee's, to complain about snake. The girls would gasp as the story started. Because she was smarter, eloquent in speaking, Suksana fox, was chosen to tell the smaller animals stories to the makers, she told brown hare mastija's tale, intoned in a warm low voice maga the tall goose's plight. Suskana told how snake pretended friendship for each of them, hissing coy words, all lies, then steal the babies.

The heavenly story grew to include all the greater animals. As I said each constellation, my older daughter would sketch each in the pin lights dotting the black. All across the circle of heaven they stood. HeHaka the horned elk, Tatanka the bison, and Sugataga the spotted horse all came to the teepees, waited in a big circle, listened to the story, waited to hear the verdict.

Upon hearing the story, the father and son both groaned at heart. They had been watching and knew, about Snake.

I would pause the story, wait, as the girls whispered to each other how terrible snake had been, to each of their favorite animals. Just at midnight in the cold winter night, moonlight making the snow glow, the aurora started. Long streaming hues of pink and blue began flowing across the heavens.

We watched as the earths magnet drew up all the light. Turning pink and blue ethereal clouds to purple. As the swirls grew, with arms wide and exaggrated, I intoned to the wide eyed warm swaddled girls, the verdict.

All the heavenly beings waited around the great fire between the Tee-pees.The father spoke with his son, then gestured and allowed him to speak.

I pointed at the Teepees of cassiopea as the kingly color purple washed the heavens, then quoted the sons words.

"Our hearts are hurt to know how the snake has caused you harm. From this day forward, just as earthly man has the seven colored rainbow as a promise, you our heavenly family will have as a sign, dancing clouds of blue and red mixed, a promise that one day all things will be righted and each winter night the promise of royal colored louds we give to remind you we listened.

The two would murmur is it true will the snake be gone someday?

I'd hug them tight and whisper "yes as true as the moon with all its faces comes up every night.

We would sit up close, quiet, cozy, watch the aurora dance across the heavens, weaving, mingling, swirling, as it swathed the snow down into the woods beyond the porch a purple hue.