Path of the Guiding Light

I tried last Saturday again. It was the month of the bony moon, as the old stories said would be the time when she would arrive. I hoped it would work this time. After all, my divorce was finally finished, after two long, hideous years. My house sold and closed. I quit my job. I decided I had it with my career when my opposing counsel made the salacious proffer of what I could do with him in the conference room.  I decided I would not go to Oklahoma to be another paper pusher. I was ready for my Grand Adventure. It was now or never. 

I hated to go now on one level. I would miss my family. Heck, I already miss my family.  And I will miss my young friend. Fancy Winslow taught me much about Before. Her baby is due any time. I hate missing the birth of her child. He was due shortly after I left. I never gave birth to a child of my own. I was always too busy with work, and my ex held no bones that he did not want a child. Let’s face it; he was the child in our relationship from the ‘get-go.’ But if I stayed, Fancy wanted me to be her baby’s godmother. If I ever held her baby in my arms, I would never be able to leave. I would have stayed. I went then because it was ‘now or never,’ and I could not stay. 

My destiny lies elsewhere. 

I hiked the four miles from the trailhead to the meadow the week before Valentine’s Day.  It was cold, but not too bad. I have hiked in colder weather many times. I love to walk with the crisp feel of cold against my skin. It wasn’t cold enough to snow when I started, although I could taste snow in the air by the time I reached the meadow. 

I shivered and pulled the hoodie on my puffer jacket over my head. I was glad I wore my long john’s, wool socks, and my well-worn Timberland boots. I slapped my gloved hands together and kept walking. 

In my old life, Beyond, I was known as Baylie Smith. The Cherokees call me Guiding Light. I always thought I was named for the first Guiding Light who helped lead the Cohutta Cherokees to safety before the Trail of Tears. Of course, my grandmother always swore she named me after an old soap opera she loved back in the day. However, I know where we are supposed to go. I traveled the Trail of Tears more than once in the future. I memorized the route of the Trail. With the help of the Great Spirit, I will guide my people safely west to the far distant, isolated protection of the Arbuckle Mountains, as the prophecy foretold. I am not merely a woman named Guiding Light. I am the Guiding Light, sent from Beyond to guide my people to a new land, a safe land, where our people can live forever in peace and harmony. 

It felt strange to hike along a path I know so well and to hear The Big Noise. I realized at once what the sound signified. Unlike Fancy, I did not fall. I stopped, face uplifted, arms outstretched, as I savored the sound.  It rang out loud and true, like a beacon summoning me home. 

I smiled when it stopped. I adjusted my pack and said a quick prayer to the four directions. I pulled sage from my pocket and blew it into the air to give thanks to the Great Spirit for guiding me here. I walked on to the springs above the falls, where I knew I would meet Bright Star.