Page 91 of Orphan Girl's Mountain Men

Me, just a baby—even younger than little Grace is now—passed gently from arm to arm, kissed, blessed, smiled at, stroked with reverent hands.

The drummers beat their rhythm.

The dancers whirl and leap in feathers and fur—eagles, bears, wolves.

Sound and motion swell in a wild crescendo, rising until…

Stillness.

The drumbeat stops.

And the sun rises.

Its first golden rays creep across the horizon, stretching out across the lake… climbing… climbing… until they touch the three pines standing alone and majestic on the rise above the water.

As the sun lifts higher, a shadow moves with it—ascending the first pine, then the second, then the third.

And as the shadow reaches the very top of the third pine?—

"Look! Look!" Grace cries, pointing towards the lake.

But we're all already staring.

A single shaft of light spills between the trees like a spotlight, illuminating a solitary rock at the tip of a narrow promontory that juts into the lake.

That's where we gave it back to the land, I whisper.

And just like that, the light is gone.

"Come on, come on!" Dean is already grabbing a shovel and a pickaxe from the tools we'd prepared for this exact moment. He breaks into a jog toward the rock, the spot marked by the solstice sun.

The rest of us follow, breathless and giddy.

My mom and dad's wedding vase—it must be there.

The five of us stand together at the spot on the ground that we had seen the shaft of light touch down upon. There is big rock—a massive rock indeed—sitting in the ground at this exact place.

"This must be it."

"Have we got it wrong?"

"Surely this can't be it?"

But Dean has spotted something. "Look at this." He points to a spot on the top of the rock, and sure enough, we all see it.Inscribed painstakingly into the surface of the stone are three pine trees, and behind them, the sun.

"I knew this had to be the right place." Relief washes over me. "But… however are we going to move this stone? It's huge."

Reed nods towards Lennon. "Lucky, we brought along a big bastard, then, eh? I think this is a job for you, Lennon."

Lennon grunts, sizing up the rock. Lennon's a big guy, but the rock is almost as big as I am. How ever is he going to move it?

"Go on, Daddy, you can do it." Grace is jumping up and down in her excitement.

"Be careful, darling, don't pull a muscle." I want the vase— of course I do—but I don't want Lennon to get injured in the process.

Lennon grunts once more, steps forward. Wraps his wide arms around the rock, and heaves. The folds of his huge back muscles bulge as he takes the strain. His biceps flex, his huge thighs tremble… a movement! He redoubles his efforts, the sweat pouring from his forehead, his breathing ragged. His whole body is trembling now in the superhuman effort he is putting into it, his whole being fixed on moving this rock… and then wham, it's toppled over, and Lennon is left staggering, panting like he's run a marathon.

"Well done, big man." This from Dean.

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