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Cruel Curse: Mark of the Bloody Seven is the story of one man's struggle to overcome the demons of his past, confront the enemies of the present and find peace with the Navajo wife he loves.

      He heard the voice of Chief Sitting Elk telling him to go into the lodge. Jim could not stand up because of the effect of the drink so he rolled onto his hands and knees and began to crawl toward the entrance. Everything around him seemed strangely surreal. He saw his reflection beneath him and watched as circular ripples of dust moved away from his hands each time he pressed down on the ground. Almost as if the clay colored sand had become liquid, and he merely an image cast upon it. It was like he was crawling across the surface of a terracotta pond.
      Upon entering the hooghan, the inside was dark and Jim felt as if he was going down into a shallow h***. He found a place to sit and clumsily got his backside underneath him, with his knees up by his chest. The inside of the lodge was even hotter than it was in the direct sunlight outside. The rocks glowed red in the h*** at the center. Jim didn’t know how long he could remain in that place. From his seated position in the lodge he saw the Chief enter, then the Shaman after him. When they were seated in their places a hand move across the lighted entrance and pulled the blanket away from the side. He watched as it swept into the doorway blocking out all the light. In the next moment Jim heard the sound of water being poured over the rocks. A wave of steam rose up and engulfed him in the sweet smell of pine needles, dissipating as quickly as it occurred.
       Just when he thought he could no longer bear the heat, a burst of red color filled Jim’s vision causing him to utter a gasp and pull his knees in tight to his chest. The bright red blotch of color became sprinkled with a dusting of silver starbursts until the red was a bright white. The brightness continued to fill his vision until it slowly began to shrink down to a very tiny dot surrounded be the redness it sprang from. It hung suspended there in the middle of his mind’s eye, until finally it spattered like a crystal clear rain drop bursting in front of him. The last thing Jim remembered was the ethereal droplet exploding and instantly (it seemed) he was outside the hooghan thrashing around in the coolness of the desert sand. It was splashing up all around him giving him the feeling that if he didn’t keep moving he would sink into it and drown. He finally suppressed his instincts and forced himself to stop. The roiling waves of sand settled, leaving him prostrate on the ground as he struggled to bring order to his senses. He rolled onto his hip with his hands clenched into fists gripping the sand, trying to compose himself.
       When he thought he had things under control he looked up and that’s when he saw them. They were standing there by the dead gray tree. It was the Woman and the Boy.
       “NO! GO AWAY!” he shouted.
He crawled a few feet in a futile effort to get away, before curling up in a ball on the ground—the sandy surface undulating beneath him. Opening his eyes, he looked over to see if they were still there. She was reaching out to him; the Boy did not have hate in his eyes, it was more an expression of sympathy.
       He heard the Shaman speaking to him in Navajo and knew that he was standing nearby but could not understand him.
       Then he heard the voice of Sitting Elk saying, “I know that they come to you and have been coming to you since the time you sent them to the Dark Place.”

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on January 21, 2012 at 1:45am

Oh wow! Awesome, and powerful scene. Thanks for sharing

Permalink Reply by Del Huntsman on January 21, 2012 at 6:35am

Oh, there you are. I'm new to the site so I'm still trying to figure out how to respond to comments. I saw your kind words pop up on my page but then I didn't see a "respond" option. Then I noticed the little comment balloon under my original post and it showed "1", so I clicked on it. And there you are. Anyway, that is very nice of you to say Anna, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll get this website figured out yet.

Permalink Reply by Dr. Jake Wade on January 21, 2012 at 12:52pm

This story hit me on more than one plane. I am a Cherokee Pastor/Prophet/Shaman (Quana Grey Eagle, by name). I help many a sufferer of these same demons of the past, trying to help them forgive (often themselves) and go on with the life at hand. This story brought a little tear to my eye as it welled up inner history within me. I appreciated your seeming understanding that one cannot truly handle the demons on their own. Kudos.

Permalink Reply by Del Huntsman on January 21, 2012 at 4:25pm

That means so much to me Dr. Wade; your comment brings great joy accompanied by the same welling of emotion. Thank you for your kind thoughts.

Dr. Jake Wade said:

This story hit me on more than one plane. I am a Cherokee Pastor/Prophet/Shaman (Quana Grey Eagle, by name). I help many a sufferer of these same demons of the past, trying to help them forgive (often themselves) and go on with the life at hand. This story brought a little tear to my eye as it welled up inner history within me. I appreciated your seeming understanding that one cannot truly handle the demons on their own. Kudos.

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on January 22, 2012 at 12:53am

This place seems to be going through a few changes lately, but if there's anything I can do to help you navigate let me know.

Del Huntsman said:

Oh, there you are. I'm new to the site so I'm still trying to figure out how to respond to comments. I saw your kind words pop up on my page but then I didn't see a "respond" option. Then I noticed the little comment balloon under my original post and it showed "1", so I clicked on it. And there you are. Anyway, that is very nice of you to say Anna, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll get this website figured out yet.

Permalink Reply by Del Huntsman on January 22, 2012 at 1:29am

Gracias

Anna L. Walls said:

This place seems to be going through a few changes lately, but if there's anything I can do to help you navigate let me know.

Del Huntsman said:

Oh, there you are. I'm new to the site so I'm still trying to figure out how to respond to comments. I saw your kind words pop up on my page but then I didn't see a "respond" option. Then I noticed the little comment balloon under my original post and it showed "1", so I clicked on it. And there you are. Anyway, that is very nice of you to say Anna, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll get this website figured out yet.