Amy had decided to skip her classes on Thursday and go to the resort to relax. And leave it to Naainish, he’d shown up, and he and Ajie had a long talk. And on Friday, Ajie asked about going to the sacred place in the mountains. Uncle Paul had to check on the cabin, so the three of us headed to the mountains. As Ajie and I hiked to the sacred place, Uncle Paul did his work around the cabin. We sat, meditated, and I chanted. Just how do I do that? On the way back to the cabin, when we reached the spot where the first arrow was carved into the rock, we saw something …

We saw rocks inside the hole that weren't there when we walked past it on the way to the sacred spot. We moved closer to the hole, Ajie peaked in, and said, “There are two rocks in here.”

“Just two?”, I said. “Last time there were more than that.”

Ajie reached in the hole, pulled her hand out, opened it, showed me only one rock, and said, “I couldn’t move the other rock.”

“What? Let me see.”

I walked over, looked in the hole, saw the rock, reached in the hole, and picked up the rock without a problem. I showed it to Ajie, and said, “I had no problems picking it up.”

We stood there in silence, looking at the two rocks, then I said, “Wait a minute. I can’t wear your meteorite necklace, and you can’t wear mine. I wonder if this meteorite is meant for me, and the one you have is meant for you.”

“You might be onto something. And they are meteorites. Aren’t they?”

“Mine feels heavy for its size and looks like a meteorite.”

“Mine is heavy too.”

We looked at them for a minute, then I said, “We’d better get back to the cabin.”

We put the meteorites in our pockets, then we started hiking back to the cabin, and this time it was like we were following a well-worn trail. It was like we’d hiked it a hundred times before. When we were back at the cabin, Uncle Paul had just finished his work, and we quickly ate the lunch that Aunt Ruth had made us. And we were then on the road back to the resort.

As we pulled into the resort and up to my aunt and uncles house, we saw Naainish’s pickup truck. And Ajie said, “Naainish is here.”

“Probably for the barbecue.”, my uncle said.

“But that’s a couple of hours away.”

“Ajie, do you think it’s because he knew we went to the sacred place.”, I said.

“I wonder if he knows about the meteorites?”, Ajie asked.

“Meteorites?”, my uncle asked.

“We each found another meteorite like we found our first time up there.”

“Oh. I’ll leave that to Naainish.”

As we walked into the house and to the living room, I said, “Yá’át’ééh, Aunt Ruth. Naainish.”

They looked at us, and Naainish said, “Yá’át’ééh, Kai dóó Ajie. Do you have something to show me?”

“Do we?”

Naainish frowned at me, and said, “Kai.”

“Sorry. I guess we do.”

Both Ajie and I reached into our pockets, pulled the meteorites out, and showed them to Naainish. Naainish looked at them, smiled, and said, “I’ve only found the sacred place once even though I’ve looked for it twice. And you find it both times you look for it. It is good.”

“Naainish.”, I said. “How did you know that we had these? How did you know that we were even going to the sacred place?”

“Kai, it’s not important how I know or that I know. It’s important for Ajie that you found the sacred place again.”

“You’re right. Ajie is the most important thing right now.”

“You need to go to Taos and see my uncle. He’ll add the new stones to your necklaces.”

“We’ll do that. But now you’ll have to excuse us, we need showers, and to get ready for the barbecue.”

“Okay, kids.”, my aunt said. “We’ll probably see when you get there.”

Ajie and I went to our room, and we both placed our meteorites on top of the dresser. Then we both undressed and took a shower together. Our shower took longer than a typical shower. And we were glad that the hot water in the house comes from the thermal springs. That way we won't run out.

We both dressed in fancy long skirts, fancy blouses, and wrap moccasins. And we went with the less is more makeup application.

I braided my hair into a single braid and added a fancy wrap to the end of it. Then placed it over my left shoulder. Ajie also did her hair in a single long braid with a fancy wrap at the end.

For jewelry, we both used our Concho belts, squash blossom necklaces, and the matching silver feather earrings. And for some reason, we both put on the beaded chokers that we were given when we were made honorary members of the Azee'tsoh dine'é or The Big Medicine People clan. Then I added a bracelet and a couple of rings. Ajie went with two bracelets and some rings.

When we walked into the main part of the house, no one else was there. I guess my aunt and uncle had gone to the barbecue. So we locked up the house and started walking to the barbecue area. As we walked, we met up with some guests heading the same way, and we talked with them about how Ajie and I were dressed and other things.

When we reached the barbecue area, we found my aunt, uncle, and grandmother. We stopped to talk, and my grandma said, “You girls amaze me as to how pretty you always look.”

“Thanks, grandma.”, I said. “We always try to look our best.”

“And that you do.”, my aunt said.

We then walked around talking to some of the guests, and then we saw Naainish, he saw us, and said, “Yá’át’ééh alní'íní, Kai dóó Ajie.” (Good evening, Kai and Ajie.)

Both Ajie and I said, “Yá’át’ééh alní'íní, Naainish.”

We walked some more, and saw Chief Kinlicheeny, we walked over to him, and we said together, “Yá’át’ééh alní'íní, Naat'áanii Kinlicheeny.” (Good evening, Chief Kinlicheeny.)

He looked at us, smiled, and said, “Yá'át'ééh, at’éédké. Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí.” (Hello, girls. It is good, and all is harmony around us.)

As we walked on two of the ladies that we’d talked to earlier stopped us, and one of them asked, “Excuse me. Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”, I replied.

“We couldn’t help but overhear your exchange with the two gentlemen. Can I ask what you said.”

“The first gentleman is Naainish, one of our medicine-men, and when he greeted us, he said, ‘Yá’át’ééh alní'íní, Kai dóó Ajie.’ which means, ‘Good evening, Kai and Ajie.’ It’s a simple greeting. And we responded with the same greeting.

“The second gentleman is Chief Kinlicheeny. He is the Chief of the Navajo Nation.”

“Chief of the Navajo Nation! Why is he here?”

“He likes a good barbecue and to talk to people. And this is an excellent place to do both.

“Our greeting to him was like what we said to Naainish. We said, ‘Yá’át’ééh alní'íní, Naat'áanii Kinlicheeny.’ Which translates to, ‘Good evening, Chief Kinlicheeny.’

“His response to us was a little more formal, he said, ‘Yá'át'ééh, at’éédké. Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí.’ And that translates into, Hello, girls. It is good, and all is harmony around us.”

“That’s very interesting.”, the second woman said. “And you speak both languages very easily.”

“It’s easy when you’ve grown up with both of them. My mother is a Navajo, and my dad is Anglo. And my mother wanted me to learn her language.”

Just then my uncle walked up to us, and said, “Kai, we’re about ready to start.”

Ajie said, “Kai, I’ll go find grandma and your aunt.”

I excused us to the two ladies and walked with my uncle towards where the musicians were. I looked at the dancers and noticed Dibe was there, she saw me and smiled. And I returned the smile.

As we got to where the musicians were, I asked my uncle, “I know Chief Kinlicheeny and Naainish are here. Are there any other special guests?”

“Yes. One.”, my uncle said.

I looked at him, and asked, “Who?”

“Don’t worry Kai. You know him, and he’s a friend.”

“Who?”

“Chief Etsitty.”

As I looked around, I said, “Where? Where’s Tahoma?”

Just then Tahoma Etsitty walked up and stood with Naainish and Chief Kinlicheeny. And like my uncle, Chief Kinlicheeny, and Naainish, Tahoma was wearing moccasins, white linen pants, a bright red shirt, a red head scarf, and various pieces of jewelry.

I waited until the musicians and dancers had finished their current song, then I picked up the microphone, and said into the microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to offer you the following old Navajo greeting as a welcome to our weekly barbecue.

“Yá'át'ééh! Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí.

“And for those of you that don’t speak Navajo, I just said, ‘Hello! It is good, and all is harmony around us.’

“And I will assure you of one thing. You are about to experience a fantastic Southwestern barbecue.

“We usually have at least one special guest, but tonight we have three. And I’d like to introduce them to you.

“Would Chief Kinlicheeny please join me.”

Chief Kinlicheeny was standing close to me, so he walked up and stood next to me. And I said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chief Kinlicheeny. Chief Kinlicheeny is the Chief of the Navajo Nation.”

There was a nice round of applause.

Then I looked at Tom, and I said, “Next I would like Chief Tahoma Etsitty to join us.”

Tom walked up to us, and I said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chief Etsitty. He is the chief of the Azee'tsoh dine'é or the Big Medicine People clan. It is one of many clans that make up the Navajo Nation. This is Chief Etsitty's first time with us as Chief. He was just elected to the position of Chief of his clan.”

There was another round of applause.

Then I said, “Naainish would you please join us.”

As Naainish walked up, I said, “This special guest is one of our medicine men, Naainish Yazzie. And I’m going to ask him to give a short prayer before we eat.”

I handed Naainish the microphone, he took it, and said, “Thank you, Kai. … ” and he followed that with a short prayer.

Then he handed the microphone back to me, I took it, and said, “Thank you, Naainish. Ladies and gentlemen. The food is ready. Please help yourself. And enjoy the music and dancers, and the food.”

I turned the microphone off, turned and looked at Chief Etsitty, and said, “Tahoma, it’s great to see you here.”

“Thanks, Kai.”, Tahoma said. “From what I’m seeing and smelling Vickie and I should have been here a long time ago. And remember it’s Tom.”

“Is Vickie here?”

“Yes, she’s here. She came hoping that she could talk to Amy … sorry, Ajie.”

“Ajie made a decision this afternoon, but she hasn’t shared it with me yet. Did Vickie find her?

“I don't know. She was walking around looking for her.”

“Let’s go and see if we can find them?”

Tom and I walked together looking for Ajie and Vickie. They weren’t in the food line. They weren’t watching the dancers. Then we heard someone behind us say, “Tom.”

He and I both turned around, and we both said, “Yes.”

That got me a look from him and Vickie. It was Vickie that had called his name, and she was with Ajie. The two girls walked up to us, and Vickie said, “You did a nice job introducing everyone, Kai.”

“Thank you.”, I said. “My uncle roped me into doing it.”

“Kai.” Tom Etsitty asked. “Why did you react when Vickie called my name?”

“Tom, remember that I’m a boy.”, I replied. “And my real name is also Tom.”

“Every time I’ve seen you you’ve been a girl. And it’s hard, seeing such a pretty girl, and trying to realize that you're a guy.”

“I’ve heard that before. And thank you. Did you talk to Naainish about me?”

“Yes.”

“What did he tell you about me?”

“A lot of interesting things. Including that, at first, he had problems seeing that you are really male. And I can see why.”

“I feel better when I’m here in New Mexico and presenting as a girl. I feel closer to the spirits that are here at the resort.

“Did he tell you that Ajie or Amy is my wife.”

“No, he didn’t! Are you two really married?”

“Yes, Ajie has completely accepted me for who I am, and she has also accepted the American Indian culture. I’m one-fourth Navajo, and the rest is Anglo. Ajie has a little bit of Indian in her. Her great-great-grandmother was from a tribe on the east coast. But we are both blue-eyed blonds.”

“I’ve noticed the blue eyes, but I know other Navajo people with blue eyes.”

“Tom. Kai.”, Vickie said. “Could we go someplace private. Ajie and I have some things to talk about, and I know that Kai will be interested. And Ajie and Kai probably won’t mind Tom hearing it.”

“Come with me.”, I said. “I know a quiet spot.”

The four of us walked over to the rocks where the Fairbrothers had taken our pictures. You can comfortably sit on them.

As we sat, Vickie said, “I told Ajie a little about this, but not everything because I thought that Kai would like to hear it too.

“Anyway, after our meeting with that woman from the New Mexico Board of Nursing and Amy had left, Dean Milford and I talked. We were both very unhappy with this woman, with what she did, and how she did it.

“Dean Milford called the University President’s Office and spoke with the President about what had happened, and ten minutes later Dean Milford and I were meeting with the University President. We went over all of Amy’s records. He was impressed by your academic accomplishments and your letters of recommendation. And, like us, he was very unhappy about what this woman had done.

“While the Dean and I were there, the President called the Board of Nursing and spoke with the head of the board. Thursday morning we were back in the University President’s office meeting with the head of the Board of Nursing and her number two. We explained what had happened, and after looking over your records, they were surprised that Mrs. Richardson had done what she’d done. We even told them that you had offered to take the New Mexico test.

“They told us that they had accepted the Ohio test before without question and that Amy’s results should have been approved.

“I tried to call you at home all Thursday afternoon, and I was worried about you when I couldn't reach you. Then I remembered about the resort and what you’ve told me about it, including the Friday night barbecues. And I figured that you might have come up here to get away from everything. I checked your registration information for your emergency contacts, and there was one for your aunt. I called, and your aunt and I talked. I was happy to find that you were up here. So, I talked Tom into coming up today. And we’re glad we did."

Looking directly at Ajie, Vickie then said, “Ajie, I’m going to call you Amy right now. Amy Young, your New Mexico Registered Nurse’s License should be in your mailbox when you get back to Albuquerque. I wanted to hand carry it up here, but they have some stupid rule that it has to be mailed. And you do not have to take the New Mexico test.

“Both the Dean and I hope that you will stay in New Mexico with us.”

I looked at Ajie, and there were tears in her eyes. She took a deep breath, and said, “Vickie, Kai and I went to a special place in the mountains earlier today. We sat and meditated. And, I don’t know if you believe in these things or not, but we do.

“While I meditated, I had a vision. That vision made me see some things. It made me see that I am a strong person and don’t walk away from problems and that I have the support of Kai and my whole family.

“That helped me make my decision. While I sat at this special place, I decided to stay in New Mexico, take the test if necessary, and show that woman that I was a bigger person than she is.”

I saw Vickie smile, then get up, go to Ajie, and hug her. Ajie hugged her back.

Then Ajie looked at me, and said, “Kai, I love you. Your support is so important to me. Being with you at the sacred place today helped me through this. I love you.”

“I love you too, Ajie.”, I said.

Then looking at Vickie, Ajie said, “Vickie, also thank you and Dean Milford for your support. Why you wanted me out here in the first place, I still don’t know. But, Kai and I love it out here and plan to stay.”

Vickie just smiled.

We then sat there looking at each other.

Finally, Tom said, “That was very interesting. I knew about what happened at the university, but hearing about this special place and Ajie having a vision was very interesting. It brought back memories of some things that I heard when I was growing up on the reservation.”

‘Hmm.’, I thought. ‘Tom grew up on the reservation. I need to talk to him about that.’

Then I said, “Anyone else hungry?”

Tom said, “That’s what’s wrong. It’s past dinner time.”

“We’d better go and see if there’s any food left.”

The four of us walked back to the barbecue area. My aunt saw us and smiled. We walked up to the food tables, and Ajie and I let Tom and Vickie go first. They filled their plates, as did Ajie and I. Then we found a table, sat and talked while we ate. Naainish walked over to us, and said, “Ajie, I sense that everything is good.”

Ajie looked at Naainish and said, “Yes, Naainish. Everything is good.”

Naainish smiled, and said, “Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí.”

Both Tom and Vickie looked at us in a puzzled way. I grinned, and said, “Naainish just said, ‘Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí.’ Which means, it is good, and all is harmony around us.”

Tom shook his head, and said, “I’ve heard a lot of this before, but I’ll never learn it.”

“You’re an educator.", I said. "You grew up on the reservation and probably have a good base, and don’t realize it. You just have to give it a chance. And Ajie and I will help you.”

Naainish said, “Chief Etsitty, as Kai said, give it a chance, and Kai and Ajie can be good teachers.”

Then I added, “Ajie and I only started learning Navajo two years ago.”

“Two years ago!”, Tom said. “And you speak it this well. How?”

“We had an excellent teacher. My mother. There were times that we spoke nothing but Navajo around the house. And it drove my dad crazy.”

“I’ll try. But promise me that you’ll help?”

“Yes, we’ll help you.”, I said. “But, since we’re both named Tom. I figure that I’m going to call you either Chief, Chief Tom, or Chief Etsitty.”

“Why?”, Tom asked.

“First, out of respect for you and your position. And to keep the confusion down when we’re together and I’m not Kai.”

“How often will that happen?”

What’s that?”

“That you’re not Kai?”

“You never know. Here, probably never. In Albuquerque, there’s a better chance.”

We finished eating, and I said, “Chief, would you and Vickie like to go someplace special with us?”

“Where?”, Chief Tom asked.

“We like to hike up to the cliff top and watch the Sunset. We even like to see the Sunrises too.”

“That could be fun.”

“We’d better get started.”

The four of us left the barbecue and headed towards the cliff trail. On the way up, I was reminded by my feet that I was wearing moccasins.

When we were up on the cliff, there were a dozen or more guests there. Of course, we got smiles and questions. Then we walked over to a place to be by ourselves so that we could talk.

Vickie said, “Kai, you are so at ease with who you are.”

“I feel very at ease being Kai.”, I replied. “Especially in the area of the thermal springs. They’re a sacred place.”

“You believe in the spirits. Don’t you?”

“Yes.”, Ajie replied. “We both feel them and have experienced them.”

“That is very interesting.”

“Yes.”, I replied. “Until a few years ago I didn’t know anything about spirits, or what a Nádleeh was, or my Navajo heritage. But in the past couple of years, I’ve learned a lot of things, and I’m still learning.

“Naainish has been a great teacher.”

“Naainish is very impressed with you.”, Chief Tom said. “He feels that you’re special.”

Then the Sunset caught our attention, and it was a lovely Sunset with yellows, reds, and pinks. I said, “Red sky at night sailors delight. So no storms tonight.”

“Is that really true?”, Vickie asked.

“It has every time we’ve seen it out here.”, Ajie replied.

After the Sun had set, and most of the guests had started down the cliff trail, I said, “Come with us for a minute.”

The four of us walked towards where the little tree is. When we reached the signs saying that this was a conservation area and to please keep out, Chief Tom said, “We can’t go in there.”

“Yes, we can.”, I replied. “Come on, and we’ll tell you about this.”

We walked a little further until we reached the fence around the little tree. As we stood there, Ajie and I told them the story of the tree in the picture in the hotel lobby, about finding the tree hit by lightning, about recovering some of the branches and taking them back to Ohio with us. Then about planting the one little branch, it's sprouting and growing. And then how we’d brought it back here and planted it.

Chief Tom and Vickie listened intently to our story. Then Vickie said, “There is something to these spirits. Aren’t there?”

“Vickie.”, Ajie said as she touched the meteorite in her necklace. “It took me some time to believe in them. But there is something to them. I have very little American Indian blood, but I believe in the spirits.

“Still want a nurse that believes in native spirits?”

“Honey, in a hospital that treats the number of American Indian patients that we do, I think I want you to be part of us even more now than before.

“I also think that you might be able to show the staff what the Indians believe in and how to treat them respectfully.”

“Don’t they treat the Indian patients with respect like other patients?”

“Most of the staff is very good, but not understanding their beliefs can make it hard for some.”

“Interesting. Maybe a subject for my master's thesis.”

“Could very well be. We’ll talk about it.”

We walked over to the cliff trail and started down to the resort. We could see the bonfire blazing away, and Ajie asked, “Going to meditate tonight, Kai?”

“No.”, I replied. “After today and the sacred place I don’t feel that I need to.”

“I thought so.”

“What is this sacred place.”, Chief Tom asked.

“It is a place in the mountains that is sacred to us, the American Indians. If you need to find it, you will know that you do, and you will find it. If you don’t, you won’t.”

“So you’ve found this place.”

“Yes.”

“Not going to tell me about it are you?”

“All I can say is, that if you need to find it. You will find it. And if you find it, you will know what you need to do.”

"How will I know."

"You will know. And you'll reach out to either Naainish, Ajie, or me. And we will help you."

I knew that Chief Tom was in thought, as we finished our walk in silence. When we reached the bonfire, Naainish found us, and he said, “Chief Etsitty, it is good that you’ve come to this sacred place. The spirits are happy that you are here.”

“Thank you, Naainish.”, Chief Tom said. “It’s also been a learning experience for me. And Kai and Ajie have been my teachers.”

“You have chosen two teachers that can teach you well. Heed their words.”

I looked at Ajie, and said, “We’re teachers?”

“Yes, Kai, you are.”, Naainish said. “You may not know it, but you teach as you talk to people. They listen to you and Ajie like they know what you're saying is wise and true. And it is.”

As we usually do, we walked around talking to the guests. Chief Tom and Vickie didn’t say much but just walked with us and listened to what Ajie and I had to say. As the bonfire started to die down, the guests began to retreat to their rooms. And we stood there and watched the fire burn down.

I knew it was getting late, and I said, “Chief Tom, you’re going to be getting back to Albuquerque quite late.”

“No, were not.”, he replied, “We have a room in the hotel for tonight.”

“That’s great.”

“We thought that since we were coming up here to find Ajie, that if we could get a room, we’d spent the night and see what the resort is all about. There was a vacancy in the hotel for tonight, so we took it. And, so far we love what we’ve seen and done. We should have come up here before this.”

“Are you early risers?”

“Not really. Why?”

“I thought you might like to join us for a Sunrise.”

“What time?”

“Oh. Five-thirty.”

“That’s way too early.”

“I know, but Sunrise is close to six.”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll tell you what. We’ll stop in the hotel lobby on our way to the cliff.”

“Five-thirty?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll see. And I think we’re going to call it a night.”

“Us too. We’ll walk with you to the hotel.”

As we walked up to the hotel, we went in with them, Ajie led them over to the picture on the wall, and said, “Remember the picture by the old tree that we told you about?”

“Yes.”, Vickie said.

“This is it.”

“It’s a beautiful picture.”

“Look closely at the girl.”

Vickie looked close at the picture. Then she looked at me. Then back at the picture. Then she said, “No, can’t be.”

“But it is.”, Ajie said.

“Tom.”, Vickie said. “Take a good look at the girl in the picture.”

Chief Tom looked at the picture, and asked, “What about her?”

“Now look at Kai.”

Chief Tom looked at me, then said, “Kai, is this you?”

I grinned. And Ajie said, “That’s Kai, and it was taken three years ago. The first time that we were out here.”

“Kai.”, Vickie said. “You look prettier now. Then you did back then.”

I know I blushed a little as I said, “Thanks.”

We said goodnight to each other. And the Etsitty's went to their room, and we headed to my aunt and uncles house. As Ajie and I walked, I said, “You love showing off that picture. Don’t you?”

“Of course.”, Ajie replied. “I think it’s one of the best pictures of you that there is.”

As we walked into the house, my aunt and uncle were there, and Ajie said, “Aunt Ruth. Uncle Paul. We’ve decided to stay in New Mexico.”

I saw smiles from both my aunt and uncle, then my aunt said, “Kids, I’m so glad that everything worked out.”

We then told them about what the University people had done, and my uncle said, “I was wondering if they were going to support you or not. And I’m glad they did.”