Chapter Thirteen

The Light of the World

It was the longest day in White Deer’s life. When her weeping was over, she left her father’s lodge and wandered into the forest. Her heart was filled with terrible and unknowable emotions as she walked the familiar paths, searching for something that seemed lost to her forever. She looked for that contentment which had always been hers in the deep, hidden places of the forest, but instead of the sweet song of the forest birds or the chirrup of the black squirrels, she heard only the words of her father:

“It is said that the men with pale skin will offer two paths to the Lenape—the way of peace and great prosperity, or the way of death.”

The hours slipped by as she sought the fastness of dark, shaded hollows where the light of day did not reach; she walked the open, grassy hillsides and roamed far over her beloved meadows. But always before her were the faces of the Kahpèsàk; the twin brothers. The dark-haired one with hate in his heart and the yellow-haired one who walked the way of peace. Up until the day that Scar brought them to their village, she had been content. Love had not touched her, and the young men of the village sought her favor in vain, for she was the princess of her people and no warrior great enough to win her hand had approached her. Wingenund often smiled as he watched the hopeless faces of those braves who brought unanswered suit to the lodge of his beautiful daughter. Unaccepted gifts and fresh game lay unnoticed at her door or were sent to the lodges of widows.

And then in one day her whole world had changed, for when she looked into the face of the dark one, she knew she was lost beyond hope. Now she wandered, seeking something to block the turmoil in her heart but that sought-for peace eluded her. The beautiful life of the forest sang no more in her heart. The soft moss, the shaking leaf of the aspen tree, the deep mysterious pools where the great trout lay in his kingdom, all these no longer spoke to her soul, but seemed empty and meaningless in the face of the burning in her heart.

Finally, she came to a glen in the green and golden woods where a rugged, giant rock, moss-stained and gleaming with trickling water, rose before her. A wall of intertwined ferns dressed in autumn’s auburn hue hid the base of the gray-green cliff and circled a dark, deep pool, dotted with yellow leaves floating on the mirrored surface. Here she cast herself down on the soft forest bed and wept. The golden rays of the afternoon sun filtered down and bathed her in their warm embrace, but she did not feel their touch. Muffled sobs came from deep within. “I love him and yet I do not know him. His heart is filled with bitterness toward all of my people, but the Great Spirit has given me to him, and I know not why. I cannot love him, for he is the way of death, but my heart tells me he is the one.”

Thus the maiden lay while the hours crept by. The golden rays softened and the white clouds above her were softly brushed with blushing rose as the day began its age-long surrender to the night. On a branch of a small-flowered agrimony near her, a counting katydid began its raspy inquiry—two notes, then three, then four. A black squirrel chattered away a gray invader that dared to seek food in the same tree. Around her the forest began to come alive with the voices of the night. At last, as the pale pink of the clouds succumbed to the gray of twilight, White Deer rose from the bower where she had fought the greatest struggle of her life. Her face was pale but her heart was set in its path.

I will follow my heart as the Great Spirit guides. Whatever may come to me is not for me to know, but my trail has always been laid before me, and I must go where it leads me.

When White Deer returned to her lodge, her father saw the pale but composed face of his daughter, and he instinctively knew that something of great import had happened before she even spoke. She came and knelt at her father’s feet, and Wingenund’s heart was troubled. A great sadness stole over him as he listened to the whispered words of the Indian princess.

“Father, I am troubled. My eyes tell me that I have looked upon the face of death in the eyes of the white brother with the black hair, but my heart says I have looked upon love. What am I to do? Why cannot I find happiness with one of our own people?”

Wingenund looked at his beautiful daughter. “The white blood that runs in your veins speaks louder than the Lenape blood. You are drawn to the whiteskins, and your heart has no control of the matter.”

White Deer shook her head. “You once told me that at the appointed time I would understand the words spoken over me when I was born. Today I know. The white twin with the dark hair can only show me the way of death. In his brother’s hand is the way of peace and prosperity. Yet before I knew this, I had already made my choice. Now I come to you for counsel.”

Wingenund arose and paced the center of the lodge as he thought. Then he turned to White Deer. “My heart is heavy when I say this because I think in the end, when you discover the path of peace, it means that you will forsake the ways of our people. But you must learn from the yellow hair. He is a good man and the words of his God have power. Elk Running came to me and showed me where his arm had been broken. In only one half of a moon it has healed completely and he has full use of it again. The yellow-haired one asked his God to do this, and it has been done. Even Scar wonders at the power in this man’s words.”

“I will do as you ask, Father. But what about the other?”

“I do not know, my daughter. His heart is filled with hate, and because of that, he will not see the love you offer him. I am sad for you. I had hoped to live out my days with Lenape grandchildren on my knee and a great warrior for a son. Now I think that will never be, and I see our people diminishing and going to a far land.”

“I am sorry, my father.”

The girl bowed her head, but her father came quickly and lifted her into an embrace. “We do not decide our destiny. You must follow the guidance of the Great Spirit. The end we do not know, but I fear it will come with a sad parting.”

That night in her bed, her father’s words rang in her spirit and she wept, for bitter would be such a day.

From the moment he saw the Indian princess watching him, Joshua Hershberger was entranced. He remembered White Deer from that day long ago when his family had arrived at Fort Pitt. He thought she was beautiful then and now that she was a young maiden, her loveliness had captured him. The look in her eyes after she saw him pray for the man with the broken arm had been strange—full of wonder and fear at the same time. And as she looked at him that day, it was as though he had dived into a deep, dark mysterious pool and had gone down and down, never to come back to the surface. Since then, he could think of nothing else but her beautiful face, the grace of her form and the hidden strength of her as she walked through the village. So it was a great surprise one morning, a few months after he arrived in Shawnee Town, to see her coming toward him through the fields where he was working. She approached him shyly and when she looked up into his eyes, he felt that same rush—something overwhelming and powerful—go through his whole body.

She smiled. “You have the way of peace. I see it in your eyes. Elk Running has told the whole village how his arm has been healed quickly, like new, the thing you asked your God to do for him.”

Joshua smiled. “Ah, Princess, that is good news. I am glad to hear he has recovered.”

“Does your God always answer you in this way?”

Joshua leaned on his hoe. “Well, sometimes He says yes to our prayer and gives us the answer we want, and sometimes He says no. But He always answers.”

The girl was puzzled. “Why did he say yes to your prayer for Elk Running?”

Joshua pointed to a nearby elm that spread its branches over a grassy spot at the edge of the wood. “Will you sit with me for a moment? I cannot be too long, for I have my duties.”

White Deer smiled. “I have told Scar that I need to talk to you, so he will not interrupt us.”

The two sat together and Joshua looked at the girl. He could not still the beating of his heart, but he did his best. “Now, to answer your question, my God always works in ways that will make people want to know more about Him. It is so they may come to know Him as the greatest of all spirits.”

The girl nodded. “Yes, I believe that. When I was born it was foretold that I would discover who the whiteskins really are. I will see both the way of peace and the way of death and I will be the one who tells this truth to my people, so they can decide which path they will choose. I believe the Great Spirit has sent you to tell me the way of peace.”

The thought came as a shock to Joshua. In a blinding revelation it all became clear to him why the events of the last months had happened. Grief and joy swept over him and he put his face in his hands and began to weep. The girl drew closer. “Why do you weep?”

Joshua struggled to regain his composure. “Princess, for many months I have struggled with the death of my mother, sisters, and brother at the hands of Scar. I cried out to my God for an answer to my question: why would he allow such a terrible thing to happen? And now I see.”

The girl nodded. “Yes?”

Joshua continued. “Your people do not know of my God. So He has sent someone to tell you. I am that one. I see now that my mother and my sisters and my brother suffered only a little while so that Scar would bring me to this place. My heart is glad for they are with God now in heaven, and I am here to tell you of Him.”

“And will you tell me?”

“Yes, Princess, I will tell you. I will meet with you if Scar will allow it. There is much to say.”

White Deer tossed her head. “I am Wingenund’s daughter, a princess of my people. What I wish, Scar will do.” Then she looked around to see if anyone was listening and said quietly, “We will meet tomorrow at dawn, here in this place. And you will tell me of this God. What is his name?”

Joshua looked into the eyes of the lovely girl and knew that he had been chosen to give her a great gift, the gift of life. “His name is Jesus. He is the way and the truth and he is life itself and no one can find heaven without him.”

The girl looked sad as she stood. “I want to learn of this God, but I am also afraid.”

“Afraid of what, Princess?”

“I am afraid that once I know Him I will have to make a choice that will be very hard. And I do not know if I am strong enough to make that choice.” White Deer turned and slowly walked away.

Joshua stared after her. The feelings in his heart were so strong that he wanted to leap to his feet and run after her. But he did not.