...
"But you didn't come here for a fishing trip ..." Jack finishes putting the last fish in the bag. Responds:
"No ... Of course, not." It undoes the smile. Turning her face to Mallborn and looking at him. Malborn advances:
"Wolves?"
"Humrum (smiles uneasily, moving his head) was easy, right?"
"Let's take the fish for Márika Lyira to prepare for lunch! At home, we talk. What do you think?..."
"No Malborn ... I'm not going to stay for lunch. I promised Judy that would be back before noon."
"Ah !. I understand. Then ..."
"Here it is perfect ..." The distant look at the reflections of the sun in the water currents ... To be continued:
"I am worried about Judy, or better, with the family!"
"She received a gift ..."
"A gift?! Since yesterday I have been hearing this! This is not an answer!" He gets up impatiently, running his hands through his hair, dropping his feather headdress ... Turning his back on Mal ... A brief silence ... and:
"Sorry Mal." (with his hands on his hips, lowers his head) ...
"Sit there, my friend, you need to know a little more ..."
Jack then turns around and sits down on the rock again nodding his head. He keeps his head down, leaning on his elbows, says:
"I need answers. I'm not comfortable with what I don't know! I always knew what to do! But now ..." He slaps his forehead: "TÁP!":
"I don't know!" He looks into Mallborn's eyes with a kind of discouraged look.
Mallborn begins to feel the man's concern in those lines:
"I'm sorry too, Jack. I am not behaving properly in the face of all this ... I will do whatever I can to help you."
Jack takes a deep breath and asks:
"What do you know about all this?"
"We, of my tribe, we did not imagine that "they" would choose one from another ... 'tribe'. But we were wrong ..."
"Well ... And I thought that this was just a legend."
"A long time ago, one of our tribe, was chosen, a waya, wolf spirit ... Wolves served him, fought their battles! The tribes feared the great guardian! He spoke to the beasts, protected them (sawing his fists) his power was supernatural! ..."
Mallborn then takes an arrow and shoves it between the pebbles and says:
"Jack, all wolves respect her ... Somehow they chose her! It seems that wolves feel a pure heart ... Judy has always been special! She always judged things around her fairly. Do you know! She took care of horse wounds as if they were people! ... You have a great wife, my friend. Help her with this new gift! ... These animals have been wiped out by men ... Perhaps the wolves have never needed a guardian like now! (quickly taking the arrow from the pebbles and wielding it, like a sword) The time has come for to protect them Jack!" Jack clears his throat, blinking his eyes quickly, saying:
"But I have a choice, ... Friend ..." Mallborn takes a stone and throws it in the river and continues:
"But something stronger than us also has a choice ..."
Jack takes a deep breath once more ... anxiety is visible in the man. Malborn continues:
"What could that stone do when I picked it up and threw it?"
Jack looks at the river, in total silence ... Biting his lower lip, the native concludes:
"So we are in the hands of the Creator, the Great Spirit. It is he who has all the power in the stars and on the earth. His will is about all will. Don't be a rebel, my friend... There's a lot more at stake! God does not give us paths of thorns. He gives us gifts to overcome challenges, and so that we can also help others! In the end, it is just so that we can become better people... You know better than me. He didn't even spare his only son for a greater good! ... She has already accepted the gift. Help her in the endeavor. She will need you! ... Tell me Jack; what do you love the most?" The man is silent with a cold in the spine! Then he lowers his head and agrees shaking it.
He raises his head and says smiling:
"You and this power of yours to convince people ..."
"No Jack, it's not me ... You decide to be good and believe."
"Now let's go for a swim?! I am so light that today this river takes me to the sea." (laughing) The two men laugh as they run to the river and dive like two grown boys ...
...
On the outskirts of Jack's land ...
Carlson is still patrolling the region when he spots a wolf about 150 meters away:
"Wolf ?!" He takes the shotgun he was carrying on his horse, opens it, and sees that it is unloaded: "I'm glad the animal is far away". He thinks while placing two cartridges in the barrel of the gun. With one hand on the rein, he spurs the horse to get closer to the beast. As the horse approaches, he lets loose and is already adjusting himself to aim at the wolf:
"Go away! ..." The Horse stops about twenty meters from the wolf. Carl is aiming and asking himself in the head: "Why hasn't that animal left yet ?!" He stops aiming, for a moment...Lowers the gun, puzzled:
"Huh!?! What happened to that animal?!" At that point the wolf would have already run away. Then he raises the gun again, aims carefully, and: "POOW!"
Billy is crouched under a small tree when he is startled to hear the shot! He gets up quickly:
"Virgin Mary!!" He leaves running towards the farm when he remembers:
"The horse! Oh my God! ..." Now he runs towards the horse. He hurries up and:
"Go, go horse!" (spurting the horse) He guides the horse to one side and ... then to the other:
"Carl! I have to help you!" He decides, and makes the horse run towards Carl, ...
After the shot, the wolf just looks at Carlson and walks away as if nothing has happened. Carl aims again:
"But what ... is this stubborn animal ?!" (pointing) ... "POOW" !!!
Billy was already approaching and taking his revolver out of its sheath ... He is already shooting: "BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! TÉK! TÉK!" (End of bullets) ... Carlson is perplexed to see the wolf walking calmly after so many shots, but also does not resist and comments:
"Jeez, bad aim! (laughing) But, thankfully! (laughing)! It was just to chase him away!" (continues laughing)!
"Isn't he hurt?" Turning the revolver in his finger... and the gun falls out of his hand afterward. " It's fired... " Billy says awkwardly. And keep changing the subject:
" Jack asked to do something ..." Says Billy, getting off the horse, bends down and picks up the revolver he had dropped. Carlson is seriously watching the wolf getting further and further away, and asks without looking at the boy:
"And what did Jack ask for?"
"It's just that he doesn't want intrigues here on the farm." (cleaning the gun and putting it in the leather) ... Carl turns to Billy:
"I'm not intrigued by anyone. But you don't have to talk to me just because Jack asked."
"That's not why ... I shouldn't have ... said that thing to you." (riding)
"Not even!..."
"Yeah, the punches were well done (grabbing the chin) boy, you hit well!" (Smiles from the corner)
"Sometimes it is necessary ... You shouldn't talk nonsense like that." (fixing your eyes on Billy) Billy turns his head and then lowers, scratches a pebble with the toe of his boot ... Raise his head and look into Carl's eyes And says:
"Forgiveness."
"I already forgave you. As I said I am not intrigued. But it is good to feel that you acknowledge that you have made a mistake." Carl stretches out his arm and Billy shakes his hand smiling. Carl says:
"Let's take the cattle to the river ... It's about time."
"Yeah, come on!" (Spurs the horse)
The two are galloping towards the cattle and Billy, talking about it, says:
"What did that wolf want?"
"Now! What do you think ?!"
"I had never seen one so close!"
"He was huge ... Let's get smart! Because they usually come back!"
"And the animal was quiet!"
"Why! With an 'aim' equal to yours, even I would stand still!" (laughs) "PÓCOTO PÓCOTO" (gallop)
A few kilometers away...
The two friends come back from fishing ... they get off the horses.
"The fishing was good!" Marika exclaims when she sees the bag full.
"Yeah, it was good!" Jack speaks, and Mal puts the bag on the floor saying:
"Come Jack, let's share."
"No, Mal! I don't want that much! Just give me three fish. Stay with the fishing. On another day I come to fish more."
"But Jack ..."
"No friend, the fish is yours! Besides, I want to get home soon."
"You are the one who knows ... I would like you to stay for lunch but ..."
"The other day I come with the family, so we camped by the river ..."
"You are always welcome ..."
Minutes later...
Jack has already put on his normal clothes and is already walking towards the horse ... Get up in pure blood ...
Mallborn exclaims from his tent:
"Wait Jack I have something to give you." Go back into the tent ...
Jack waits for his friend on his horse ...
And Mallborn is already coming out with a stuffed wolf's head helmet in his hands ... He approaches Jack and says:
"Take Jack ..."
"But Mal this is decades with your people ..."
"A hundred years. This belongs to Waya ..."
He extends his arms giving it to Jack ... He takes the native's forearm. The man refuses to accept and says, looking him in the eye:
"I can not accept. This belongs to your people ..."
"This now belongs to your lineage! Take Jack, it always belonged to the wolf's guardian! Belongs to Judyanne Vegas, the new Waya! The Wolf Spirit." (Waya = Wolf Spirit)
"Okay ... I'll give it to her."
"She will protect them! It will be a link between Lobo and man!" (Smiling) ...
"Help her on the new journey."
"I will help, my friend." (smiles back) At last, he receives the wolf's head helmet and holds it in the horse's rump.Mallborn says goodbye:
"See you, my red skin friend!" (Laughs)
"To the next! The peace of Jesus ..."
"Peace Jesus!"
...
Later...
The two cowboys are waiting for the cows to quench their thirst by the stream ...
Billy and Carlson are crouched washing their faces in the water ... Billy then, from 'nothing' asks:
"Why don't you go back to your wife immediately." (rubbing your neck with water)
"What ?!" (with wet hand on head)
"IT IS! why don't you just ask to come back ..."
"I was the one who 'left' the house! I won't ask her to let me come back, no!"
"But, and the family ... 'Having no grudge against anyone!' ..."
"Look boy, it was not me 'the culprit'! and besides I'm not going to talk to you about it (gets up) ... let's look at the cattle!" (rough)
"'Asking' does not offend! Or offends?" (Getting up and putting on his hat) ...
The men get on their horses and scare the cattle in the opposite direction ...
As they gallop after the cattle, Carlson's horse slows down, falling behind ... Billy notices, and looking back ... Carl looks up with a serious face and spurs his horse, gives a small career, approaches Billy:
"I'm sorry I was very rude."
"It was nothing. I was also very ... Nosy." (smiles rolling my eyes)
The two continue galloping, and Carl decides to vent a little:
"I met Mérile at a very young age ... but I already knew that I wanted to marry her ... Beautiful, from a good family and in love! (Smiles) Everything was perfect! ... In the beginning, it was just happiness; engagement, marriage, a daughter and ... It was after the second child that things started to change ..."
The two arrive in the shade of a tree, descend from their horses, sit on rocks and Billy waits attentively for the man continue:
"As I was saying; after our boy was born, right after the guard, she started to worry about her appearance ... staying in the mirror for several minutes. Squeezing her belly, asking if she was fat. If she was ugly. I always said no! That I loved, her and that she would always be my wife! ...When we meet 'the person', we don't want to know anything! We want to be happy! ... Only things were only getting worse! The past two years have been terrible! It became unbearable! (Holding her hands to her face) ... She was always jealous. But normally I could take it ... But in these two years here (negative with my head) ... Whenever I got home she always smelled ... But she was not affectionate! It was to feel if there was any different perfume! Asking why I got there later ... a Twenty-minute thing! And I explained, I explained ... And the worst were those spinster cousins of yours talking nonsense! ... She distrusted women from other cities, who came to the ranch to learn to ride ... I had many opportunities, but I never cheated on my wife! But she was so paranoid, she would rather believe the conversations of the envious than me! She doesn't know me anymore, she looks at me and sees a character in her mind ... Her sick head!! (Speaking in an angry tone) ... That's what I think! That she needs help! I don't know! (Takes a deep breath) a psychiatrist. If she doesn't recognize that she is not well, then it becomes very difficult. It is even impossible to live together ...The worst thing about it is a home without peace ... I love her, but if I don't love myself before, there won't be an 'I' to love my children tomorrow. You can't love another human being more than myself ... I can't." (gets up putting his hands on his waist.) Looking at the horizon mixed in green and brown of the arid lands of the place. Billy with his little baggage in his life imagines something to say ...
But he just says:
"It's really hard..."
"It ... Just a miracle." (Smiles without grace) Carl now looks at the ground and kicks a stone slowly and says:
"God knows all things." (Turning to Billy).
"IT'S..."
"Let's see what else life has." Billy just nods ...
...
A few kilometers away, Jack riding his majestic horse, with a peaceful countenance, remembering the conversation he had with his friend ... When he sees Judy's favorite flowers by the side of the road ...
He then decides to pull the reins from the horse and to ... Go down and take two steps to the beautiful purple flowers ... he picks a bouquet and says to himself:
"It is similar to her." He hooks the flowers in the cell and goes up, continues the journey.
...