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I hope you enjoy my short story “Oh, Deer”
Teaser…
The guys stood around talking about work, vehicles, and
whatever else came up in the conversation. Seeing that the women were paying
them no mind, the three male friends decided to shoot some pool.
Jacob was glad for the distraction his friends supplied,
instead of being focused on looming thoughts of deer and the afternoon’s
illegal activity. After several games of pool, the guys rejoined the women. The
group sat around, talking, laughing and drinking; everyone seemed to be having
a good time.
“Want a refill?” Mark asked noticing that Jacob’s glass was
empty.
“Nope, I was just gonna head over to the bar and ask Red for
a soda. I’m driving tonight, so time to quit with the beer,” Jacob said getting
up.
“Hey, I’ll go with you,” Bull said as he got up to join
Jacob in going up to the bar.
“Aw shit, might as well wait for me, I don’t want to sit here
alone with the ladies,” Mark said trying to sound disgruntled, “On second
thought, maybe I will stay here.” The
women giggled as they protested. Mark tried to feign being hurt by their
remarks, “Fine, I know when I’m not wanted.” He exaggerated his exit by
sticking his nose up in the air and left in a huff. The women’s laughter
followed him as he joined his friends at the bar.
After the fellows had been given their order of two soda’s
and another beer for Mark, Red pulled up a bar stool on the opposite side of
the bar to sit and talk with the boys for a spell.
“You going hunting this year, Jacob?” Red asked in his deep,
gruff sounding voice.
“Planning on it. Even thinking about bow hunting this year
too,” Jacob replied.
“You still having problems with them deer?” Mark asked, as
he took a drink from his glass.
“Oh yeah,” was all Jacob said. He wished the subject of
hunting and deer hadn’t come up.
“What sort of problems you having?” Red inquired.
“Mostly they’re driving Donna nuts eating all her plants and
the garden. They’ve eaten everything in sight it seems. The other night, I
swear there was a herd of them in the yard, they were outside every window,”
Jacob shared with the men. He halted his recollection there, not wanting to say
a word about the eyes of the animals. Jacob took a drink of his soda, and as he
did so his eyes met those of Red. The large sized man was looking at him quite
intensely, as if searching for something more from him.
“A whole herd you say?” Red started, continuing with the
inquisitive piercing look. “Anything else seem out of the ordinary, son?”
Jacob was surprised by the question he’d just been asked. He
was beginning to think, Red was interested in more than the average
white-tailed deer story, swapping. Still, not wanting to confess what he had
witnessed for fear of being thought of as crazy, Jacob simply turned the
conversation back to Red by stating, “What do you mean?”
“Did I stutter, boy? I asked if anything else seemed odd, or
out of the ordinary,” Red repeated in a voice that told Jacob he was quite
serious about the subject. Jacob didn’t answer. His self-proclaimed need for
looking sane, kept him from saying more. He broke eye contact with Red and took
another drink of the cool beverage. There was no way he could explain to these
men what he saw when he looked at the deer’s eyes.
“What you getting at Dad?” Bull inquired. “Seems there are a
few folks having some problems with deer on that side of town. I was over at
Steve’s last week, he was bitching about the deer too,” Bull continued.
“Yep, I’ve heard the same thing,” Mark interjected, “Dave
Harper was just complaining earlier tonight about them causing damage to his
corn field.”
Jacob remained silent. As he looked up from his glass, he
saw Red glance at each one of the younger men. When he finally spoke, it was
with a voice of wisdom and authority.
“There is a story my great-grandfather told me long ago,
about the white-tailed deer in these parts.” Red’s eyes showed that his mind
had now traveled to a time long ago, as he paused briefly before speaking
again.
“It is said that many Native American tribes of the Mid-west
believe that deer, because of their forked antlers, represented choices. The
white-tailed deer were thought of as a helper to our tribes. Our fore-father’s
lives were dependent on the white-tailed deer in these parts for everything;
clothing, food, tools, even for making our shelters.” Red stopped, taking a
drink of his bottled water, noticing he had the young men’s full attention.
Jacob especially seemed to hang on every word that Red was now speaking.
“Go on,” urged Jacob.
With a satisfied smile
on his lips, Red continued. “The deer became symbolic of our life source. They
were respected and only hunted out of necessity. The stag was particularly respected.
It is believed by many, that their antlers showed solitary, nobility, honor,
and a strong commitment to the protection of the herd. They are also considered
a symbol of sexuality. The male mates with many females in his herd in order to
carry on his pedigree. It is said stags keep the balance of law and justice
within their herd. The female deer is associated with gentleness, sensitivity,
graceful beauty, innocence, and keen observation.”
“Yeah, nothing gets past the female of any species
apparently,” Bull joked. “I’ll tell ya, Cindy never misses a damn thing. The
Creator should have given the males ‘keen observation’ instead,” Bull continued
with a laugh. He knew he had crossed a line, when he saw the look of
disappointment mixed with disapproval on his father’s face.
“Sorry,” Bull apologized to his dad, while looking down at
the bar. Red looked from Mark to Jacob, speaking once more, “Because of their
well-developed senses, it is believed that deer can see through illusions and
guide the other forest animals in chaotic situations in nature. The Creator
mirrored everything in nature. Good and evil, male and female, it is found in
all that exists. For many years things remained in balance between our people
and nature.
For more from the story check out the “Oh, Deer” page on
this blog!
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