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Author’s Note: This is a work of fiction, based on documented historical events including The Battle of the Little Bighorn, The Vision of Sitting Bull, and the deployment of the Fifth Regiment from Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1876 to the Montana Territory in the wake of Custer’s defeat. It is also a RÚN, or rune, an offering of reconciliation.
Copyright © Rún: Soldier and Shaman May 28, 2024. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 10
RÚN - Vancouver, October 2015
When the ringing in her ears pitched a certain way, Kate knew her great-grandfather was asking for another conversation.
On this dark and overcast Saturday a cold rain plunked steadily across her windshield as she navigated the drenched city, running errands.
The ringing began in the grocery store, and she knew it would continue until she could sit down with her journal, but it would have to wait; because she wouldn’t be home for hours.
“Hold on,” she whispered to him. “I hear you, but it’s going to be a while.”
The ringing diminished a little. She smiled, knowing he understood.
Later that afternoon, groceries put away, she brewed a pot of tea. Then she poured out two cups, one for her and one for Patrick, before reaching for her journal. Relaxing, sipping slowly, she allowed herself to lean into the ringing in her ears that had begun to intensify the moment she got home.
A question had been burning for her, from the moment he had told her about the way his wife had explained the Shelley curse on his wedding night. She was struck by the way of the two of them, Patrick and Catherine, seemed to feel it was important to ‘get the measure’ of each other.’ It all seemed incredibly unromantic.
“Are you saying you never loved your wife?” she asked him, writing the question in her journal.
“I’m saying I never wanted a wife at all,” he replied.
