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The Legend of the Crow Man |
| Synopsis |
| America – a different America than the one we know today. In the years after 1830, many of the Native American nations that were the rightful owners of the land retreat from the onslaught of the white settlers. In desperate hope of peace, they repeatedly evacuate their land in order to make space for the masses of newcomers moving in. In one such tribe is a young woman, „Shining Morning Sun", whom everyone just calls „Sunshine", because of her cheery and fascinating nature. Sunshine is different from the others – and it’s not only because of her fair hair and her strange green eyes that she is just THE sensation. Always curious, open, spontaneous, cheeky and fearless, she goes her own way, never taking the easy path. She is adored by her husband, the impressive young chief Blue-Eyed Dark Wolf, she is happy with her life among her family and friends, and she only wants what all the others also want – to be allowed to live in peace Her enthusiasm and affection for the feared, reclusive medicine man, Two Faces, is shared by only a few. His knowledge seems limitless. His ability to heal and to create things from what nature offers – that can either save lives or kill – have fascinated Sunshine since childhood. While others fear the dark, wise man, she constantly seeks his company. Two Faces capitulates in the face of such boundless affection, and takes Sunshine under his wing. Between these two very different personalities, a deep and very special friendship grows as the years pass. But peace is in danger. Spring has brought new ships from the other world, new people who claim more land and find shelter in the nearby fort. With them, a new commander has arrived. His coming generates a feeling of fear in Sunshine. The army threatens to clear the land on which the tribes of Dark Wolf and his father-figure friend Standing Bear live. Once again, the true owners of the land prove to be the wiser ones. Dark Wolf in particular knows the many stories of massacres of women and children. He will do anything in his power to save Sunshine and his people from that fate. Already as a child he promised her to protect her all her life – which has not been an easy task, what with Sunshine’s various daring adventures and her strange ideas. But now he finds it ever more difficult to keep his promise. So once again they give up their homeland and travel on. Sunshine is not unhappy about this, after she meets the new commander during her last visit in the fort of the Whites. His ice-cold eyes seem to pierce her and penetrate deep into her soul. Many days’ ride from their village, they find a new home. It is cooler, rougher and wilder here, but Sunshine enjoys the new surroundings. Finally, she has lost her feeling of fear, the feeling as if something is burning a hole in her back. That summer, Dark Wolf and Sunshine are allowed to be once again what they are meant to be: young, happy, and wonderfully in love. As fall approaches, not only does the weather become cooler, but the fear returns. They discover traces that indicate that they are being watched again. The wild wolves, whose lives were once saved by Sunshine’s people, are now warning them again: You are no longer alone. Two Faces teaches Sunshine a lot of new things. He teaches her how to survive, but also how to kill. Everyone is uneasy as they watch out for the new threat, but they are powerless. They are not allowed to attack – they know all too well that it would mean death for them all. Winter brings snow and frost over the land. Sunshine hates the winter, just as much as she hates the sudden sick feeling in her body. Two Faces gently explains to her that this feeling will last a while. Sunshine is pregnant! Dark Wolf is overjoyed. He regards the child that his wife is carrying as the beacon of hope for their whole nation. Where there is new life, there must also be a future. The gods could surely not be so cruel, could they? On an icy winter morning, they are wakened by gunfire. Dark Wolf’s hope dies in the hail of bullets. But in order to save Sunshine, he sends her to the wintry mountains, where nature offers her some protection. But she makes a fatal mistake. Sunshine dies, hunted to death by a man who sees in her the most desirable hunting prey in his life. She dies in Dark Wolf’s arms. He pledges two oaths: He will exact cruel revenge on her murderer; and he will find her again, no matter when, no matter where, no matter how. The great, cool-headed chief turns into a deadly avenging angel. A human being’s spirit may be strong – Sunshine’s spirit has always been strong, very strong! Is she really dead? Who saved Two Faces from sure death? How could the medicine man survive his horrible wounds? How did he manage to walk through ice and snow to the village of Standing Bear? Who is this big strange crow that never leaves his side and that he apparently loves more than his own life? Two Faces remains silent. With the help of the crow and the unfathomable divinations of Two Faces, Standing Bear manages to survive the winter. The scout in the lofty heights proves very useful! In the meantime, the murderers in uniform take over the destroyed village – nobody else wanted this land. Cursed land, the Indians call it. Even the settlers feel a dark threat. They fear the „demon of the mountains", a demon created by their own hand. Night after night, Two Faces’ dreams become darker and more cruel – he has a foreboding of what will happen, but he cannot and will not prevent it from happening. In one single night, those who committed murder without reason, die. Sunshine’s death is avenged bitterly and bloodily. Dark Wolf has fulfilled his oath – the ice-cold eyes are forever extinguished. Two Faces and his crow begin a new race against time. They begin the fight for the life of their new nation. Help comes from a completely unexpected direction. It is the kind of help that builds bridges, that can sometimes turn enemies into friends. Years later, when Two Faces feels his end coming, he goes back into the mountains to Sunshine’s grave. It is only here, where Dark Wolf once buried his young wife, that he wants to await his own death. His crow has never left his side, and only when it is sure that it will never hear his voice again, when it is sure that the proud medicine man is dead, does it set off into the sky, after looking at him for one last time, its green eyes now searching for the endless horizon. Germany, March 1965 A crying child sits on the floor of a cold, empty kitchen, sadly and anxiously listening to the silence of the house. The little girl is full of fear and doubt. Is it true that she has killed her father? Is she really that bad? She loved her father so much, how can she be guilty of his death? Fear and desperation spread like poison through her tiny body. Suddenly, a great shadow appears from the emerging twilight, slowly approaching the girl. She knows what fear feels like, but she now feels none. When she takes a closer look, she recognizes a big man with long black hair. The stranger gently bends down to her, and then she hears his voice, a voice she couldn’t possibly have heard before, yet sounds so familiar: „Don’t cry, please don’t cry little Sunshine". Copyright: „The Legend of the Crow Man" by Gabriele Ketterl 2010 |