They had their backpacks, even Gerald, who wore a cell-pouch as a back pack, as they entered the space-trade sky-town called hotel of Young Chief Hyatt. Three-River’s backpack was entirely filled with the wares of Melted Bead, which had cost his disciple Eddie 300 CherryTreeKiller Ancestor trade notes. He wanted to bless each and every town of Mother Earth with a totem bead melter and a supply of beads and tea lights for sacred usage. Gerald’s backpack was filled with his cocaine, which he said he would only snort before battles and during sacred ceremonies. T.T.’s very large backpack contained the makings of their shelter called tent, as well as blankets, and the very handy gourds called canteens strapped to the pack in their own little packs. Eddie’s backpack contained their food; all non-animal food for Tree-eaters approved by Three-Rivers, primarily nuts, apples, breads, pretzels, and circus peanuts.

All eyes turned toward them as they approached the matron at the counter. Three-Rivers had already made it clear to Eddie what type of space-trade they would require for the building of his thunder-medicine. Eddie counted out many of his bills to the matron while Gerald hid in Three-Rivers’ pack.

They made their way up to the penthouse in the elevator. This space-trade was even nicer than the one that Mother had used in the Town of Hawk-nosed Men. Eddie attended T.T.’s wounds right away while Three-Rivers groomed Gerald with tweezers, and bathed him in bad-medicine in order to remove all fleas.

After dinner and drinks Three-Rivers called his disciples around the case of Holy Robinson and produced the hoop that was Thunderer’s Third Dream-Catcher. He raised it high as he stood on the bed. “Men and squirrels by this thunder-hoop we shall journey to Mother Earth. Will you accompany me?”

Eddie said excitedly, “I’m in son; all up for it.”

T.T. spoke more cryptically. “Why not, Mamma’s going to have them pull the plug any time now. What the heck.”

Gerald just belched.

It took some coaxing for Gerald to submit to having the surgery during which Eddie threaded the glowing key ring around his waist. The squirrel was fortunately so drunk that he did not feel a thing. Also, the capacitator keys had antibiotic and anti-rejection properties according to Eddie, which he assured them made infection impossible.

Keying people to travel with the hoop had to be done while the hoop was activated and the person was in contact with it, preferably holding it. This Three-Rivers and Eddie knew would inform Mother of their location.

Now that the new thunder-riders had been bound to the thunder-hoop, Three-Rivers bid them lay down on the great bed while Eddie stood and clapped in time to his thunder-dance. He placed the activated hoop around his waist, looked out the vast window into the dark moonlit sky and began to dance. As he danced and leaped, and flipped, and did the springing-off-of-the-butt-into-a-back-flip trick he could feel the thunder. The air about him whooped and hummed and crackled as he bounded higher while spinning only to come back to his feet on the springy bed with his praying hands held high. There were no words to this dance. It was his silent walk with Thunderer, whose number slithered slowly by like a snake at the back of his mind’s eye as the numbers of he, Eddie, T.T., Gerald, Bruco, Angh, Healer, Doe-Eye, Thrush, Pentay and Little Feet flitted around like doves trailing stardust…

He woke looking up into the startled eyes of his disciples, even as it felt like his own eyes were cooling off after being burned. The bedspread had been singed and Gerald was sober. T.T. stood him up and Eddie said, “Mammy ‘ill be on our asses now son. Let’s roll.”

Three-Rivers was suddenly worried about safely storing the hoop and pulled it off over his head, deactivated it and placed it into his case. After shutting the case and brushing his hands together in the Sunset ritual of a-thing-well-done he turned to look at the rest. The three of them, from tiny Gerald to giant T.T. were just standing there looking at him; at his waist and hips and belly. This confused him as he was uninjured, and in fact had never felt better.

“Yo, whuz up Eddie?”

Eddie pointed to the full length mirror across from the big window and walked over in front of it, motioning for Three-Rivers to do the same. As he walked to the mirror with Gerald to his left and T.T. behind him Eddie was beside himself. “This is a sign yo, a sign, a good sign.”

He walked up next to Eddie and looked into the mirror. His jacket, shirt and vest were off. He was wearing the slacks, shoulder straps and wife-beater only. Three-Rivers had spent very little time in front of these depressing devices that Mother feared so much. For his body was bent and twisted, his eyes one brown one green, and he was thin and frail.

But the boy he saw in the mirror today had the two perfect snow and sky-colored eyes of the Wolves of Winter.

The most startling change in his appearance was the straightening of his back. His hip no longer tilted painfully to one side, stomaching bulging low to the other. He was no longer hunched and twisted. He stood straight and even; a good four feet tall!

Thank you Father, and you Thunderer—I shall be your Thunder-Boy!

T.T. was pinching himself and whistling behind him. Eddie was beaming with pride. Only Gerald had anything to say. “Why’d ya go en do dat fo boy? Ya loog like a goddamn Porto Rican now!”

“I will judge that a compliment Gerald.”

He then switched to English. “Eddie, I must thunder-dance more often. T.T. my mother would have seen this with her own hoop. We must rock called roll. I will load up the soaps and shampoos. I should think some matrons on Mother Earth would treasure those nice white drying blankets. See if you can stuff some into your pack please. Where are we headed Eddie?”

“To D.C. son. That will bring us back their way. They won’t expect dat. Besides, I got to take care of something before we jet.”

As usual, Gerald Hicks had to have the last word. “Ey boy, dis lille hoop you done inserted aroun’ ma wais’, it ain’t gonna make me loog like some goddamn Porto Rican squirrel is it?”

“I do not know my honorable companion. But if it should make you look as you say ‘Porto Rican’ I shall remain your friend none-the-less.”

“Tank ya boy, tank ya.”

While doing one last check of the room for valuables, Three-Rivers came across the book of Heysuse Christos and his ancestors called The Bible copied for Chief King James. He placed this treasure within the case of Holy Robinson along with the Book of Leonardo and the thunder-hoop. He wished also to take a pillow but it could not be made to fit. Before he could devise a method for taking some of these nice pillows T.T. was hurrying him out of the room as Eddie led the way and Gerald clung onto the young man’s backpack, calling behind him to Three-Rivers, “Sorry boy—a much betta view from up ‘ere.”

Banish the sorrow that you can before returning.

Yes Father, I shall do it. Sorrow has a slim chance of victory with Thunder-Boy on the loose.

They descended the looking-out-through-the-glass elevator on their way to the lobby. Despite his yearning for Mother Earth and his many criticisms of the Sunset World, he could not but think how beautiful Sunset was at night, with the lights of countless sky-houses twinkling beneath the starry sky even as the thunderbirds far overhead passed by like souls treading the Starlit Path…

It is a wonder, and you have seen it Thunder-Boy. And as soon as you return to Mother Earth you shall miss this sorrowful yet brightly lit world, just as Bluebird misses your Mother Earth.

Oh, and yes Mother, by all means, take a picture.