The Inuit woman from Barrow, Alaska, stops by for a social call and lets us know what is up with her. Like all my characters, she has her good times and not so good times; and she wanted to share them in this writing.
Hello! This is Sikik Grace Eegeesiak writing!
I am at my house, writing on the computer while I am waiting for the clothes to finish drying. I washed Mother's, Father's, and my clothes, and I am just waiting for them to dry. Doing laundry takes a lot of time, and I wanted to kill some time.
It is nearly summer here in Alaska, and the days are getting longer all the time. It is confusing for those who aren't used to the daylight that seems to go on without end, but as for me and my family, we are used to it. We are Inuit, and long days during the summer are quite common here in the Arctic Circle. Same goes for winter: the days are short, short, and for several months it is as though one will never see the light of the sun again because it is always dark, and it can mess with people's minds if they aren't used to it. But such as life here in the Arctic; it is normal to us, and we just learn to take it in stride.
The snows are melting, and the auroras have since about left; their season is about over, and pretty soon we won't see her dance until fall or winter. I always miss the auroras when they aren't around; they always make me so happy, and I always enjoy thinking of my dead relatives and how they are keeping watch over me and my family here on Earth. I also enjoy the auroras because whenever I see them, I sing and dance, and I always feel so happy and alive!
Mother is doing okay; not great, but okay. She just got over pneumonia, and she was in the hospital for a week and a half, and she is still weakened, and it is hard to try to get her to eat. She isn't very hungry, and it worries me. Father is in much better health, but he doesn't get around as well as he used to, and now he has taken to using a cane when he walks. I am so scared that he will fall and break a leg or a hip! He thinks he can move fast when he is on his cane, but he isn't very steady on his feet, and he tends to lose his balance, especially when he first gets up! I also think he may happen to have an inner ear problem because he gets dizzy, and it worries me to no end!
My sisters are all well, but all are busy with their own lives; so I don't see them as much as I would like. Same goes with my brothers; but Kipanik did break his finger when he was repairing his sleds; and he pinched it somehow, and he broke it. And Lootevek (called Tevi for short) shattered his leg when he was running through the woods and fell down a cliff; and now he is laid up at his home, pins and metal bars holding his shattered leg together. It really looks nasty, and whenever I see his legs, I always think I am going to throw up from the sight of it!
My cousin, Tanana, whom I haven't heard from in a long time, called me the other day; and she told me some sad news. Her daughter, Evie, died when she came down with meningitis; she was just six years old, and at the news, I cried. I loved little Evie like a daughter, and she was always such a cheerful, happy child with a sunny way about her, and she enjoyed life even though she was handicapped. I don't know the exact nature of her handicap, but she was in a wheelchair, and she couldn't walk; and she needed a lot of help with a lot of things. I will miss little Evie with all my heart and soul, and now, as I write about her, my own eyes fill at the thought of her; she is now One with the Night Rainbow, and now her spirits are in the Lights; and she will no doubt enjoy her time with her relatives that have gone on before her; and she will now be able to walk and run and talk, things she couldn't do here while on earth!
I heard that Jenna Aurora Whitson had visitors; she and I met while I was in Anchorage, and she was a very sweet lady. She has had a lot of tragedy in her life, and she is still coping with her hand and leg, which are now in pretty bad shape; and she is in a wheelchair. She is embarrassed because she is deaf anyway, and she feels that she is of no use to anyone, and she is having problems with people looking at her or making comments. She had visitors at her place from Tennessee, and the visitors were a man, his wife, and their two children; and they stayed with Jenna and her fiance', Michael, for five days. Now the visitors from Tennessee have gone back home, and Jenna seems to be having a rough time. She is always depressed, and when she writes to me, all she writes about is how bad she feels, and I am worried that she will commit suicide.
I pray that doesn't happen!
Whoops! The dryer has gone off; the clothes are done! I shall go and fold them, and I will then check in on Mother and Father; and I will be back! I will write later!
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Hello! This is Sikik Grace Eegeesiak writing!
