The return

Chapter 4

The next morning Joy got up very nervous: she was happy with the day she would spend with her new friends, but she was also afraid of doing something wrong with Buck.

She put on a simple hazelnut dress, gathered her hair into a half ponytail and after preparing some biscuits and buns, she went to the function. There she met Rachel, Teaspoon and Jesse who had been forced by the woman to attend the sermon.

When they went out, they found the boys with their horses and buggy ready. Lou took Joy's basket and added it to the others and after Joy and Rachel got into the buggy they set off for the river.

On the way they chatted animatedly and teased Jesse that he had fallen asleep in church and Rachel had good-naturedly scolded him.

Once they arrived at the river, the girls spread out the blankets and arranged the baskets with food and drink, while the boys relaxed, some in the sun and some in the shade of the trees. Cody and Jimmy ventured into the river challenging themselves to see who could throw the furthest stones, while Jesse even took a dip in the cool waters.

The morning passed pleasantly and at lunch time they all gathered on the blankets. Buck was left next to Joy again. Like the night before, they exchanged only pleasantries. Joy was very frustrated and by now she thought she would never be able to change Buck's opinion about her.

After lunch, the boys and Teaspoon rested, Lou and Rachel went for a walk, while Joy, who wasn't much of a walker, decided to read a book she had just bought from Thompkins about religious ceremonies of the natives and while she was reading the ritual of the dance of the sun, with the detailed explanation of the suffering that the volunteers inflicted on themselves in this rite, she made funny and sometimes incredulous faces, so much so that Buck, who was pretending to sleep but was peering closely, he could not resist approaching.

Buck was still wary of this foreign girl who said she was passionate about his culture. He had already had bad experiences with people who were prejudiced against his people and he was not willing to suffer any more. However, there was something in that girl that attracted him and pushed him to go over his defenses. He tried not to trust her as much as the others did, but he was starting to think that maybe this time he was wrong and that Joy was really a good and honest girl as Rachel often told him. He decided to keep his positions for now but convinced himself to try to get to know her a little more little by little. He had noticed that Joy hadn't joined Rachel and Lou's walk and that she had been leaning against a tree reading a book and he was intrigued both about the subject and about the strange faces the girl was making as she read. He decided to try a shy approach, without letting go too much.

He joined her on the blanket and asked: "What is it about this book that makes you make such weird faces?"

Joy, who out of the corner of her eye had seen him approaching her, very tense and embarrassed, blushed and replied: "Well, I'm reading the description of the sun dance ritual and I am amazed to learn of the suffering these men voluntarily inflict on themselves . I don't know whether to admire them or pity them."

Buck looked at her curiously but also tenderly and felt almost compelled to explain. He sat down next to her and tried to explain to her the reasons that prompted these men to undergo the ritual, emphasizing their customs and beliefs. Joy listened to him fascinated and sometimes interrupted him with questions about matters she was struggling to understand. Buck explained them to her with patience and passion.

"Thanks Buck, your explanations have been very helpful to me. This is what I would like to do, to fully understand the thinking of these great men of the past and of today and perhaps with your help it would be much easier".