Casual like a hand on your hip their right hands rested on their shiny Colts.
Surrounding the camp they squeezed in and the fire played shadows behind.
An old man with paint on his face just sat there. Was he asleep?
“Come on in boys. Coffee’s on.”
Their eyebrows played catch with question marks.
Bacon curling in a pan tasted his nose and the first boy was off his horse.
Boy Two shrugged and put leather on the ground.
“Where y’all headed?”
“We’re headed west to find…”
“Just passin’ through.” The third one cut in and daggered Boy One with his eyes.
“Thanks for sharing sups and your coffee.”
“Where do you come from, sir?”
The old man produced a few sticks from under his robe and fed the embers.
“I was born under this sky.”
They tossed more eyebrows.
“We’re headed west to find places of our own.” The first boy said.
He ducked as a mesquite bean flew for his head.
“Your friend is wise.” The old man said to Boy One.
“What you don’t speak about can’t hurt you.”
“Your friend is also wise.” The old man said to Boy Three.
“What you don’t speak about can’t help you.”
“Yeah that’s right! So we’re headed west to find places of our own. Have you ever had a place of your own? We all have different ideas about what makes a good place. I think a place should have a nice lake and a meadow. He thinks a hill for the house is most important and Tight Lips over there won’t say what he thinks, believe it or not.”
“So have you… have you ever had a place of your own?” The second one said.
The old man’s eyes went bluer as a mist rolled in.
“I mean, a lake just makes sense. And good grass for the beeves. An then there’s the view…”
All the crickets and a coyote wearing a coat of moonlight wondered how the rambling boy managed to speak without breaks for breathing.
“What do you think, sir?” The third one said.
More sticks.
“You sure you want to know what I think?”
Nodding.
“Truly, all you need is a spring.”
Eyebrows.
“A spring with living water. You can go the distance there.”
“Ha! Come on, I mean springs are great, yeah, but for all the other stuff everybody likes different things, right? You got to pick a place that really fits you.”
“Times change. People change. Even land changes. Pick a place where the water goes deep and you’ll laugh through the dry spells.”
The moon-coated coyote filled up the silence, for a while.
“I’ve passed a few places with springs, I know they weren’t right. How do
I know when I find the right one?” Boy Two said.
“The Great Spirit will tell you. She will still everything.” His eyes were closed again.
The first boy touched his temple and twirled his finger.
“Yes, I am crazy.” The old man said without opening his eyes.
“Crazy enough to have found my own place.
“Crazy enough to be happy, even.
“Crazy enough to be loving life to death.”
Then he tested the boys with his gaze.
“Are you crazy enough?”
