Yet the story is simply and beautifully told as Waters leads both his character and his reader to an understanding of Martiniano s complex problems and to an understanding of what is needed for their resolution. In this work Waters successfully combines a mystical approach with the historical accuracy of real people, real time, and real place. The first of the following selections occurs shortly after Martiniano has killed the deer. A meeting of the Pueblo Council has been called to consider his action and its ramifications. In the second selection, we see Martiniano's ever-increasing conflicts beginning to affect his relationship with his wife, Flowers Playing, and Martiniano turning to his friend Palemon.
Nothing is simple and alone.
We are not separate and alone. Nothing that any of us does but affects us all. So I would have you look upon this thing not as a separate simple thing, but as a stone which is a star in the firmament of earth, as a ripple in a pool, as a kernel of corn. How far its influence may spread. So there is something else to consider.