Ghosts of the Abyss

## **Warning**

This story contains elements of death, grief, and ghosts. if these make you uncomfortable, please go to another story.

Also, I am not Navajo so if you see any inaccuracies, please tell me

This story also contains words from the Navajo language, so a translator of all the words in this story is provided.

## key/translator

**Abizhi**=Uncle

**Anali**=Grandmother

**shima yazhi**=aunt

**ataa**=father

**Na'nilkaadi**=shepherd

**Aoo**=yes

**Acheii**=Grandfather

**hataalii=**medicine man

## prologue

*Why? Why did this have to happen?*

Adriel stared at his grandmother's coffin. *It isn't real. Not her. Not Anali!* His grandmother had died a few days before of Alzheimer's, laying on her bed at her hogan as her family gathered around. Some were crying, others were mumbling. Adriel was one of the people mumbling "This isn't fair," he said.

His abizhi, Ashkii, his brother, Sani, their ataa, and he led the mourners in bathing Anali's corpse and dressing it in fine clothes. Adriel almost reached out to touch her body but remembered what his mother had told him: "You must never touch a dead person's body, or you may die yourself." He took a cup of ash and spread it over Anali's body to protect it from evil spirits. Suddenly, he heard a voice in his mind..

## chapter one

"Adriel, get out here! I need you to take care of the sheep while your brother and I go hunting," Ataa called. I got up out of my bed and put on my clothes and moccasins. Today it was my day to tend the sheep. As I stepped outside, my father threw a stick at me and said, "Eh-ho-jay!"

*Give me a chance,* I thought. "Na'nilkaadi today?" my mother asked, passing me as she set the table for breakfast.

"Aoo," I replied.

"Good. You had better get to it, then," she said. I nodded again and went out to tend the sheep when my sister, Aiyana, ran up to me.

"Adriel! Look what I found!" she screeched in my ear, holding up a red flower.

"It's cool," I said, trying to sound convincing. "Can I take a closer look?" She nodded and placed the flower in my hands. I looked closer. *Weird. It's the same kind of flower that Anali liked.* "Where'd you get this from?"

"From Anali's garden-Oh, wait, I forgot that we're not supposed to talk about her,"

I put my hand on her shoulder. "It's okay as long as you don't speak about her too much." Our parents had taught them that speaking about the dead brought misfortune, and I certainly didn't want that in my family. After all, Anali had died not too soon after Acheii had died. She spoke about him too much and look where that had gotten her! Jerked from my thoughts, I could hear the sheep baaing. "Oops. Gotta go shepherd. Sorry, Aiyana!" I ran off towards a sheep that was running away.

"Jace!" I called, running after the sheep. The sheep's name was Jace, and he was a big rebel. He would always run away, and sometimes Ataa would have to call a bunch of other men from the band just to help him catch him. I really hoped I wouldn't have to do that.

Thankfully, I was able to catch the sheep, but when I had caught him he had skidded into Anali's garden.

Her house used to be there, but my father and his brothers had burnt it down according to tradition. Now I studied the remains. Her garden was there, protected endlessly by the small rushing river that separated the house and her garden. When my abizhi and my father had burnt down her house, they couldn't get to the garden because there was no way to get across it while holding fire, and there wasn't a way to get around it, so they just left it there.

Scouring the garden, I noticed a small red flower among the other white and pink ones. Bending down, I picked it up, studying its petals and leaves. *What a pretty flower,* I thought. *Maybe I'll take it home.* *No! If I did, Anali's chindi might hurt me!* Ignoring these thoughts, I stuffed it into my clothes and headed back towards the flock to eat my lunch of goat meat that my mother had cooked, yucca from the plant near my house, and berries. *Mmm.* My mouth watered just thinking about it.

## chapter two

As I headed back to the flock, my brother ran up to me, panting. "There's-there's a problem back home," said Sani. "Ataa sent me to tell you about it. It's horrible! Both Shima Yazhi *and* Abizhi have both fallen sick and might die! Our hataalii thinks it's because they helped move some of the furniture from Anali's home, and her *chindi* is haunting them!"

*No! We can't have more deaths so soon!* "When did this happen?" I asked angrily.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Sani added, "Yesterday, but we weren't told until our cousin Kai came over just now with the message. Come home now!" He started sprinting.

"Wait!" I called after him. When he turned around, I said, "Give yourself a moment to breathe. We can go and see Kai later."