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understand your culture, has the potential to be as disastrous as if you tried marrying a
woman.
 Nobody s talking marriage, Chuck mumbled.
 Oh, and what were you going to do? Take him to Seattle, dump him on the shelter
lawn and say  so long, kiddo ? Or were you planning to keep him with you until it went
sour and then abandon him in a city he doesn t know?
Seven slipped back down the hall and ran himself a shower. He felt very uneasy
now. He would never let Chuck know he d overheard, but he did wonder what the
plan was.
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Glad Hands
 Morning, babe, Chuck greeted him, lifting his coffee cup as Seven walked into the
kitchen a while later. He looked over the top of the Gazette.  There are some pancakes in
the oven.
Seven got his breakfast and sat next to Chuck.  I had a weird dream. Kind of scary.
 Yeah? I got a visit from Grandmother Owl. She comes to me sometimes.
Seven told him about the snake.  It was weird, because I knew I should be scared, a
snake and all, but I wasn t. Snakes are evil. And since it was you, it means you re
tempting me to evil. And I don t want to think that.
Chuck sipped his coffee.  Are you so sure about that?
 Uh-huh. Snakes are cursed. They lost their legs for tempting humanity. Seven
shuddered, horrified to hear his religious baggage coming out of his mouth.  Oh crap.
Religion getting me again.
 I think Mother Vivian would be better to talk to on that point. You game? Chuck
asked, washing out his cup.
Remembering what he d heard about the minister and her wife, Seven nodded.
 Yeah.
 Mother Vivian doesn t walk the old paths, but she has a good working knowledge
and respects the old ways. And I need to see her anyway.
Chuck made a phone call as they walked to the bus stop. They caught the bus to St.
Andrew s, Seven getting a little nervous on the ride, and Chuck greeted the pregnant
lady at the secretary s desk. Her copper skin glowed and her green eyes smiled as much
as her mouth when she saw them.
 Congratulations, Hannah. When are you due?
 March. It s a girl. Good to see you, Chuck. You gotta get home more often.
Hannah smiled.  Viv s waiting.
 Thanks. Chuck led the way into the priest s office. Seven clutched his hand, having
sat through more than one lecture in a room like this. To his surprise, Mother Vivian, a
completely average-looking lady, smiled up at them as they entered the book-lined
room. Her brown ponytail bounced as she looked up over her half-moon glasses from
the paper she was writing. A framed picture of her and the secretary, kissing under a
rose arbor, sat on the desk. Seven swallowed hard.
 Chuck, what a nice surprise. She took off her glasses.  Have a seat, gentlemen.
Chuck sat down.  Hello, Mother. This is Seven. We re having theological questions.
 Nice to meet you, Seven. She nodded his direction.  Questions are what I m for. I
don t guarantee answers, though. She smiled.
 Nice to meet you, ma am. Seven decided he liked Mother Vivian. Most preachers
seemed to think they had all the answers to everything.
 So tell me about the questions.
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Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks
Seven told her about the dream, the snake and the pattern and all of it.  But I wasn t
afraid& and I don t even like snakes. They re cursed.
Mother Vivian nodded.  What you had, Seven, is what Chuck s faith tradition calls
a Spirit Dream. The snake is only a symbol. And none of God s creatures are cursed.
God made them all and pronounced them good, remember?
 So it s not bad? Seven felt more relieved now.
 Not at all. In most traditions, the snake is a symbol of wisdom, and oddly enough,
female wisdom. Which is why, when they wrote Genesis, the patriarchs felt the need to
denigrate it. They wanted their wisdom heard, not that of the other religions, and
especially not that of the priestesses who talked to snakes.
Seven looked at her, horrified that a minister would not think Genesis descended
from the mouth of God to the pen of Moses. He was shocked to think it had been [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]