I Am Julia Nez

 

 The Badlands outside of Joseph City, Arizona.

            Remember me? That girl with the Golden Frog?
            I should probably explain a little. But where to start?
My beginning? Alright. But to back up a little, my mother and father are Beth and Jesse Nez. That’s right. Dad is a Navajo, a member of the Dine’. My mother is a white lady of mixed ancestry, including some “war whoop” from way back.
            They tell me that I was born during a terrific rain storm. There was so much rain that the road flooded and the doctor couldn’t get out to the house to assist. Therefore, my great aunt Julia Chee did the honors, with my dad standing by and helping. I am an only child. In fact, they were totally surprised when I came along.
            My Aunt Julia and I were very close, while she was alive. Now, that’s another interesting point. Julia Chee had a way of disappearing and reappearing. The last time, no body was ever found. It remains a mystery where she is. I have theories. Things have a way of being dreamlike here, the only place I have ever lived.
            I have the earrings her John gave her, and her name. They used to call me Emmy, so we didn’t get mixed up in conversation. My middle name is Marie.
            I am a Namer, and a Caller. These touch the root of reality. It is a gift.
            I named the Golden Frog, and a largish gold nugget became my confidant. I am too young to remember the time when he was found, but they tell me he came from my great uncle John’s little mine up the hill here. You probably know the story better than I do, how the Long Horn bull, thrashing his horns about, dislodged the nugget from the wall.
            Dad and mom didn’t sell it in town. Dad gave it to me to play with.
            Golden Frog has never lied. He is a straight as daylight and just as revealing. I talk to him, to figure things out, and he always helps me do that.
            Then there was the night I met the great cat who was my aunt’s friend. I named her too and she was pleased. Dina. If you could imagine the sky purring, that’s how enfolding her contentment was.
            I left the local public school at 15. Homeschool is legal in Arizona. I am 16 now and still reading and writing and I can do math. I sure don’t miss the bother and business of school. Freedom is a wonderful thing.
            I often wondered as I was growing up why we lived out here on the Reservation. The story came out gradually. It was hard to believe. Why would some dark power be threatened by my mom? She didn’t seem like the type. Maybe that was her super power, looking harmless.
            We have always lived out here more or less off the grid. Oh, some of the people in Joseph City knew mom and dad were here, but Indians don’t generally spill the beans. We are chary of too much talk. And here I am talking, but you guys already know the score. So, it’s OK.
            I feel like we are friends.
            I am not as tall as my mother. Mom is a biggish girl. I am darker than she is, like dad. I have curly black hair and brown eyes. I stand about 5’6” tall, and I am skinny like my dad is. My parents say I am pretty, but parents always say that.

THE MIDDLE

 ________________________

            “The Seer is young. She sees herself as a Namer. That’s fair,” said Dina, benevolently.
            “It comes from lack of experience,” said the other.
            “Caller, Namer, Seer, are all of a piece,” said Dina. “I like the child very well.”
            “That much is obvious,” said her friend. “You have a new Julia.”
            “We shall see,” said Dina, the Great Cat herself, “how well she lives in two worlds!”

___________________________ 

 

 I thought everybody was like this!

 
            They are not! When I was little it felt like they were kidding me. Like they heard part of what was said or saw part of what they were looking at. It confused me.
            At school I imagined that the other kids and the teachers wore hoods or blinders.
            I knew the secret intentions of hearts. That is why I was so happy staying home with my parents and my beloved auntie. Golden Frog could see all of that too, so we had a lot to talk about if we met a new person.
            One day, when my parents had gone to Joseph City for shopping, there was a knock on the door. I put my book down, taking note of the page number, and I thought about whether I should answer the knock.
            I was not afraid.
            “What do you think?” I asked Golden Frog.

💚🐸💚