week 7 story: Nathan's Wife

A man, Nathan, lived a wonderful life. He had three beautiful wives, a house big enough for all of them, and lots of happiness. But Nathan knew better than to get comfortable because although he had been with these three wifes for several years, he still doubted their devotion to him. He set out on a mission that was going to force the wifes to prove themselves to him. 

Each of the three wifes had a special gift bestowed upon them at birth. The first, Sadie the Spiritual was a dreamer. The second, Willow the Wise, was an all-knowing guide. The third, Inez the Immortal, could bring anything back from the dead.

Nathan had to provide food for his wives and luckily for him he was an excellent hunter. 

On the first day, Nathan brought back a hefty pig for the wives. They ate every piece of meat but they were still hungry. 

On the second day, Nathan tracked down a large gorilla and brought him for the three wives. They were satisfied for only a day and then stated they were hungry again. 

On the third day, Nathan decided to try to hunt something he had never tried to before. He was going after an ox. He followed tracks down through a valley and over a hill until he reach a field full of ox. Tired and hungry, Nathan sat down under a tree to catch his breath before going after an ox. As he was laying there, he became frustrated with his wives. Here he was, busting his butt to provide for them but yet they were still unappreciative. Knowing that Sadie would be able to sense his fear and trouble, he began to plot. 

Instead of returning home with an ox, he would create an accident that forced his wives to believe he has in danger. He gathered up his things, stood up, and took off towards the herd of ox. 

Later that evening, the three wives were still very hungry but became worried about their delayed husband. 

"Doesn't he know that we're waiting on him?" shouted Inez.

"Doesn't he know that we're starving?" whined Willow.

"Doesn't he care?" whispered Sadie. 

The three went to bed, hungry, for the first time in a while. When they awoke for breakfast Sadie had troubling news to share. 

"I believe something terrible has happened to our Nathan and we must go after him. I saw him in a field with an ox, I saw him run up to an ox, and then nothing. I believe something happened and Nathan needs us." Sadie told the others.

Both Willow and Inez agreed without hesitation and they set out on their journey. Willow led them through the same valley and up the same hill as Nathan and they finally saw the field. There, in the middle, was a Nathan-shaped bump on the ground. The three ran over to him and were thrilled when they discovered that he was still breathing. But no matter what they did, he would not open his eyes or move a muscle. 

Willow suggested, "Why don't we each take a turn privately with him and see who can wake him."

The others agreed this was the most logical idea and moved back to give Willow some space. 

Willow, being the most level headed and driven, decided that a simple approach would best fit this job. She started out by pushing on his chest, listening to his heart, and checking his reflexes. Everything seemed in order, so why wasn't he waking up? Willow stood up, shrugged, and walked to where the others were standing. 

Inez decided it was her turn next. 

"Don't worry, I'll have him back in no time!" Inez proudly shouted. She mocked how simple Willow had acted and she decided that a more aggressive approach had to be taken. She dragged his limp body across the field to a stream. The stream came from the tallest mountain so it was sure to be chilly enough to startle him awake. She began by dipping just his toes in, but no response. She pushed his calves into the water but still no response. Growing impatient, she decided to push his whole body into the icy stream but, unconscious Nathan gave no response. Inez returned his body to the field and walked back to the others. 

Sadie was nervous for her turn as both of her sister wives had failed. She slowly walked over to Nathan and being so emotionally involved, immediately broke down next to him. She laid her head on his chest and sobbed, "Please wake up Nathan. Please come back!" She remained in this position for several minutes all the while begging him to come back to her and telling him how much she loved him. 

All at once, both of Nathan's arms wrapped Sadie in a genuine embrace. He had found the one who truly loved him! 

Nathan and Sadie returned to the village and she became his only wife. 

                    The Meadow where Nathan found his one love. Source:
"Meadows near Columbia River" by palestrina55 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Bibliography
How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life. Notes on the Folklore of the Jfort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898). 

Author's Note
I really liked the idea of each of the original wives having a different fetish/charm/power. In the original story, the husband is asked to retrieve food for the wives, but I figured he would get fed up with this eventually. So I have the husband, Nathan, stage an accident that so that his wife, Sadie, would dream about it and come help. Nathan only wanted to be loved and not taken advantages of so I wanted that realization to very sweet and soft. Sadie is based off of Ndoza'ntu the Dreamer. Willow is based off of Songa'nzila the Guide. And Inez is based off of Fulla Fulla the Raiser of the Dead. In the original story, Inez is the one that brought him back to life but I didn't like how obvious that was in my retelling.