Wandering Stars

On Loother’s birthday, Orvil says a quick happy birthday then promptly shuts himself in his room. Lony and Loother watch Donnie Darko together. At one point, Lony rushes out of the room. He doesn’t want anyone to see the cuts he’s been making on himself, so he cuts himself on the side of the arm where he doesn’t think anyone will notice. He’s not cutting himself for the reasons other people do, he thinks. Instead, he’s cutting himself to “give back to the earth” and because something magical will happen if he continues to bury his blood.

Watching the movie, Loother nudges Lony, and Lony winces from the pain. Loother notices and pulls up Lony’s sleeve to see the cuts. He tells Opal Viola, and Opal Viola asks Lony to explain what he’s been doing. Lony says he’s been cutting himself for good reasons. Opal Viola says there’s no reason good enough to cut himself. Lony keeps saying that he’s sorry. He says he got the idea from Cheyenne people cutting themselves in the past and from the fact that the word “Cheyenne” comes from Cheyenne people being called “the cut people.” Opal Viola says she’s never heard any of that before. Lony says he’s been feeling overwhelmed from everything that happened, and he doesn’t want something like Orvil being shot to happen again. Opal Viola says, “There are things we can do to help that don’t require bloodshed.”

The next day, Lony digs in the hole where he buried his blood. He thinks he can feel something happening. He’s not sure what, but he keeps digging until he’s gotten about two feet down and feels tired. Loother comes out and asks what he’s doing. Lony answers by turning the conversation into a knock-knock joke, and he finishes the joke by saying, “Have you seen Native youth suicide rates?” Loother says that it’s a dark joke, and Lony says the world is dark. Loother asks if Lony is going to stop cutting himself, and Lony says he will. Jacquie then comes out and asks what they’re doing. They both say they aren’t doing anything. Lony says, “You have to trick yourself into believing.” Jacquie says he’s right and that that’s what she has to do to try and stay sober.

Jacquie and Opal Viola meet at the pound later to get Lony a dog. They choose a dog that seems to exude a sense of calm. When they bring the dog home, the dog seems to bestow a sense of peace on Lony. Lony names the dog Will. Things settle down at the house through Christmas, but a week after Christmas, Orvil leaves without telling anyone where he’s going. He leaves the front door open when he goes, and Will slips out the door too. No matter where they look, they can’t find Will, and no one knows where Orvil is either. At night, Lony is gone too, and Jacquie, Opal Viola, and Loother drive through the night shouting Lony and Will’s names. When they get back at 4:00 a.m., they find Lony in bed beside Will. The school calls the next week to say Orvil hasn’t been going.