Falcon's Accident

“You are very brave, and you can endure this; I trust that you can.”

Falcon opens his eyes and feels like he may vomit. Paints has always been kind to him, but she has never told him he is brave.

“I’m sorry, Paints; I shouldn’t have climbed so high.”

“You made a grave mistake, Falcon, and you will pay for it. This leg will hinder you for a long time. The pain and inconvenience will teach you many lessons. We all make choices, but unwise ones cost us, spiritually and physically. They can cost us our lives. If you had lost much more blood, this mistake would have taken your life. No choice is independent from us; all attach to our spirits and to our bodies. They become threads of the fabric of our being; they weave within us and define us. Our wise decisions enrich us, our unwise decisions subtract from our freedom by imprisoning our spirits and by weakening our bodies. Understand this and you will learn a valuable lesson. Your heart was pure when you made this choice; you were trying to honor our elders and us. I do not condone what you did; because the risks were too great, but I am very proud of the reason you made this choice.”

He can’t believe it. He is not in trouble? He is very brave, and she is very proud?