All hands on deck

The Basket Maker arrived late in the afternoon with a huge woven basket made of cedar bark strips. It was loosely woven, "Strong but flexible," she said. "From the story I was told strong and flexible is what this is all about!" Maha and The Basket Maker had the cedar frame laid out on the living room floor. The big blue tarp from Maha's truck filled with the pile of sticks was in the living room, too. Still blurry from sleep I looked at the nesting material and felt oddly secure. This is what's happening now, and what a way to harness the energy of a moon full in Scorpio. The moon would be full by the time we finished building this whale of a nest.

"Hi!" The Basket Weaver's high bird-like voice squealed. "Long time in between." We hugged and then looked each other in the eye. We were still the same height, she wears her hair short now, I have her beat on the inventory of gray hair and we both wear glasses. She was as beautiful as ever, her eyes sloped more at the corners where time has etched slim lines, but her skin still radiated that glow of light and fairy which had attracted me when first we met.

"Still weaving magic I see," the cedar framed basket was expertly crafted to allow filling in with whatever material came from the forest surrounding us. "Thanks so much for coming. I had no idea how I was going to do this, but Max.... What'd you think of him when you got the call?" I sat on the floor with my back against the lower bunk of the bed, Maha handed me a hot cup of almond milk. I squeezed her hand, "My favorite," and sipped sweet cinnamon sprinkled milk.

"He showed up at my studio door a week ago. Remember that freaky day of rain and almost hail, that day? I'd just finished teaching ... a class of five students. I was clearing the tables of reeds and heard the knock. A huge brown man with a hat filled the small window in the studio door. I was almost afraid ... but, catching his eyes under the bowler I could feel the calm of him. I opened the door. He said, "Are you Joy Weed's friend The Basket Maker?" "I haven't heard your name in what, twenty years, but said "Yes, I am The Basket Maker and Joy Weed, I haven't seen her for a very long time but Joy is my friend." Rain was dripping off his hat, I asked him in. "He introduced himself, 'Justin Maxwell, but 'Max' to friends.' He said he was here to ask a favor. A favor for you, Joy."

So there it was: I had my answer. Max was way out front with knowing my son was to be born from an egg. Did he realize there'd be two eggs? It wasn't my job to anticipate the moves of a Kahuna. My job as a Border Witch kept me plenty busy. Learning what that job meant only got easier from living on Earth. The way I had it explained Earth was new for me, only once before had I experienced this planet, and I was a man last time. I was going to need a lot of practice being human and this was the first time at being woman. So I wasn't supposed to know how things worked. I would have to learn to ask for help, and learn to trust. Thing is, I didn't get this information about being a new soul on Earth until I was sixty. There was lots of confusion to unravel. I'd made mistakes. "Not so many that you'd be cursed for being anything other than human!" Max was listening in. He did that. I could hear his thoughts when I was tripping over myself.

It wasn't Max that brought me the news about being a young soul. He's been coming since I was a girl still climbing mango trees. No, Max comes with very specific next steps for me, and doesn't come without a very specific purpose. He was here now to help with the birthing of magic, a birth from an egg. My assignment as Border Witch came from another woman. More about that later. For now, there were three pairs of women's hands with a nest to be built. Maha had a plan, "We'll start with filling in and strengthening the nest down here on the floor. I've brought some rope and a pulley to rig up over that rafter. She pointed to the open beams. When the nest is finished we lash it and raise it to the top bunk."

I had done research of my own in case,"We need to make the nest deep enough to create a well. The eggs will nestle in there cushioned so I can sit. 'To brood' what a misinterpretation of a bird's time for bringing in their young."

"So you will do the sitting?" Maha asked.

"That's what Raven pairs do. Traditionally the female sits on the eggs for 20 days and is fed by the male. The eggs need to be constantly kept warm. I don't know that these eggs, our eggs, should be treated any differently ... I'm not taking any chances. They're already untended." I thought of the magic Max had cast to keep the eggs protected, wondering how long the spell would last.

"Maybe Raven and I can alternate sitting? We'll need some soft material ... fleece, wool to line the well and the nest." There was plenty of filling and fitting to do before the well was made. We started there.

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