As I Enfold You in Petals

In the opening page of As I Enfold You in Petals, a long lineup of people wait patiently outside the home of Benny the Bank. It’s Benny’s birthday, and he’s offering a gift: $20 000 in cash to anyone who can impress him. Everyone in that lineup is standing there, hoping that he or she will be the lucky recipient. Benny first appeared in A Blanket of Butterflies, Vol. 1 of Richard Van Camp’s series, “The Spirit of Denendeh”, but that story concluded with his having appeared to achieve a measure of personal peace. Time has passed, but it appears that, at heart, Benny is still a bully and a criminal, a wealthy bootlegger who has profited from the misery of the residents of Ft. Smith.

At the end of the line up and holding a small, wrapped gift box is Curtis, a young man back from six weeks of rehab. Admitted to Benny’s office, Curtis is taunted by Benny who offers him a choice of beverages from a well-stocked bar: “You’re looking thirsty like your grandpa and your dad did. The men in your life found their peace in a bottle. Have you found yours yet?” Then, Benny opens the Curtis’ gift and finds a treasure from his past: a watch, one which Curtis found while working as a firefighter. Benny had offered a reward of $5 000 for the item, lost long before Curtis was born. Both Benny and Curtis’ father, Ronny, were romantically interested in Emelia, Curtis’ mom, and Benny was certain that the man sporting a gold watch would win Emelia’s heart. But, while out hunting moose with Ronny, Benny lost the watch and, ultimately, Emelia. Benny is impressed with Curtis’ find and offers him the $20 000, but Curtis doesn’t want the money.

He states, “I want my grandpa’s home back”, and Benny knows why: Curtis’ grandfather, Louis, was a healer, and undoubtedly, the cabin still contains his medicine and, perhaps, a means of re-connecting with the Little People and spirits who gave Louis the power to heal. By reconnecting with the spirit of his grandfather and the Little People, Curtis believes that he will be fully healed of his own addiction and can then go on to help others in Ft. Smith who face the same issue. Benny is skeptical – he lost faith in the power of healing spirits when his daughter Lila Rose became fatally ill with cancer. Nevertheless, Benny gives Curtis the key to Grandpa Louis’ cabin, and, that night, Curtis goes there. After making an offering of tobacco and buckshot, Curtis entreats the aid of the healing spirits and the Little People so that he can maintain his own sobriety and help others to achieve hope and peace. During Curtis’ time at the cabin, readers are presented with a flashback to his life before rehab and his realization that, if he really deserves to live (words which he has scrawled all over the walls of his room), he must prove himself worthy of that resolve. This healing journey is crucial to him.

As the song to the spirits fills the night air, Benny listens outside the cabin. Crow – Benny’s female companion - hangs from a branch by her knees as she listens to Curtis’ singing “the song to call them home.” As she alights from the tree, Benny utters the words “as I enfold you in petals”, and Crow is charmed (even though the words come from Ronny’s love letters to Emelia, which Benny shamelessly read). Crow believes in the spirits and is confident that Curtis and the Little People can help to heal Benny of the poisoned knife wound that is slowly killing him. Returning home, Benny lingers behind with Torchy because he wants to find out the reason for the latter’s antagonism towards Curtis, “the runt”. Quite simply, Torchy was “downed” by Curtis. As Curtis was walking down the road, Torchy tried to run into him with his bicycle, but somehow, the front wheel of the bike fell off, and so did Torchy. Benny’s explanation soothes Torchy’s wounded ego: the spirits protected Curtis, and it was the spirits who threw Torchy who still takes pride in being “the human champ”.

That night, several events take place: Benny goes back to his office and spends time looking at family photos before collapsing in pain; a procession of Little People head towards the cabin while Crow takes up her position in a nearby tree; and Curtis’ girlfriend, Lacey, arrives at the cabin. Suddenly, Flinch shows up at the cabin, carrying Benny’s pain-wracked unconscious body, and demands that Curtis open the door. The spirit of Curtis’ grandfather appears, and Flinch places Benny on a blanket in front of the tipi where Curtis made his offering and sang his song. The Little People assemble in the room, and, using a sharpened loon bone, their leader sucks the poison from Benny’s wound and his heart. Meanwhile, outside, Crow prays, “Please, Creator, save my love. Help us save this town and all that we hold precious.”

Four days later, Benny awakens, apparently healed. In his four-day sleep, he stated that he would “save more than the town”, and, outside the cabin, townspeople are waiting for him. At the very beginning of the story, a young man named Chester angrily left Benny’s office just before Curtis had his audience with the man. Now, at the end, Chester reappears, asking Benny whether or not he will live. Apparently, Benny has good years ahead, years in which he will “do good work and keep [his] promise to help save [the] town, cultures, and languages.” It’s good news for everyone, and, as people visit, feast, and smile, the story ends on a note of hope. As Lacey says, “It’s going to be a beautiful day”.

As I Enfold You in Petals continues the story of characters who first appeared in A Blanket of Butterflies, and the story is greatly enhanced by Henderson and Yaciuk’s graphics and colourization. Their depiction of the Little People was particularly inventive. The second volume of “The Spirit of Denendeh” series continues to explore many of the issues introduced in A Blanket of Butterflies: alcoholism, the destruction of traditional Dene cultural practices and spiritual beliefs, and the abuse of power by those in positions of leadership. Curtis finds healing and hope, not only through rehab, but also by reconnecting with the spirit of his grandfather – a traditional healer – and, at the end of the story, in his love for Lacey. When the story begins, Benny the Bank is older, more cynical, and more prosperous than the low-life thug presented in A Blanket of Butterflies, although, after his encounter with the Little People’s medicine, he seems to be healed both physically and spiritually. Crow, the woman who loves Benny, is a mystery: she is human, her face and hands bearing the traditional tattoos of Inuit culture, but she has an other-worldly dimension to her. Following the actual graphic and narrative content, the book contains information about Inuit tattoos, and the role of face tattoos in Inuit culture, especially for women. Van Camp was inspired to create the character of Crow by his acquaintance with two Inuit women who “decided to receive face tattoos as part of reclaiming their culture.” Though this information was interesting, I found it to be a bit of an “add-on” which didn’t really help to develop the character of Crow or her history with Benny.

On some level, I found the book’s positive ending just a little too easy; spiritual and growth can happen after a life-changing experience, but, given his history, will Benny’s redemption be sustained? The community change, which seems to happen after Benny’s recovery, also seems a bit too quick for a place in which social problems have been systemic for decades and generations. And who is Chester, the young man who appears briefly at the beginning of the book and again at the end? Perhaps he is the connection to a third volume in “The Spirit of Denendeh” series. Unlike Blanket of Butterflies, there’s not the same amount of “action” in the story, and the characters, for the most part, are often less-than-admirable. However, Curtis, by recognizing his need for radical personal change, and for his hope that he can use his newly-found strength to help his community, stands out. If your library already has a copy of A Blanket of Butterflies, continue the series with the purchase of As I Enfold You in Petals. A worthwhile acquisition for Indigenous studies collections at the senior school level.