Larbu and Tia are two children attempting to be who they really are in the face of the constant lure of the material world.

In Natives, we were introduced to the Amber family in their quest for how to live as full human beings. Now, in Hoodoos, the instruction deepens.

Follow the Ambers' adventures in the American Southwest and learn how to awaken to the true needs of your spirit.

Here are real-life tools for creating a more conscious, happier and healthier life.

an excerpt from

hoodoos

by S. Katz

second release in the Larbu & Tia Series 

Time flew from Tia’s birthday to Halloween.  Larbu asked for a Superman costume, and Rebecca made him one, complete with cape.  She needed to use a large amount of hair gel and a baseball cap to tame Larbu’s wild, curly hair. 

This would be his first Halloween party.  It was a Saturday, the day before Halloween.  Samuel was planning to take Larbu to a gathering at the old one-room schoolhouse where nearly everyone from their canyon celebrated.  The two of them carved a pumpkin for the carnival, then took off in the late afternoon for the schoolhouse. 

The weather was ideal—a rare, heavy mist hung everywhere.  Threatening snow held back.  The low clouds made for a warmer-than-usual day.

They turned off the pavement and onto the dirt road toward the schoolhouse.  “Did we bring a candle for the pumpkin?” Larbu asked.

“Yes, and I remembered to bring the enchiladas and the cookies that Mom made.”

“Yummy.  Do you think I’ll like the carnival, Daddy?”

“So far it’s feeling like a perfect Halloween,” Samuel answered.

Cars soon lined both sides of the dirt road, but they found a spot next to one of the old wild apple trees that graced the canyon.

“Look, huge ripe apples.  Can I have one?”

“Sure, show me the one you’d like.”

Larbu pointed to a rosy apple within Samuel’s reach.

“Here you go, son.”

“If the rest of this day is as good as this apple, then I’m for sure going to have a great Halloween,” Larbu exclaimed after his first bite.

They walked up the stairs and past an assemblage of young monsters and goblins and fairies as well as one Annakin Skywalker, two Darth Mauls, one Harry Potter, two Hermiones and two little black cats.

“Look, Dad,” Larbu whispered pointing at Annakin. “That’s Jasper, and that army guy over there is his brother Glade.” 

“You’re right,” replied his impressed father, spotting Glade and a couple of his buddies hanging out by some bushes near the outhouse.  Glade was wearing camouflage army fatigues and high-top shiny black boots. ‘Those boys are already so street-wise,’ thought Samuel.  ‘How I love Larbu’s innocence and his appreciation of the natural world.  Long may it live.’ 

Cobwebs hung inside the entryway, and vapors created by hot ice made for an appropriately spooky atmosphere.  Inside the big room, the wood stove was cranked up.  Samuel set the pumpkin next to a large table full of others and lit the candle.

“Our pumpkin looks good in here, Dad,” Larbu exclaimed.

He quickly got in line to make an electric Spirograph® painting.  Once he started, he poured his whole self into it.  The woman in charge soon looked at Samuel as if to say, “How wonderful.  This child is not jaded.”

Larbu moved on to a spirited round of musical chairs, where he won a cupcake, then he and Samuel had their picture taken together under some cobwebs complete with spiders.  While the picture was drying, Larbu proudly placed stickers on the folder frame that would hold it.  The folder read, “Halloween Carnival, 1999.”  Then he said, “Dad, I’m hungry.”

“What would you like to eat?”

“Could I have some cheese and crackers and fruit and my cupcake?”

“Sure,” Samuel replied.

They found plates and eating utensils.  Larbu eagerly took his food, and his father helped himself to some enchiladas, rice and a piece of apple pie.

They sat near the woodstove and ate.  Larbu soaked in the scene:  the kids, the adults, the costumes, the conversation, the food and all the sweets.  “This is so much fun, Dad.  Thank you for bringing me.”

“This is a great Halloween party,” Samuel happily responded.

When they finished eating, Samuel noticed a woman he knew dressed as a fortune-teller sitting in a small corner room just beyond the food table.  A hand-drawn sign reading “Madame Claire” surrounded by stars and a moon was posted at the entrance.  “Would you like to visit Madame Claire, Larbu?”

 “Yeah!” he exclaimed.

Samuel recognized “Madame Claire” as an artist who lived in the canyon.  She held art classes for the children during the summer.   

Madame Claire sat behind a card table, a patterned red and white bandana covering her hair.  She wore lots of rings and bracelets, as well as big round earrings.  When Larbu sat down, she instructed him to draw three cards.  He carefully chose the cards, one at a time, pulling them out of the deck in front of him. 

Madame Claire slowly turned each card over.  When she saw them, she smiled warmly and spread the cards out.  The first card depicted children playing in a meadow.  The sun was shining brightly.  The next card showed a drawing of a small boy with a pack on his back.  He was walking up a trail toward a formidable-looking peak.  The third card was a drawing of a boy pushing with all his might against a mirror.  She said, “The first card says that you were born a happy and good person, and that your happiness is contagious.”

Larbu gave her a puzzled look.

She smiled and said, “I mean that your happiness will rub off on other people.  This is a very good thing.  The next card says that you will soon go on a great adventure.”

“Yes!” Larbu cried.

“And,” she conscientiously spoke, “the last card says that you have a challenge to face.  It says that if you want to be happy, you’ll need to learn to stop fighting your self.”

Larbu shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know what that means.”

Madame Claire turned very quiet for a moment, then said, “Perhaps your adventure will explain it.  Would you like to have one of these?” she asked, showing Larbu a plate filled with small crystals and several beautiful rocks.

Larbu slowly surveyed the gems.  “Mmmm, I’d like this one,” he said, picking up a deep red sandstone rock. 

“No crystal?” Madame Claire mused.

“Nope, this is the rock for me,” Larbu declared.

“What do you say to Madame Claire?” Samuel asked.

“Thank you, and oh, Dad, are you and Mom planning a great ‘venture for us?”

“Not that I know of,” Samuel laughed.

They walked outside to await their turn on the spooky hayride.  The mist hung ever deeper.  Dusk was quick approaching dark.  “Dad, was what she told me for real?”

“Feel it and tell me what you get,” Samuel replied.

“It feels true,” said Larbu.

“The reading that Madame Claire gave is called an oracle reading.  If we’re awake to what’s going on inside ourselves, then we don’t need an oracle.  But, oracles, especially the good ones like Madame Claire, are helpful as long as we have parts of ourselves that live in the shadows.”

“Shadows?” Larbu asked.

“Yes, like the strange creatures here,” Samuel said gesturing at all the costumed children and adults.  In fact, Halloween comes at just about the time of year that, if we want to, we can shine some light on the demons that live hidden in dark corners inside of us.”

“Inside of us?” Larbu exclaimed.

“Yup.”

“How do they get there, Dad?”

“They get there when we go away from ourselves.”

Just then, the hayride pulled up.  Samuel and Larbu jumped on.  They found an empty spot in a back corner of the wagon, and Larbu settled onto Samuel’s lap.  In no time the wagon was full.  The hayride moved out into the mist, and climbed up another road.  Then it abruptly turned off onto a deeply-rutted, steep road that ran through the old cemetery.  Vampires, ogres, banshees and ghosts risen from the dead soon appeared.  They taunted the people in the wagon with swords and stakes.  One of them threw something that looked like a head into the wagon.  Larbu laughed at them, and loved every minute of it. Too soon, the ride was over.

“Could we go on it again?” he asked.

“No, one time is better; just feel it,” his father said.

“You’re right, Dad.”

They walked to the car and drove home feeling happy.  Larbu whistled the whole way.