Healer of the Water Monster: Chapter 23–November

by Brian Young
Nathan, an eleven-year-old Navajo boy, sets out on a journey to find a cure for a sick water monster that he discovers in a desert.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–11, Chapters 12–22, Chapter 23–November
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. mote
    a tiny piece of anything
    Dust motes floated through the sunset-red light and disappeared into dark shadows like lost, lonely phantoms.
  2. waver
    be unsure or weak
    “Uncle Jet?” Nathan’s voice wavered. Something was wrong here.
  3. irk
    irritate or vex
    Nathan tried to help Uncle Jet into the mobile home, but the two of them told him to let them have an adult conversation. It irked him, but this wasn’t the time or place to let being called a child get in the way of helping Uncle Jet.
  4. initiative
    a new strategy or plan to solve a problem or improve a situation
    After Uncle Jet told Nali what he had been feeling, Nali called around and, with the help of the IHS Zero Suicide Initiative, was able to figure out how best to help Uncle Jet.
  5. amplify
    increase in size, volume or significance
    Nathan knew that Uncle Jet’s negative emotions were being amplified by the Ash Being.
  6. regimen
    a systematic plan for therapy
    In the meantime, we’ll begin therapy and we’ll start a regimen of antidepressants.
  7. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    His desire to be stoic shattered. It was like he had been standing for so long, ignoring the ache in his knees and ankles, and now, finally able to sit down, felt every pain at once.
  8. sassy
    improperly forward or bold
    So, one night I got lost in the desert following some sassy little horned toad that was stealing my seeds and found Pond, who’s a water monster and also my friend.
  9. utter
    complete
    Both his father and Nali looked at the bottle in utter surprise.
  10. dumbfounded
    as if rendered speechless with astonishment and surprise
    Nathan looked back at his father, who was still dumbfounded by the frozen water bottle.
  11. wax
    increase in phase
    Eleven days later, the moon was at three-quarters waxing.
  12. sustenance
    a source of food or nourishment
    “You may live through ten days, but when you return, you will only have been gone for seven up here. As such, you must make your preparations. Humans need sustenance for such a prolonged journey.”
  13. refract
    subject to change in direction of a propagating wave
    Inside the arrowhead is pure sunlight. When the tips touch the earth, the sunlight refracts and creates the ribbons of color.
  14. mosaic
    a pattern resembling small pieces of colored stone or glass
    The sagebrush, exposed stone, and dry washes turned into a blurry mosaic.
  15. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    They looked like jagged rows of rectangles, and a zigzag line that meandered through the mazelike arrangement.
  16. ideal
    conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection
    It grabbed Nathan’s hair instead. Not ideal, but it was way more comfortable.
  17. contract
    squeeze or push together
    Nathan touched the ice on the wall to his side. It expanded and contracted like it was breathing.
  18. sentiment
    tender, romantic, or nostalgic feeling or emotion
    “Thank you,” Nathan said.
    “Save the sentiment! That was probably the easiest obstacle!” Seed Collector said.
  19. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    “But I’m tired!” Nathan said, pushing down on his knees to hoist himself upward. Grabbing the bag, he trudged forward.
  20. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    Nathan could hear the disdain in its tone.
  21. inconsistency
    the quality of lacking a harmonious uniformity among parts
    He had relived this memory so many times that he could see the inconsistencies of this dream. It was like looking at a photo through a filter that amped up the colors.
  22. gauge
    judge tentatively or form an estimate of
    When you all lay down to sleep, I went ahead to gauge the length of this passage. I traveled for a long while and covered what felt like many miles until I turned around and saw that I had gone but a few paces away from your bodies.
  23. fanciful
    indulging in or influenced by the imagination
    This passage is meant to tire travelers and lure them into a deep sleep. Once they sleep, they may sleep the remainder of their lives in a fanciful dream.
  24. compassion
    a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering
    The most self-centered and those who lack compassion will not pass.
  25. groove
    a long narrow furrow cut by a natural process or a tool
    There were definitely two hollow grooves that looked like eyes.
  26. porous
    full of holes
    The light brightened and instead of ice, or smooth stone, the walls had the porous texture of volcanic rock.
  27. infuse
    fill, as with a certain quality
    They changed the corn, everything about it, including the pollen. Having been infused with alterations, the soul of the pollen eroded.
  28. desecrate
    remove the sacredness from a person or an object
    It is changing the sacred corn. How will all the people bless themselves when the pollen they use has been desecrated?
  29. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    Seed Collector pointed, and it and Spider scuttled over to another leaf.
  30. recede
    pull back or move away or backward
    The water at the beach frothed and receded.
  31. titanic
    of great force or power
    Far in the distance, a creature of titanic proportions rose from the water.
  32. preposterous
    inviting ridicule
    “That’s preposterous!” she said, her breath pushing so much air that Nathan could feel the force pressing his head downward.
  33. imposter
    a person who makes deceitful pretenses
    “Human, how do I know you are who you say you are? How do I know you truly represent one of my children and are not an impostor? What proof do you have?”
  34. dire
    fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
    “His condition must be dire if he sent a human,” Mother Water Monster said.
  35. adequate
    sufficient for the purpose
    “Let’s hope they are adequate protection.”
  36. pincer
    a grasping structure on the limb of an arthropod
    The giant crab creature groaned behind him. Nathan looked up and saw the pincers coming down.
  37. encroach
    advance beyond the usual limit
    Then the claws retracted, and the massive creatures scuttled away from the encroaching jellyfish.
  38. invigorate
    impart strength or vitality to
    He cupped some water and drank. It wasn’t salty, but instead sweet and tingly. He felt his soreness disappear and his muscles become invigorated.
  39. deviate
    turn aside; turn away from
    The shortcut was only one-way and didn’t deviate.
  40. amass
    collect or gather
    Far above them, a lonely little black cloud amassed.
Created on Mon Aug 29 11:31:46 EDT 2022 (updated Tue Oct 04 13:23:37 EDT 2022)

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