Time Like Masks

"Time Like Masks" follows young Carl as a distant grandfather shares a forgotten Cherokee custom that just might give him the help he needs to confront the worst of what he has become. "Time Like Masks" is the short story that leads Oscar Hokeah's novel-in-collection, Reflections on the Water. Hokeah's novel-in-collection is about the life struggles of Carl, who takes after his mother like a reflection on the water—born of a different generation but simultaneously doomed by the same self-destructive behavior. The way multiple creeks can feed a single river, tribal members from his Kiowa and Cherokee communities fill Carl with the strength he’ll need to confront the worst of what he has become. In a polyvocal mosaic of stories, Reflections on the Water, follows Carl’s transformation from a stubborn, antisocial youth to a young man battling cultural humiliation and finally as a passionate adult inspired to better his tribal communities. Always willing to challenge his circumstances, Carl’s failures are followed by intersecting currents of influence from a host of tribal members—a distant grandfather shares his ability to overcome fear; an aunt feeds his cultural spirit; an uncle demonstrates the importance of second chances; a dying daughter heals with generous acts of selflessness; and each community member, Kiowa or Cherokee, empowers Carl to overcome his ultimate self-destruction.