mind you , '' said my father , `` i am prepared to take this stick and beat you to death . '' her eyes were bright with tears or anger . he needed his arm to be free just in case . `` yeah , but we 're almost to the end , '' i told him . he was bleeding , squeezing to encourage the flow of blood from his wrist into my mouth . together , we buried him by the stream at the edge of the western forest . he took his fathers advice to heart . 