FAITH
FAITH (after an idea by Nesciri)
Kiowa Territory, 1858
"How can you let her live?" Song Bird
fought to control her voice but it came out as a shrill whisper. She and Red
Bear were in their teepee. Red Bear had recovered slowly over the last few days
and was just now able to truly contemplate Yellow Crane's fate. "How can
you be so weak, so indecisive?" Song Bird hated herself for saying the
words to her husband. Tears fell freely now and she choked back a sob.
"She has never brought anyone nothing but misery
and despair. She almost took you from me. What would I do without you?"
Song Bird covered her face with her hands.
Red Bear had let her go on, had let her release
her frustration and fear. Now he gathered her in his arms and kissed her tenderly.
"My love, we are together now. She did not kill me. She will not hurt us
anymore." He wiped her tears away and held her face. He kissed her again
and she leaned into him.
"How can you be sure?" Song Bird could
not resist asking as she caressed his face.
"It has already been decided."
Song Bird stared at her husband hoping to see some
sign that he had changed his mind. When there was none, she lowered her head
and bit her lip as she stepped away from him, not sure on how she could convince
him that Yellow Crane was more dangerous than he could imagine. She knew she
was, although she couldn't explain it in words.
"Song Bird? Red Bear placed one hand on her
shoulder and the other under her chin, tilting her head so that he could look
at her. "I love you. I would never let
anything happen to you," he promised. Song Bird swallowed.
"I love you too," she mumbled as she let him draw her into a warm embrace. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and whispered a pray, so softly that Red Bear couldn't hear her. "And I will love you even after death. Yellow Crane will never hurt you again." Feeling content over having voiced her promise she turned and looked at her husband's handsome face. She had loved him since the day he first had come to court her and she loved him even more since their wedding and she couldn't help smiling at him, despite their earlier argument.
At the sight of her smile Red Bear grinned mischievously at her as he let his hands roam down her back. Song Bird blushed slightly at the thought of how they could make up and kissed him deeply as they sank into the warmth of their bedding and for the moment, Yellow Crane was forgotten.
One by one, the villagers turned their back on her.
She watched as their eyes glazed over as if they could not see her. She wept
and wailed and tried to cling to her son, but White Owl shoved her away from
him before turning away. She watched in wretched agony as he abandoned her.
In that one moment, she became a hideous old woman.
Red Bear walked up to her and grabbed her by the
back of her hair. He bent her head backwards and looked into her eyes. "You
have brought shame to your son and have committed a crime that cannot be appeased."
He brought his knife up to her face. "So others will be protected from
you." He swiftly cut across her nose so that blood gushed forth and fell
into the dirt. She screamed and fell as he released her. "Leave now or
by my words, I will kill you."
Yellow Crane staggered up to her feet and took a
few stumbling steps away from Red Bear. Her eyes swept over the crowd. Song
Bird stood with the others but instead of pretending not to see her, she met
her eyes with unabashed hatred. Yellow Crane vowed that she would make them
all pay. "Red Bear! You will suffer. I will avenge the sorrow you have
caused me. I will take your family as you have taken mine."
He watched her impassively for a minute and then he too turned and walked away. Red Bear knew she would no longer cause him trouble nor bring harm to any others. They would know and be warned because he had just cut off her nose.
The dust swirled around her leather dress and worked
its way into her boots. She trudged on, not taking her eyes from the rocky trail
that she followed. She had no destination, no ending point. She carried her
few meager belongings on her back in an old leather bundle. Once she was a woman
who held a measure of begrudging respect from the other members of her tribe.
Now, she was a self-pitying old woman who only had her wits to keep her alive.
Red Bear's banishment meant that she was now forced to wander, an outcast from her tribe. She had tried desperately to find another to accept her. Other villages turned her away and no one dared to speak to her. Her tortured mind kept reliving her life that had never brought the rewards she always thought were coming. And worst of all, they had even taken her son away from her. In her mind, she knew that White Owl would never had turned his back on her if he hadn't been forced. She had raised him and he would not forget her.
She knew this and she knew that one day she would
return in triumph and her son would be chief. That had not changed.
No, she would not think about the past, only the future and the opportunities
it held. She had worked her way out of worse situations and she would do it
again. She had her skills and could concoct potions and remedies that she could
sell to the ignorant white men. They were foolish enough to believe in magic
spells and visions from the beyond. This time though she would be the victor
and Red Bear would be destroyed.
