The Gathering

by Sharon Sala

  The amount of daylight was shorter in the mountains because the peaks began cutting off the sunlight long before it reached the true horizon. Besides the impending danger of being stranded by the weather, they had more wild animals to contend with. The bears had already taken to their winter dens, but they saw the big cats with long teeth almost daily. The wapiti, which the New Ones called elk, were more plentiful than their smaller cousins, the deer. Huge wolves, gray, black, and now and then a rare white, would be seen slipping through the trees before sundown on their way to a hunt. They howled throughout the night, keeping everyone on edge and had it not been for the great number of them on the march, they would have been in danger of attack on a regular basis.

  The trip was wearing on everyone. They camped under the stars because there was no time to do otherwise. They slept close to each other and close to fires that were fed throughout the night to keep wild animals away.

  Warriors took turns guarding the perimeters, making certain the elderly, the women, and the children who would have been the easiest and most vulnerable prey, were bedded down within the center of the camp each night.

  Children were taught at an early age not to cry because crying would have alerted old enemies to their whereabouts, but this trek was pushing everyone to their limits. More than one child crawled beneath their sleeping robes in tears, tired of the cold and of being hungry.

  On yet another morning when clouds had fallen onto the earth making it impossible to see more than a few steps away, and the dead leaves on the forest floor were white with frost, the a-ni-waya, which Tyhen learned meant Wolf Clan, separated from the tribe and, like their totem, walked into the heavy fog and disappeared.

  Each day, large groups of hunters were sent ahead to bring down game, and wherever they caught up with the hunters is where they camped for the night. No matter how many elk they brought down, or deer that they killed, there was never enough food for them all. There was no time to stay put for a few days so that food could be replaced. It was either go hungry now, or freeze to death later. So they walked with empty bellies and weary souls.

  A few days later as they broke camp for the new day’s march, Tyhen witnessed two more clans saying their goodbyes.

  “More are leaving,” she said, as Yuma was rolling up their bedding.

  He paused and looked up.

  “It is the a-ni-sa-ho-ni, the Blue Clan, and the a-ni-gi-lo-hi, the Long Hair.”

  She frowned. “Do they never see each other again?”

  He hated the fear in her eyes and the uncertainty in her voice. It was so unlike her, but then she had never had a baby in her belly before, or lost everyone from her childhood but for him and the twins. He dropped what he was doing and held her, feeling the cold silk of her hair against his cheek and the rapid thunder of her heart.

  “Yes, they see. They do not marry within their clan so there are times when they are together.”

  “When do we leave?” she asked.

  He hesitated to answer, not wanting to upset her any more. His clan was the Wolf and they had already parted from the group, but because of Tyhen’s desire to live where it was warmest, they would continue to travel with the clan that was going closest to the coast.

  “We will be with the last group. They live closest to the coast.”

  “Near big water? Like the place where my mother and Cayetano live?”

  “Yes, like Boomerang.”

  “What is this clan called?”

  “The a-ni-wo-di. The Paint Clan.”

  “What does that mean? Why are they different from the others?”

  “It is the clan of conjurers, the place of great medicine. Among other things, they make the red paint for war.”

  “There is to be no more war,” she said.

  “Maybe with the strangers there will be war,” he said.

  She thought about it a few moments and then nodded. That was a likely possibility.

  “There are only two clans left now. The Paint Clan, and the a-ni-ga-togi-we, the Wild Potato Clan. They are the food gatherers, the farmers, like the people of Naaki Chava who grew food down in the valley where we lived.”

  She nodded, satisfied for the moment that they would not be living in the high mountains, and a few days later when the Wild Potato Clan left, Chief Small Foot left with them.

  Tyhen was confused all over again as she watched them go.

  “Who is chief now that Small Foot is gone?”

  “He wasn’t chief over all of the Cherokee.”

  “But I thought he was.”

  Yuma shook his head. “There is no one main chief—only seven with equal power, unless there was a war and then one would become the main War Chief.”

  She sighed. So much to absorb.

  “Who speaks for us now?”

  “The chief of the Paint Clan.”

  “Do we know him?”

  Yuma nodded. “His name is Wolf Moon. He is the son of Willow’s sister.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise.

  “The warrior who was pulling the sled with her belongings is a chief?”

  Yuma nodded. “He could have ordered others, but it was his choice. She is family.”’

  “I do not understand so much separation. I do not think I like this.”

  He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the palm and then kissed her until she groaned.

  “Don’t think of what you don’t know. Think of what you do. This is not so much different from Naaki Chava or the different rulers in the different cities. These mountains are like the jungle. Just higher and colder. The tribal villages are like the cities that were there, and the clan chiefs are like the rulers within those cities.”

  “I guess. It’s just so different.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her face against the rough surface of his winter coat.

  It smelled of wood smoke and pine and she longed for the warm waters of the healing pool in Naaki Chava. Her body was changing and she had no one to consult as to why it was happening or if it would ever be the same. She missed her mother and she missed the familiarity of the old life.

  “I am the same,” Yuma said softly, and held her close, rubbing the continuous ache of her lower back until he felt her relax against him.

  And so the moment passed and the march resumed.

  That night, as Yuma curled up behind Tyhen’s back and pulled her close against him, he hurt for the fact that he could feel her ribs. Her body was feeding the baby and taking away the nourishment for herself. The cold wind moaned as it blew through the treetops and he was afraid to sleep for fear she would fly away in his arms. Earlier Lola’s family had made camp beside them and it felt good to be sleeping beside people they knew.

  The quarter moon had sailed halfway across the sky when Yuma suddenly woke. He lay without moving, trying to figure out what had awakened him. And then he realized Tyhen’s body was beginning to tremble and his heart jumped in fear. Once again the wind was calling her. She was about to float off of the ground.

  Just as he was about to wake her, Dakotah crawled out from under the covers where he’d been sleeping next to Aaron and quickly slipped beneath the covers next to Tyhen.

  Aaron roused just in time to see where he went, realized Yuma was awake and thought Dakotah had caused it.

  “I am sorry,” Aaron said softly, and reached for the robe. “Dakotah, what are you doing?”

  The little boy peeked out from under it, as a turtle pokes its head from the shell.

  “If I sleep beside the crying baby she will be quiet and then her mother will not fly,” he said.

  Yuma was in shock. Tyhen was trying to fly because the baby was crying? All this time she thought she was only hearing the wind, but she had been hearing her baby. She had not been trying to fly away from him. She had been trying to get to the b
aby.

  Yuma’s relief was huge.

  “No, Aaron, let him be. If this will calm Tyhen’s sleep I would appreciate it,” he said.

  Aaron frowned. “But if it does not, Dakotah will come back to me.”

  Dakotah heard, but he already knew it would work and ducked back beneath the buffalo robe, snuggling his backside into the curve of Tyhen’s body warmth.

  When he felt a pat upon his head, he knew it was Yuma, then he heard the baby cry once more.

  I am Dakotah, and I am here.

  The crying ceased almost instantly.

  He smiled, and in moments was asleep.

  ***

  Tyhen woke before morning with her arms around Dakotah’s waist and her chin on the top of his head. Yuma was behind her, holding both of them. Her first instinct was pure joy because she was so warm. Whatever had sparked this, it had given her the best night’s sleep she had enjoyed in many months.

  She felt Yuma beginning to wake, but didn’t move, choosing to enjoy daybreak in silence.

  The mountains on which they slept loomed dark against a sky that was already greeting the new day, and she wondered what it would bring.

  Yesterday she’d heard Evan talking to Suwanee about how much farther they had to go and she suspected Suwanee was suffering both loneliness and exhaustion. Tyhen remembered how lost she’d felt when they’d left her family behind in Naaki Chava and now Suwanee was experiencing the same thing. The sting of loss is sharp, no matter who is trying to help soothe the pain.

  She knew Evan was at peace with his woman and could tell from the look in his eyes that he loved her. But she worried for Adam. She had been trying to connect with him for days, but each time she tried he shut her out.

  Maybe while he was sleeping she could get a read on what was happening, so she closed her eyes to concentrate and was troubled by what she saw.

  Adam was not in his bed. She concentrated more until she saw him standing alone on an outcrop of rock a short distance away from his camp, staring out into the valley below.

  My brother! Why do you not sleep?

  For a few moments she feared he would not answer, and then she felt him drop his guard and was battered by the slam of unbearable grief.

  Adam! What is wrong? How can I help you?

  It is nothing and I do not need help, my sister. How do you feel? Does the baby speak to you yet?

  No. Only to Dakotah.

  It was the same for you. Yuma knew everything about you before anyone saw your face. It will happen in its time and you and your daughter will be fast friends.

  The message made her feel better. It was only after he’d shut himself off and she’d lost the connection that she realized he’d given her news about herself so she would not push him for further answers. There was a pain in her chest that kept growing. It was one more part of the change. They were losing him and she didn’t know how to stop it from happening.

  ***

  Evan woke up just as Adam let down his guard and, like Tyhen, he felt his brother’s sadness with every fiber of his being. When he heard Adam lie to her, it hurt even more because he knew the truth. Everything was wrong for Adam. He felt ostracized by his inability to provide even the simplest of things for himself. He could set up a tent. He could build a fire, and he could see into the future and into people’s hearts—none of which would be enough to keep him alive. It was a sad statement for a man in this part of the world.

  Evan was still dealing with the guilt of being with a woman his brother had wanted too when Suwanee stirred within his arms. Had it not been for the fact that they were asleep within the eyes and ears of many, he would have made love to her again and again. She was like a fever in his blood and he couldn’t get enough.

  A simple glance or smile and it felt as if his heart might burst. Watching her on her knees tending their fire, or roasting the grouse he had killed, or the rabbit he had caught to feed them made him weak. His love for her was both a blessing and a curse.

  And while he did not know how to soothe his brother’s heart, what he did know was that Suwanee was with child. She had yet to affirm it by missing her monthly bleed, but he had known it within hours after his seed had taken root within her. He also knew that once Adam learned this news, the distance between them would be cold and final. Fate had taken control of their lives and they were helpless to change how it would play out.

  ***

  Dakotah woke needing to pee and slipped out of Tyhen’s arms to wake Aaron. After his solitary jaunt weeks earlier and nearly being killed by wolves, he was under orders not to go in the dark alone again. Moments later they were both slipping through the camp to some nearby bushes.

  As he left her, Tyhen rolled over beneath the buffalo robe and woke Yuma with a kiss.

  “Good morning, my Yuma,” she whispered.

  He groaned beneath his breath as her hands moved across his body. She wanted him, and this was no place to act upon it. Instead of telling her no, he told her something that he knew would immediately shift her focus.

  “I know why you are trying to fly in your sleep,” he said.

  He heard her sharp intake of breath and then her whisper.

  “Why?”

  “You are hearing the baby cry. It is instinct that makes you want to go to her, but you do not wake and so you fly, trying to follow the sound.”

  A shudder rolled through her, followed by a relief so strong it brought tears to her eyes.

  “How do you know this?”

  “Dakotah. Last night we both woke just as you were about to float up into the air. He slipped out of his bed and into ours and within seconds you were no longer trembling.”

  “How did he know?” she asked.

  “He said he can hear the baby crying, so when he gets close to you she knows him, and it is enough to satisfy her discomfort, I suppose.”

  “I wonder why I do not hear her when I am awake?” Tyhen asked.

  “Maybe because she is not crying. Maybe she does not feel unsettled when you are moving. Maybe it’s only when you are still that she feels she is alone. Who knows? But Dakotah’s connection to her helped you, and for me, that is good news.”

  She shifted closer to him, using his arm for a pillow, and when she did, he pulled her close.

  “Don’t dwell on what you cannot change. It will come when it is time,” he said.

  “I just don’t understand why I cannot hear her voice.”

  At that moment Dakotah flopped down on top of their buffalo robe and patted her shoulder so she would know he was there. When she pushed the robe aside he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

  “I know why you cannot hear her.”

  Tyhen sat up.

  “Why?”

  “Because she does not yet know how to speak.”

  Tyhen’s eyes widened, then she threw back her head and laughed.

  The sound rang out around the campsite and then into the air and across the mountain and echoed back, spreading her moment of joy across every weary soul. It was a sound they had not heard in a very long time and it was still ringing in their hearts as they struck camp.

  ***

  It was almost two moons since they had left the Gathering. The Wild Potato Clan had been gone from them for three sleeps. The sky was gray and the air felt both damp and cold.

  They had just topped a ridge when Wolf Moon suddenly stopped to look down into the valley below. The air was cool, but it was not cold, and when the wind blew the hair away from his face, he smelled the ocean.

  Smoke was rising through the trees. Smoke meant cooking fires and, from the valley and the shoreline beyond, he knew exactly where they were.

  “A-ni-wo-di!” he shouted, letting out a cry of joy that echoed from ridge to ridge and into the valley.

  Yuma was ecstatic. It was all he could do
to stand still.

  “When we make camp tonight, there will be no more moving the next day. We did it, my little whirlwind! We did it! We are in the land of the Paint Clan, in the place without snow.”

  The smile on her face was worth all the nights of turmoil. Here she would have rest and food and once again, comfort.

  Tyhen sat down. Her belly was rounder now and her back often ached.

  “I need to talk with Wolf Moon,” he said.

  “I will wait here,” she said, and then watched him take off through the crowd with a spring in his step.

  She was out of the wind with the sunlight on her face. She closed her eyes without thinking, willing to get rest anytime she could take it.

  Her thoughts drifted as time passed and she was almost asleep when she heard a soft voice.

  I am here.

  Her eyes flew open as she sat up and grabbed her belly.

  Is this my daughter’s voice?

  Yes.

  Oh little girl, I have been longing for this moment.

  There were a few moments of silence and she thought it was over, and then the tiny voice was in her head again.

  I see through your eyes. Show me the sky.

  Within seconds Tyhen was on her feet.

  Yuma, when you look up I will be flying. Nothing is wrong. Our daughter just wants to see the sky.

  Without an explanation to anyone she went airborne, startling the people around her who then stared in mute fascination at the woman who knew how to fly.

  And just like that, the earthbound shackles that had kept her feet to the ground had been shattered. She went up with her eyes wide open and the wind in her face then turned sideways to circle the mountain below.

  The slopes were lush and green, populated with pine and cedar trees standing straight and the tips as narrow as a finger pointing straight for the stars.

  From this height, the freshwater lakes appeared as splashes of blue, and the narrow spirals of smoke from below smelled of pine cones and buck brush.