by Amy DeMeritt
I quickly put my clothes back on that Awenasa stripped me of last night, and she puts on a pair of shorts and a tank top. After she turns off the lantern we left on last night, we come out of the tipi to see Madison still struggling with my brother. He’s still wrapped in the blanket, but his head is out and he smiles really big when he sees us.
“Are we going to eat in the tipi?” Awenasa smiles and bends down in front of him. “Only if you let me have my blanket back and you apologize to Madison for not listening to her.” He pouts and looks over his shoulder at Madison. He turns in her arms and kisses her cheek. “I’m sorry.” Madison smiles and kisses his forehead. “I forgive you.” He smiles and jumps in her arms. “Now we can eat in the tipi.”
Madison laughs and lets him go. Joey goes running across the lawn screaming about eating breakfast in the tipi, making me laugh. Madison hands Awenasa the blanket and Awenasa takes it back into the tipi. I wrap my arms around Madison and kiss her lips.
“Just a warning,” Awenasa walks out and Madison blushes a little before she finishes, “everyone heard you last night and they are dying to tease you both.” Awenasa and I just smile and I kiss Madison’s lips again. “Ok. Have you eaten yet?”
“No, we’ve been waiting for you to get up. We’re starving.”
“Ok, let’s go get some food in your belly.”
I release her and take hers and Awenasa’s hands as we start walking back to the house.
There’s family and friends sitting and standing around the yard talking with some kids playing in between them. As we approach the back of the house, more than a handful of them turn to look at us with grins on their faces, but I’m grateful none of them say anything.
When we get inside, we’re not so lucky. The kitchen and dining room are full and Awenasa’s aunts start clapping and making happy war cries. Much of the house carries on for a few moments, but then Awenasa raises her right hand and calmly says something in Cherokee, making all of them silence themselves. They stare at us with big smiles, but since Awenasa made her command, they keep silent. It makes me smile really big as pride swells in my chest at seeing how much authority and respect she has with our people.
Sam and Shannon come out from the living room and stand in the doorway, as if unsure what they should do. I smile and release Madison’s and Awenasa’s hands. I walk over to them and wrap my arms around both of them and kiss each of them on the lips.
“Good morning, babies. Joey conned us into eating in the tipi. Will you join us?” They smile and nod. Sam looks in my eyes playfully and glances back at Awenasa a moment. Before she can say anything, Joey is tugging on my arm. “Come on!” I laugh and ruffle his hair. “Ok, little wolf.”
We make plates of breakfast hash that has some of the feast leftovers, fried potatoes, and scrambled eggs. After we have our plates and a drink, we start making our way to the tipi with Joey leading the way several feet ahead of us. We get halfway to the tipi and Sam nudges my arm. She’s grinning at me and it makes me blush. She laughs and shakes her head.
“You two are going to have us kicked out of our apartment in a week.” I laugh a little and shake my head. “Whatever.”
Joey plops down on the floor of the tipi where the bed had been earlier and he motions for Awenasa and Madison to sit on either side of him, making all of us laugh a little. I sit down next to Awenasa and Sam and Shannon fill out our circle. “Kayla, why do you have so many wives? Aren’t you only supposed to have one?” We look at Joey and then all of my babies look at me with amused smirks on their faces. I laugh and rub the back of my neck nervously. “Oh god. My mom is going to kill me.”
They laugh and continue to wait for me to answer. I scratch my head and frantically search through my brain for a way to explain this to him without it sounding like I’m encouraging him to do this lifestyle. My brain is of no use so I make a silent plead to my spirit animals to guide me. I get a fuzzy image in my head, but it’s clear enough to understand. “Before we were conceived in the womb, we existed in the spirit world, waiting to come to Earth. When it was our turn to come here, each of us was given a handful of seeds to toss to the Earth. The seeds were tiny pieces of our heart and soul. Some seeds land in nature and are eaten by animals, who later become our spirit guides. Some seeds land in the hearts of other humans. And some float on the wind for a very long time before they land, if they ever land. Most people won’t encounter all of the people that received one of their seeds, and if they do, it’s usually spread out over their lifetime. I was fortunate to find each heart that received one of my seeds before I was born.”
All of my girls, including Awenasa are staring at me with very loving happy smiles. It makes me smile and feel a burst of heat in my chest.
“How many seeds do you think I have to find?”
“You can’t look for them. They will find you. Your hearts and spirits will be brought together like magnets.”
“But what if I only find one, but there are more out there? Will I not get all of my pieces back?”
“If you find one, you are truly blessed because many people don’t even find one.”
“But isn’t is better to find all of them?”
“Not always. Our situation is unique, because each of us received more than one seed. Each of us has a seed for each one of us – so it unites us in a way that most people can’t. Just because you find all of your seeds doesn’t mean you’ll be able to have all of them. If they don’t also have seeds for each other, then it can’t work.” Joey looks really confused and shakes his head. “I hope I only have one wife. This sounds too complicated.” I laugh hard and nod. “Ok, buddy.”
My girls look at me with cute grins and laugh a little. Awenasa leans over and kisses my cheek before running her fingers through my hair for a moment.
While we eat, we listen to Joey talk about anything and everything. He changes subjects so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up with him. It makes everyone laugh more than once and he loves it. I can tell he loves having all of their attention. He’s always loved Awenasa, but he has grown to love all of my girls. He always wants to sit in their laps, even though he’s getting to an age that boys usually stop doing that.
After we finish eating, we stack our plates and cups on a wooden tray to carry back to the house, but Joey grabs onto Awenasa and Madison, pulling them back down.
“Wait, are we leaving the tipi?” Awenasa smiles and nods. “We made a deal to eat breakfast in here. We have finished eating, so it’s time to leave and start the day.”
“Why can’t we just play in here all day?”
“Because, you have lots of family and friends visiting who would like to see you and play with you. They can’t do that if you hide in the tipi all day.”
“But I want…”
“Joey, don’t argue with my wife. You will have other chances to be in here before we go home.” Joey grins and giggles a little bit, looking between all of us. I smile and shake my head. “Come on, get out of here and go play.” He stands up and jumps over the tray with the empty breakfast dishes. “Ok, but only because I don’t want the wolf to bite me.”
Without waiting for a response, he runs out of the tipi. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck prickle and my adrenaline starts pumping. The air coming through the gap in the tipi smells very strong of ozone, like when a storm is coming. I quickly stand up and look outside. The sky above us is clear blue, but maybe a mile or less away, the sky is pitch black.
“Shit, we have to move, fast.”
“What is it?”
They stand up and follow me out of the tipi. As soon as Awenasa sees the sky, she puts two fingers in her mouth and blows a loud shrill whistle. Everyone in the yard turns to look and she points to the sky. Everyone starts scrambling to take down tents and tipis and gathering children to bring in the house.
“We need to take this down. Can they bring your stuff to my room while we pull the tipi down?”
“Yes, we need to hurry, its moving in fast.
”
We go back in the tipi and Madison, Sam, and Shannon grab as much as they can in their arms and run for the house to bring it inside. While they’re making a run for it, we continue to pull the rest of the stuff out of the tipi and then start deconstruction.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Joey and a couple boys his age come running over. “Joey, all of you grab some stuff and bring it to my bedroom. There’s a bad storm coming.”
Joey looks at the sky and then they quickly follow my instruction and head for the house. By the time my girls are back, we have the tipi taken down and we’re working on folding the large canvas. Shannon and Madison grab the small counter and clay bowl and pitcher, while Sam grabs the last two bags. Awenasa and I carry the poles and tipi canvas to the house. Just as we’re passing the shed, the winds pick up.
We get everything in the house and then run back outside to help others tear down camps and pick up odd ball things around the lawn that could fly and cause damage. The winds are getting really bad and it’s raining now.
“Kayla, I just heard someone say we have a tornado warning.” Sam looks terrified. I kiss her lips and push her toward the house. “Get inside. Go to the basement. I’ll be there soon.” She shakes her head and her eyes tear up. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Please, baby. I promise, I’ll be there soon. All of you, get to the basement.” They try to argue, but I push them towards the house. “Awenasa, get them in the house and stay with them.” She looks at me longingly and with deep concern. She kisses me firmly on the lips and wraps her arms around my girls. “You better be in there soon.”
I nod and quickly run across the lawn to help with the last tipi. The wind is so bad that we’re being whipped with the tether ropes as we work and sticks and leaves keep slamming into us. We get the tipi down and carry it to the house, just as the sky opens up with torrential rains. It’s not even noon, but the sky is pitch black as if its midnight.
“Jasper! Jasper!” Aunt Erika runs out of the house, screaming and crying hysterically. I look around, trying to find her son and my cousin. “Jasper!”
“Where did you see him last?” She wipes the rain off her face and looks around hopelessly. “He was by my side, then he wasn’t.”
“Kayla! Get in here. A tornado touched down and is headed this way.” I look to the door and my all of girls look terrified. I push Aunt Erika inside. “Get inside. I’ll find him.”
“Kayla! What are you doing?”
“Jasper is missing. Is everyone else accounted for? Is Joey inside?”
“Yes.” Sam tries to come after me, but Awenasa pulls her back. “Kayla! Please!”
A huge gust of wind comes through and shoves me a few feet, making me slide. I bend down grabbing the ground to steady myself. They look terrified. While I look at them and take a deep breath, trying to fight the desire to run into their arms.
“I love you. Go to the basement. Now.”
I turn and take off running through the rain and wind dodging flying debris. I can barely see a few inches in front of me. I head towards the cars and start looking under them and between them, calling out for Jasper. I try all of the handles and every vehicle is locked, so he can’t be inside any of them. The only other place he could be is the shed or the woods, but I doubt he would have gone in the woods alone; he’s only five.
Just as I’m about to step out from between two trucks, a large tree branch flies by. I freeze and look up at the sky. It’s too damn dark. I’m not going to know it’s here till it’s on top of me, if that tornado comes through here. I try to stay low to the ground and run for the shed. I slip and slide and I get blown around a lot. I feel like I’m in the ocean fighting a ripe tide. It takes me at least four times longer than it should to get to the shed. I open the door and hear a boy crying, but I can’t see him.
“Jasper?”
“Kayla? Is that you?”
“Yes, come here, quickly. We have to get to the house.”
He comes out and I pick him up and hold him wrapped around the front of me. I take off running for the house and get halfway there before something slams into the back of my head, making me fall forward. I stumble and catch myself before I land on Jasper. I kneel down and grab my head. My vision is blurry and I feel like I might black out.
“Not yet. Not when I’m this close.”
“Are we going to die?”
“No. Hold on tight, ok? We’re almost there.” A gust of wind comes through and knocks me over, but I push up and fight through the wind. I’m basically crawling with him holding onto me for life. “Do not let go.”
He tightens his grip and I have to let go of him to dig my hands into the ground to pull us to the house. Something lashes across my back hard, making me scream out in pain and I almost crumble on top of him. I feel like razor blades are slicing my arms and legs as debris slashes across me in my attempt to claw my way to the house through the fierce winds and rain. The rain feels like gravel pelting me.
I get to the door and it quickly opens and strong arms are lifting us up and pulling us inside. I smile when I see my dad and Uncle Elsu.
“Basement. Now. It’s coming.”
My dad picks me up in his arms and they rush us downstairs. The whole basement is packed, but my girls are at the foot of the stairs crying and waiting for me. As my dad sets me down, they wrap their arms around me, but I wince and pull back. I get dizzy and start to sway. Awenasa catches me and they help me sit. I grab my head where I was struck and look at my hand. Its covered in blood.
“Lena!”
My mom is quickly at my side and they have me lay down to look at my head, but the power goes out. We’re in pitch black. Children start screaming and wailing. It’s such a horrible sound. I reach out for my girls and wrap my arms around them as the sound of an angry freight train moves through.
“Lord Jesus.”
People start praying and crying. I just hold my girls and silently beg the storm to divert away from the house. Everything I love the most is in this house, in this room. I hear the sound of wood splintering and stuff flying around. It sounds like something hit the house, and everyone releases a gasp at the same time.
It lasts for almost a minute, and then almost instantly, everything is calm again. The roaring engine sounds and sound of flying debris is completely gone. We’re still in the pitch black though.
“I’ll check it out.”
It’s my dad’s voice and he slowly climbs the steps and opens the door, letting in some light. He disappears and then returns a minute later.
“Ok, the storm has passed.”
It’s like a wave of relief washes over everyone. My mom and my girls support me to help me up the steps and my mom takes me to her bedroom. The power is still out so she grabs a flash light and gently parts my hair to look at my head. I wince and groan in pain.
“You have a really bad gash back here. It’s going to need stitches. Sara!” Sara comes rushing into the room. “Yeah?”
“Whiskey, flash lights, and a heavy blanket.” Sara nods and runs out of the room. “Someone go get her dry warm clothes. Kayla, get in the shower; you are covered in mud. Someone get in with her to help wash her head to make sure she doesn’t black out and fall over.”
Sam immediately runs to my bedroom and Shannon pulls me into the bathroom. She carefully helps me out of my clothes and gets the shower running. Madison quickly strips down and steps into the shower and holds her hands out to me to help keep me steady as I step over the tub wall. As I’m stepping into the shower, Shannon gasps and reaches out to touch my back.
“Oh, sweetie, what happened out there? You have a horrible bruise clear across your back, like you were struck with a baseball bat or a metal pipe.”
“That’s what it felt like.”
She frowns and pulls the showerhead down and starts rinsing my body. The water is like ice since there’s no power to heat the water. I gasp and cling to Madison. She holds me close and her body heat offers me some warmth, b
ut I feel the chill in my bones and my body starts to tremble.
“Shannon, try to hurry. She’s shaking really bad.”
Shannon immediately starts washing my head and I groan in pain as the water washes over my wound. I gasp loudly and nearly faint when I see how much blood suddenly fills the tub.
“Holy shit. That’s coming from my head?”
“Yes, sweetie. I’m almost done.”
I close my eyes and fight the instinct to open them to watch the amount of blood I’m losing. The sight of standing in a pool of deep crimson blood will haunt me forever now.
After Shannon finishes with cleaning me, they help me out of the shower and help me dry off. Sam gives Shannon a pair of sweatpants and underwear to put on me, but she doesn’t put my shirt on.
“You have a lot of cuts that your mom will need to treat before you can have a shirt. Come on.” I’m shivering really bad and as soon as we come out of the bathroom, my mom comes over with the blanket. “Sam, you run hot. Wrap around Kayla. We have to get her body temperature up.”
Sam immediately wraps her arms around me and my mom wraps the blanket around us. I lay my head down on Sam’s shoulder and she squeezes me closer.
“I thought I was going to lose you.” I kiss her neck a few times. “Almost, but not yet.” She pulls her face back to look at me and her eyes have tears in them. “Kayla…”
“Hey, where did you find Jasper?” My dad is standing in the doorway and I can’t read his face. “The shed, why?” His face transforms into grief and fear. “The shed was completely destroyed. Its strewn across the whole lawn. Most of it is missing.”
Sam sobs and breaks down crying into my chest. My dad shares a look with my mom and then turns to leave. I hold Sam for a couple minutes, and as she starts to settle down, my mom places a hand on each of us.
“It’s time to mend Kayla.”
Sam nods and wipes at her eyes as she releases me. My mom does a full inspection of my torso, cleaning cuts and scrapes really well and then I’m able to put my shirt on. Sara hands me a glass of whiskey and I frown.
“Can’t we do this without firewater?”
