The Oak Hotel - Watty Awards 2013 Finalist

Chapter Forty-one - Sapana

Chapter Forty-one

Sapana

Two figures moved swiftly across the desert.

The mother, known by everyone in her Arapaho tribe as Baha, looked down at her daughter and marveled at how much she had grown in just the past year. Sapana would be eleven by mid-winter, but already had the heart and mind of a young woman.

As they crossed the desert scrub, Baha threw occasional glances back over her shoulder. They were not being followed. There were no shouts of, "Stop! Bring her back!" Baha was her tribe's storyteller, but even this did not give her the right to remove Sapana from the great family.

"Will there be other girls, Mama?" Sapana asked in flawless English.

Baha nodded, returning her response in the same language she had so meticulously instilled in her daughter:

"Yes. Many girls. I have spoken with the woman who runs the school and she is very excited to have you."

"Grandfather will be upset," Sapana said, trying to keep up with her mother's quick pace. "He will not understand."

"That is of no matter, my love. I do this for you, but also for all the girls and women in our family. We are a proud family, Sapana."

"Yes," the girl replied. "I will do my best."

An hour later, they rounded the southwestern side of a hill featuring a miniature butte sitting sentinel at its top. At once, they made out the dim lights of a nearby town.

"We are nearly there, my love," Baha said, feeling her heart flutter, fearing she might never see her only child again.

*     *     *

Kayleigh and Lincoln stared as the two figures became smaller and finally faded into the pre-morning dusk.

The voice of Ka Tolerates came to them again, speaking in an intimate, confidential manner they had never heard before, This is where it begins. My mother woke me earlier that night and told me I was going to school. The men were away and would not return for days.

"So you're name is Sapana?" Kayleigh asked.

Lincoln shook his head. There were so many things he was having a hard time believing: that he was back in his own world, that he was in Colorado and that it was the 1800s. Had he even studied this time in US history at school? He had no internal data to draw from other than stereotypes from books and movies.

Kayleigh asked, "Are we really here? I mean, is this all real?"

Ka Tolerates, her voice even more musical and inflected than ever, laughed. It was a sound that filled them both with inexplicable joy. Yes, we are really here, but only as observers. Everything I now show you truly happened. We can move about through space and time as we wish. I thought the reality of our situation might be clearer if you both live out a bit of my life.

"Like walking a few miles in your shoes," Kayleigh said, the idiom automatically filling her mind.

Ka Tolerates laughed again and their minds filled with the bright, almost bell-like sound. Exactly, my dear.

"Ka—" Lincoln began, but was gently interrupted by the omniscient voice.

Please call me Sapana, both of you. Ka Tolerates was a name I gave myself much later, during my time in the Valley of the Oaks. It no longer has weight or purpose. I am Ka Tolerates no longer.