Day 5
The days are growing colder and every step is harder to take. Animals are beginning to fall; it brings food but at the sacrifice of one's belongings.
A woman beside me cries, her tears run down her beautiful face. I watch with empathy as the drops land on the dying grass. Her family is gone, and now she remains alone. All she has are the clothes on her back and the seemingly endless tears.
I knew this woman, from back at our homeland. She was part of my tribe, an elder woman with great wisdom. She was called Cha'kwaina, 'the one who cries'. My father told me that when she was born, Cha'kwaina wailed so loudly, it scared the buffalo and called upon a storm.
Cha'kwaina was gentle and often shared wisdom to the children of the tribe. I had never seen her cry before, until today.
Cha'kwaina lets out a cough and I sigh, facing forward as I walk close to Takoda.
Cha'kwaina came into the world crying, and she will do the same as she leaves it.
YOU ARE READING
As the Fires Burn
Short StoryJoin Haileah, a beautiful Cherokee woman who faces the tribulations of the long journey along the Trail of Tears. Who struggles with falling in love with an English soldier, sent to strip her away from her home.
