The Lost Tribe: Maliha the Wanderer (Book 1)

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"I think it does matter. I think you are just as important as any other person in this tribe."

He looked uncertain, face riddled with disbelief as he shook his head.

"But I don't have parents."

And that was the crux of the problem.

Somewhere in Enzo's young mind he had begun to equate belonging into the tribe with having a biological family and because he had none, he felt as if he didn't belong. He had no direct roots that would reassure him. All he had was Ujarak, who had been oblivious to the boy's needs.

"Neither do I," she murmured softly, heart breaking at the image this child made.

Seeing Enzo was like looking into a mirror and seeing her younger self. She had been such a lost child, she had craved love and all she had received was their discontent.

Maliha shuffled along the grass, until she was sitting close enough to wrap her arms around the little boy. His body was stiff at first, eyes wide as his breath halted in his throat. A contented sigh oozed from his lips as his body softened and he melted into her arms, his head burying into her shoulder. Her fingers ran through his coarse hair, stroking the abrasive strands.

"I like this," his words full of wonder and joy as his little arms wrapped tightly around Maliha.

He squeezed her neck tightly and then she felt the warm drops of his tears gliding down her neck. Her lips began to quiver as she fought back her own urge to sob at this boy's pain and her own. The pain that she had only buried deeper and deeper the longer she had followed the river that lead her here.

It festered inside her and in moments like this she was a bleeding heart, full of bubbling rage and overwhelming despair. She felt every single emotion Enzo's felt as if it were her own.

"Thank you," he smiled, pulling away from Maliha as he rubbed at his red rimmed.

Those words alone broke the damn on Maliha's emotions.

"It was my pleasure," she chuckled back rubbing his pink cheeks that had coloured with embarrassment.

"If you ever need another hug, you come to me and I will be there for you. Okay?"

His head nodded in agreement. He looked happier, lighter, as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. A shy smile trailed across his lips as the visible pain in his orbs began to fade.

———————

Enzo was such a special boy, his laughter and inquisitive mind had filled Maliha's day with such joy. when they had both recovered from their emotional moment he had shown her the type of boy he was behind all the neglect and brooding. He fired questions at her like a seasoned interrogator, laughed like a wild hyena and was as mischievous and cheeky as any other six year old was. Enzo was such a precious child and each moment they spent together, Maliha was becoming more and more attached.

"I hid in the bushes when everyone started leaving the water so I didn't have to go pray with them."

He chuckled, his dimples sinking into his cheeks as he told Maliha his ruse of how he hid in the forest to miss the ritualistic prayer. She felt obligated to tell him off but how could she when at his age she had done the same thing.

The Melikit tribe every winter would have a celebration at the highest peak in the mountain, they would pray for a whole day straight, without food or water. At the end of the prayer they would slaughter the largest animal they could find and sacrifice it to the god Himala who was the god of life and death. They hoped that by slaughtering the animal to him he would provide them with a prosperous life and more food.