[...] “The high mountains are behind us now,” Lentcha spoke her mind almost out of a sigh. The words and the tone on which she pronounced them conveyed her deep relief.
“’Tis but a short break,” Unpredictable Eagle’s strong voice groaned back at her. His look was set on the horizon where some mountains indeed appeared. True, the heights had confronted them with dangers inherent to nature and they had come across Grizzly bears and eagles. Somehow Unpredictable Eagle’s words also expressed some kind of relief.
“There lay new challenges in front of us,” the voice of the brave went on “but strong of those victories, I’m sure we could go on.” Lentcha followed her mate’s footsteps. However, did they really have the freedom to make a choice? They couldn’t simply give up: they had to build their own way through this void. A void that was not as empty as it appeared to be...
“Hush, did you hear that sound?” Lentcha stopped short and called for help. Unpredictable Eagle turned around almost all at once – his ears attentive to any sound. There it came again and some leaves were moved and a branch was falling from nearby. Every sound took on such a great impact in the morning light. Animals slowly awoke, those of the night leaving, those of the day arriving. Unpredictable Eagle made cautiously his way to reach Lentcha. His hands on her elbows she felt reassured. Both of them spotted the ground surrounding them.
“Hush, did you hear it?” Lentcha almost whispered to her mate. Unpredictable Eagle put his forefinger on her mouth as he grabbed for his tomahawk attached at his belt. The minute after was dreadfully silent. When the leaves moved again in front of them Unpredictable Eagle took hold of his tomahawk and cast it with such genius that it turned on its own and hacked the snake into pieces. All at once Lentcha turned to her man and squeezed him against her, filled with thankfulness. Leaving the lethal beast behind them, the two of them pursued their route to the edge of the cliffs.
They had spent the last days of winter in the high mountains in a more or less safe refuge. With the return of springtime Unpredictable Eagle and Lentcha continued on their way south. The valley lay wide open at their feet. They struggled on the steep edges and rocky cliffs descending into the canyon. Down below they could picture and hear the water pouring down from the mountain. Then the clear waterline stretched into the forest and disappeared far away.
“Come here, take my hand!” Unpredictable Eagle called to his companion. His face was alight with a smile and conveyed so much comfort and happiness. His left hand was open as the cold water from the falls wet his forearm. The right hand stretched towards Lentcha and her face was complete with the same radiant smile. She stretched her arm and passed next to the man. The heat was so strong it relieved them to reach for the water. The girl kneeled on the edge of the cliff and stretched her long black hair directly into the water.
“Watch out, Lentcha, the currents are strong and we are high on the cliff,” Unpredictable Eagle tried to warn her but she could no longer hear, her ears under the water. She turned to him with a big smile and said something he couldn’t understand. Unpredictable Eagle could sense her happiness and smiled back at her.
The man sat back, leaning against the rocky edges of the mountain and looked at Lentcha. There she was, turning her back on him and looking at the far horizon. The sun descended behind the mountainous cliffs spreading at the far end. In the redness of a closing sunny day she looked upon the wilderness spreading at her feet. Her long black and slightly curly hair hung down her back and gave her such a beautiful look. Only to look at her Unpredictable Eagle could feel the softness and tenderness of her skin. He could literally feel desire grow as she turned her head to him and stared back with these magnificent black eyes.
They built a fire in the surroundings of the falls. Unpredictable Eagle had caught some fish and they grilled it. Sitting close to another they stretched their open hands next to the fire. Though the day had been beautiful the weather cooled down at night and their improvised shelter was not enough to keep them warm. So they lay side by side guided by the strength of their feelings and desires. The light of the fire slowly vanished in the night as the two of them, huddled together, fell asleep. The cold no longer mattered to them, they were warm in their hearts.
“Listen, listen my boy,” Lentcha caressed Unpredictable Eagle’s back and whispered in his ears, trying hard to wake him. She was alerted by odd sounds coming from the forest. As they found a shelter somehow set above the forest and wilderness, every sound came back to them.
“What is it?” Unpredictable Eagle inquired as he turned to her at last. “The sun so high already, how long have we slept?”
“I don’t know, but listen to the sounds: that is what scared me out of sleep,” Lentcha hushed back to the big man.
Unpredictable Eagle leaned on the edge of the mountain and examined the wilderness lying underneath. His vision and hearing were very sensitive, he could thus discern whatever movement – be it a squirrel, a snake, any animal or human steps.
Natives knew how best to mingle with the sounds of nature. Indeed they progressed silently and in rhythm with the winds and natural sounds. This was a tremendous strength but when they captured somebody against his will this advantage was altered.
“There it goes,” Unpredictable Eagle spoke with Lentcha who came at his side, without pointing in the direction. Lentcha first felt at a loss, then she caught sight of what he said and she replied:
“Though hard to discern,” Unpredictable Eagle put his arm on her back and moved his head still closer to her. Both their eyes looked at the top of the trees lying at their feet.
“There they go, it’s a squad of I’d say two or three. And there’s the voice of that child- I’d say it’s a child – and the voice appears to me as a scream for help,” while Unpredictable Eagle brought Lentcha in the confidence, the latter replied “It’s a girl, wouldn’t you agree it’s a girl’s voice?”
“Probably. And if it’s a girl screaming for help and if that’s a squad of warriors...” as he spoke these words a bad vision aroused in both Lentcha and Unpredictable Eagle.
The last bruises of the fire were cold then, leaving nothing but a black point on the rocky surface where they had built the fire. The two of them stood up and packed their things. Unpredictable Eagle opened the way and climbed down the steep hill leading into the valley. Lentcha followed him shortly. Danger awaited them down there as they knew they were on another tribe’s ground.
“It just seems legitimate that each people defend their land, so we need to be cautious while we cross this region,” Unpredictable Eagle told his comrade and friend while they entered the great unknown wilderness.
“But does it also seem legitimate to you these men rape a young girl?” Lentcha snapped back at himn. Unpredictable Eagle’s eyes rolled back to hers “This is a moral aspect we ought to deal with, but here we need to be aware of political implications of our moves”.
Lentcha knew they would have to act and whatever implications this will have. Being a woman and as she had faced the same in the past already it was plain to her they would have to act. She held on to the spear in her right hand and checked for the arrows and elbow on her back.
Led by the cries for help of the little one, Unpredictable Eagle and Lentcha advanced through the unknown. Fast enough they traced the men and the girl. Seeing them confirmed Unpredictable Eagle’s foreboding: they were three men. Two of them were standing away and the third was busy with the poor little girl.
Their plan of attack was clear already, one look was enough to set the strategy. Lentcha prepared her bow and fixed her objective. Suddenly Unpredictable Eagle screamed a loud and piercing shout, that sound announced death. His shouting was the signal and the first arrow flung in the first native’s throat. Dead at once the guy fell aground. The second turned to see where the arrow came from, while he turned the spread flew out of the bushes hurting him in the stomach. The warrior fell to his knees. The third one was so busy with the delicate creature he hardly noticed. When he stood up and turned around a tomahawk hit him between the eyes. That was a quick death. His head covered with blood he fell aground. Terrified, the girl lay naked and frightened on the ground in front of Unpredictable Eagle, a perfect stranger to her. Out of nowhere Lentcha ran to the girl and reassured her. Unpredictable Eagle took hold of the blood stained tomahawk and killed the last native.
During this dramatic event, the concentration and determination was so high neither Unpredictable Eagle nor his companion noticed what was going on around them.
The young girl sat amazed and afraid in front of the two she had never seen before. The light of the sunrays pierced through the branches of the great trees surrounding them. Lentcha was sitting next to the little one while Unpredictable Eagle caught his breath again and turned to the girls, his face all red from the blood. He held his tomahawk in front of him, looking at it, then he placed it in front of his muscled chest and looked straight at the bare girl. Tears flew down the girls’ cheek as Lentcha covered her with a cloth to keep her war. Silent reigned again and a light breeze could be heard above the three of them.
“Look at yours, all covered with red,” a strong voice could be heard from behind Unpredictable Eagle, breaking the silence. The latter turned on his heels and sought for the stranger’s voice. He looked all about him but could not see anyone.
The tragic and fatal scene had occurred in the depth of the forest but the surface was not even, trees surrounding them appeared bigger because they were higher. The sunlight created a natural line of light and burned Unpredictable Eagle’s eyes. Behind this line seven warriors looked down upon the three of them.
“Who are you, who was it who spoke to me?” Unpredictable Eagle yelled in the air, looking for an answer. No answer came back to him and after a short moment the man in red fell to his knees and hid his face in his arms. The tomahawk lay beside him. Lentcha held the girl’s head against her chest and consoled her as best as she could. Silence prevailed again for a moment.
© 2016 Matt Oehler
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