My family and some of our tribe members had just moved to New Mexico from Oklahoma. My father told me that we were going to a better place where we could live happily. My father also said that we’d be living near another tribe called the Navajo. When we arrived, we saw that our land bordered a Navajo reservation. I glanced around and saw some children playing. I wanted to go play with them, but I was stopped by my friend, Tooantuh.
Tooantuh was twelve years old, which made him five years older than me. He was like my older brother and he was my only friend. He and I watched the children play for a moment, when one of the children looked up at us. The boy didn’t look like the rest of the children. His skin was a bit lighter than the skin of the other children.
He stared at us for a few moments, and then he ran after the rest of the children.
“Why couldn’t we play with them, Tooantuh?” I asked as I pouted at him.
“They are from another tribe, Amadahy. We don’t know if they are our enemies.” Tooantuh said as he looked toward the reservation.
“They didn’t look like enemies, Tooantuh.” I whined as my mother started walking toward us.
“Catherine Izabelle Rene Sisler!” my mother shouted scaring the both of us. We both turned around and looked at her wide eyed.
“Yes, mother?” I asked innocently. Tooantuh gave me a confused look, but continued watching my mother and me.
“Where did you put my copy of Romeo & Juliet?” my mother asked folding her arms.
“I gave it to father.” I said glancing back at the reservation. My mother and Tooantuh looked toward the reservation as well. A small group of Navajo people had gathered near the front of the reservation. My mother looked a bit scared, but the Navajo people just looked at us. Tooantuh and I saw the young boy who had been staring at us push to the front of the group. He saw us looking at him and gave us a cheeky grin. I knew at that moment, that the boy was going to be trouble.
My father walked over to us and nodded toward the Navajo people. The chief nodded back to him and the group went back to their business.
“Time to for supper, Kamama.” my father said as he wrapped his arm around my mother’s waist. The Navajo boy was still smiling at Tooantuh and me. I was going to go over to him, but Tooantuh stopped me again.
“You heard your father, Amadahy.” he said nodding to the Navajo boy. I pouted as I walked after my mother and father. Tooantuh made sure that I went with my parents and stayed there. That night, I decided to ask my mother if I could play with the Navajo children. She was about to begin reading The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe when I interrupted her.
“Mama, may I play with the Navajo children?” I asked cautiously. Her eyes widened a bit, but she didn’t seem too surprised.
“Your father will meet with the chief of the tribe. If all goes well, then you may play with them.” she said as my younger sister began crying. My mother rocked her to sleep and got back to reading the poem to me. After my mother finished reading,Beats By Dre Sale, I was fast asleep. The next day, I woke up early and ran outside. Tooantuh was talking to my father when I ran over to them. My father smiled at me as he pulled me into a hug.
“How is my little Kamama?” he asked as he looked into my green eyes.
“I’m very well, father.” I said with a smile.
“How would you like to learn how to use a knife?’ my father asked with a grin. My eyes widened and I let out a squeal. I had been bothering him about teaching me how to throw knives for almost two years. He handed me one of his knives as he lead me to a tree. He pulled one of his knives out for himself and started telling me how to properly throw a knife.
We practiced for a few hours as Tooantuh watched with a smile. I had some pretty bad aim at first, but I started to get the hang of it. My father told me to practice with Tooantuh while he went to meet the Navajo tribe. Tooantuh was more than a little worried because my father had given me a knife. He reluctantly tried to teach me how to improve my aim for an hour.
We decided to take a break and explore our surroundings.
“Come on, bruder!” I shouted as I ran through the woods ahead of Tooantuh.
“Hold on, schwester!” he shouted after me. When he caught up with me, we burst out laughing.
“You remembered how to say ‘sister’ in German!” I said with a grin.
“Yes, after hearing you and your mother, it just stayed with me.” he said as he looked around. We were very close to the Navajo reservation, which had him worried.
“Let’s go play with the Navajo children!” I shouted as I started to run toward the reservation.
“No, we don’t know if we can trust them yet.” Tooantuh said as he grabbed my arm.
“How long will it take until we know?” I asked hanging my head low.
“I don’t know, Kamama.” he said as I started climbing a tall tree near the reservation. I motioned for him to come up with me as the boy from yesterday appeared. Tooantuh crouched in a bush and watched closely. I wasn’t sure that the boy had seen me until he walked over to the tree and looked up at me.
“What are you doing up there?” the boy asked tilting his head to the side.
“I wanted to see how high I could climb.” I said with a grin. The boy seemed to think about my answer and started climbing up himself. When he reached the branch that I was on, he sat down beside me.
“My name is Jose Chavez y Chavez.” he said as he grinned at me.
“My name is Catherine Izabelle Rene Sisler.” I said as I stuck out my hand. Jose looked at it for a moment and finally shook it.
“You’re name doesn’t sound Indian.” Jose said arching his eyebrow at me.
“That’s the name that my mother gave me. My father calls me Amadahy or Kamama.” I said watching the boy. A look of confusion washed over his face and he thought for a few moments before he spoke again.
“Is your mother the white woman I saw you with yesterday?” Jose asked slowly.
“Yes, most of my tribe didn’t like it very much.” I said shyly.
“I’m only half Indian too. My tribe doesn’t like it much either.” he said looking at me. I looked into his eyes and smiled. I finally found someone who understood me. He grinned at me and ruffled my hair with his hand.
“Hey, why did you do that?!” I asked with a scowl. He smiled widely and ruffled my hair again.
“I think your hair looks better that way. You’re cute when you’re mad too.” he said as he tried to do it again. I leaned out of his reach and smacked his hand away.
“Stop it! You’re messing up my hair,Nike Air Max!” I yelled at him. He grinned at me and scooted closer to me.
“I don’t want to stop. You’re hair really does look better that way, chica.” Jose said as he messed up my hair again. Before I knew what I was doing, I slapped him. Jose had a small, red handprint on his cheek and a shocked look on his face. His eyes were watering like he was going to cry, which made me feel bad. I noticed that his brown eyes were also filled with rage, so I decided to retreat before I got hurt.
He came down the tree after me yelling things at me in Spanish. Tooantuh grabbed me as soon as my feet touched the ground. Jose was on the ground seconds after I was. He tried to get to me, but Tooantuh wouldn’t let him.
“She hit me!” Jose shouted as he tried to get past Tooantuh. Tooantuh glanced back at me and I knew that I was probably going to be in trouble.
“Did you hit him?” he asked as Jose lunged at me.
“Do you see this? I didn’t do it to myself!” Jose yelled pointing to his cheek.
“Yes, I hit him. He wouldn't stop messing up my hair and I hit him.” I said defiantly.
“It sounds like you deserved it.” Tooantuh said with a chuckle. Jose managed to get past him and he grabbed my arm. Instead of pulling away from him and hiding behind Tooantuh, I started hitting and kicking Jose as hard as I could. Jose seemed shocked at first, but he started hitting and kicking me back. Tooantuh grabbed Jose and pulled him away from me. He had started to get Jose calmed down and eventually stepped away from him.
Jose was about to speak when I tackled him to the ground. He and I started rolling around on the ground punching and slapping any chance we got. I managed to get on top of him and pin him to the ground.
“Get off of me, you crazy girl!” Jose shouted as he tried to wriggle away from me. I grinned triumphantly until Tooantuh pulled me off of him.
“Why did you do that?!” He yelled at me as Jose stood up with a smirk on his face.
“He started it, I had to finish it.” I said as Jose glared at me.
“No, you started the hitting,Cheap Oakley sunglasses Shop! I was just playing with you and you hit me!” Jose yelled at me defensively.
“I told you to stop, so you started it!” I yelled back at him.
“ENOUGH!” Tooantuh yelled making both of us jump. Jose started backing up, but he bumped into the tree that we had been climbing.
“I see you’ve met my daughter.” my father said making me jump. Jose’s eyes widened and he gulped.
“Y-y-yes, I have sir.” Jose stuttered as he glanced at me. I had a smirk on my face now as I watched Jose.
“Did the two of you have fun?” my father asked with a grin. Before Jose or I could answer, Tooantuh jumped in.
“They’ve been fighting almost the whole time that they’ve known each other.” Tooantuh said crossing his arms. My father chuckled and patted Jose on the head.
“The two of you are just like your mother and me when we met.” my father said as he looked at me. Jose stared at my father and then looked back at me.
“Let’s go, Amadahy. Say goodbye to your new little friend.” Tooantuh said with a grin. Jose and I glared at him. Jose waved at me with a smirk; I stuck my tongue out at him as I started to walk away with Tooantuh.
3 years later
I spent most of my time on the Red Sand Creek Reservation fighting with Jose. Tooantuh tried his best to avoid the reservation as much as possible. I started seeing less and less of him as the years went by. I knew that Tooantuh didn’t like Jose too much, but I just had to fight with him. I couldn’t help myself; he was just too much fun.
It was a warm evening in September when Jose and I almost started to get along. We decided to pretend to sword fight with sticks. All was going well until Jose shoved me to the ground. I placed my stick on the ground and lunged for his knees. We rolled around punching and slapping like we always did until Jose’s grandmother burst out laughing at us. We stopped fighting and stared at the elderly woman with frightened looks on our faces.
“The two of you will be married when you’re older. It’s what fate has chosen for you.” she said grinning at us. My eyes widened as I looked at Jose. His mouth was hanging open and he was staring at his grandmother like she was insane.
“I wouldn’t marry her! She’ll kill me!” Jose yelled suddenly making me jump.
“I wouldn’t marry you either!” I yelled grabbing my stick. I hit him between the eyes with the stick as hard as I could. The tip of the stick made a small cut near his hair line making me regret hitting him. A thin trail of blood trickled down his forehead as he glared at me. His grandmother continued laughing as Jose reached up and touched the wound.
He looked at his fingers and his eyes widened. I giggled nervously as I took a few steps back. Jose turned toward me with a very angry look on his face. I knew I was in big trouble when I saw the rage in his dark eyes as he stomped toward me. As I ran out of the reservation, I bumped into Tooantuh.
I nearly fell backward, but he caught me. Jose came running toward me angrily. Tooantuh stepped in front of me keeping me out of Jose’s reach. Jose stopped in his tracks when he saw Tooantuh step in front of me. He still had the angry look on his face, but the blood that was now running down the bridge of his nose made him look scary.
“What happened to you, Chavez?” Tooantuh asked with a chuckle.
“She hit me with a stick!” Jose yelled as he pointed at me. I grinned and stuck out my tongue at him. He lunged at me, but Tooantuh lightly pushed him back.
“Amadahy, you shouldn’t even be near this little Mexican. He’s crazy.” Tooantuh sneered at Jose. My eyes widened as I looked at Tooantuh. Jose still had an angry look on his face, but I saw the hurt in his eyes when Tooantuh insulted him. What Jose did next made me wonder if he really was crazy.
“Mexican Indian, you son of a bitch!” Jose said angrily as he puffed out his chest. Tooantuh looked like someone had just slapped him in the face. I fought the urge to laugh as Tooantuh stared at Jose wide eyed. My eyes widened as I saw Tooantuh’s hand curl into a fist as he took a step toward Jose. I ran underneath his arm putting myself between him and Jose.
“Move aside, Amadahy. This kid needs to be taught a lesson.” Tooantuh said through gritted teeth. Jose put his hands on my shoulders as Tooantuh tried to move me out of the way.
“Mexican or not, he’s my friend!” I said as I heard Jose gasp behind me. Tooantuh stared at me for a moment, and then he turned and walked away.
“If I’m your friend, why did you do this to me?” Jose asked pointing to his wounded forehead.
“You weren’t being nice and you made me mad.” I said as I watched Tooantuh walking away. Jose was now standing beside me watching Tooantuh leave. When Tooantuh was gone, Jose flicked the tip of my nose. I glared at him I while I lightly rubbed my nose. Jose gave me a cheeky grin as he reached out his hand. I took his hand and the two of us walked back to the reservation. We walked into his mother’s hogan so she could clean his wound. Jose had introduced me to her as Catherine, but they both called me Cat instead.
“How did this happen, Jose?” she asked as she cleaned the cut.
“Well…I…” I started, but was interrupted by Jose.
“I was chasing Cat through the forest and I ran into a branch.” Jose said wincing as his mother bandaged the cut.
“Why were you two running through the forest?” she asked glancing at me.
“We were pretending to be hunting bison.” Jose said with a grin as he poked his freshly bandaged cut. I rolled my eyes when he winced after he touched his cut. His mother chuckled as Jose walked over to me and sat down. I looked at my friend as he leaned his head on my shoulder.
“How do you feel?” I asked as I saw him close his eyes. Jose’s eyes snapped open and a grin spread across his lips.
“I feel terrible, you should take care of me, chica.” he said watching my face.
“Your mother will take care of you; I can’t even take care of myself yet!” I said defensively.
“You’re ten years old that means you’re almost an adult.” Jose said with a chuckle.
“You’re ten years old too. I think you’re older than me,Coach Handbags, so you’d be an adult first.” I said as I scooted away from him.
“So, boys grow slower than girls.” Jose said sticking out his tongue. I glared at him, but we both started laughing. Later that night,Cheap Nike Air Max, he walked me back to my house. My mother smiled as we came inside. Jose and I said our goodbyes and he walked back to the reservation. My mother kept smiling at me for the rest of the night. She knew something that I didn’t. Maybe I was just too blind to see what she saw or I didn’t even want to think about what she saw.
没有评论:
发表评论