Mijita Ru 2
I awoke early, gazing up at the pre-dawn sky crowded with
stars. My restless thoughts had awoken me before I was ready to rise. Now I will be exhausted today instead of
refreshed. I sighed, resigned. I had asked Mater to take me with her, sworn
allegiance to her god and people, forsaking my own. But that was not why I was
worried. No.
Today is the day we would finally arrive in Bethhaven. I was
finally frightened of my choices facing Mater’s home town.
I could not imagine what today would be like, so I let my
thoughts roam the familiar territory of the past two months. Leaving Perla had
been difficult, but her father had been very generous with us. It is true that
he received the chance of a second dowry by accepting her back in his house. He
also graciously received all our household items that did not fit on the
donkey. And our house. And land.
Mater chastised me for saying he had given us his weakest
donkey and scant food for one traveler, let alone two. Alone with the stars, I
was free to admit he had been motivated by greed, not kindness. At least he had
found us safe passage with this caravan. We could not have traveled so far
alone.
I would not miss the daily grime of travel. I smiled up at
the stars remembering when my feet hurt so badly at night that I collapsed onto
my coverings at night before making the fire. Mater had taken care me and the
fire that night, although she was stiff from riding the donkey. My leg muscles
burned, my breath had come in gasps and my vision blurred until I had grown
accustomed to the exertion. Now I could have walked another twenty days, but I
would not miss it. If someone would feed us.
Knowing I would just lie awake until the caravan camp
stirred, I crawled out of my bedroll and awakened the glowing coals. I divided
the last of our rations into two meager meals. A broth would be most refreshing
for Mater. I smiled to myself as I gathered our water skins and my cloak. A
broth had been our breakfast most of our traveling days, but it was true that
it was the best choice. Mater’s teeth hurt to tear into the dried meat without
softening it in water first.
I stepped silently, placing my feet carefully so as not to
awaken the other travelers. We always camped on the outer edge of the caravan,
so we were always furthest from the water source. I did not dare slip directly
through camp, the shortest way to the river. If one of the men saw me at this
early hour, they would assume I was coming to their bed to please them. I
shuddered, drawing my hooded cloak over my face and hunched over to walk like
Mater.
Skirting the camp, I passed between the sleeping forms and
the nightly watch. The noise of the river grew as I got closer. I crept a
little further from the camp as I pushed through the luscious growth that clung
to the river side. I paused to listen as my cloak swished past the tall grass.
I could not hear anything with the sound of the river in my ears. Gripping our water
skins, I chose speed over stealth and ran the rest of the way.
I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder as I filled our
water skins, but I saw only dark shadows. I didn’t feel safe again until I had
escaped the noise of the river. It was more difficult to be silent weighed down
with water and the armful of grass I had gathered, but easier to hunch over
their weight. Thank god we had the donkey, even if he was skin and bones. That’s
what I called him to myself. Bones.
Soon I was sitting on my coverings with broth warming on our
little fire. The sky was beginning to pale with coming daylight and the cooks
had woken around the camp. Restless, I unpacked our few bags. We had brought a
few changes of clothes, a few supplies for our house, a very few treasures from
our past lives. So little.
I tried to picture what today would be like. If two women
had arrived in in my hometown alone with so few belongings, would anyone help
them? I knew the answer and it chilled me. We would consider them unlucky and
do our utmost to send them away. No one would offer them hearth or home. If
they persisted in staying despite being rejected, they would be mistreated.
They would be common slaves of the town or worse, ravaged. Were Mater’s people better
than mine? I had to hope so, but I had no idea what I was hoping for.
Mater was stirring. My thoughts had wandered and I felt no
better for it. Quickly I repacked our things, ignoring just how quickly that
was possible. The broth was steaming already. It would be hot very soon. I
shook the dust from my bedroll, packing them up tight. I slipped over to the
animal coral to find Bones and led her back to our fire with grass I had
gathered from the riverside. He always demanded some bribery before
cooperating. I had grown accustomed to his grumpy disposition.
With a handful of grass and a tight grip on his halter, I
lured him to our campsite to a larger pile of grass. While his nose was buried
in it, I hobbled his front legs, having learned the hard way that he would
wander off once I started to adjust his loads.
When Mater sat up, I hurried over to give her a cup of
broth. Every morning she seemed to move more slowly. Today she did not notice
that I gave her most of the meat. “Today is the day, Mater.” I spoke cheerily,
trying to smile. I sat close to her on her bedroll with my own cup of broth
steaming in my hand.
Mater sighed over her broth. “Follow my lead today, Mijita.”
“Yes, Mater.”
We sat, staring into the fire without another word, our mugs
untouched in our hands.
When the camp began loading their beasts, I finally gulped
down my breakfast, now chilled. I helped Mater to her feet, ignoring her
attempt to pass me her broth. Quickly I packed her bedroll and arranged
everything on Bones. Then there was nothing left but to help Mater up onto him.
I pressed her untouched mug back into her hand as she settled in her familiar
place.
“Our way lies in that direction,” Mater finally spoke again,
her voice low and raspy. I followed line of sight, away from the river, deep
into the land.
