Escaping From Home
She was running. She and her two brothers were running on the dry, rocky soil away from the cliffs of her hometown Mesa Verde. It was very dark, and suddenly her younger brother began crying.
“Shh, Halian, everything will be okay soon.” she whispered to him, hoping he would stop before they were heard.
“Quiet him Meli.”
“I’m trying to, it cannot be helped.” She told her older brother quickly.
They could not be found, and they couldn’t go back to their home. She wasn’t upset
and she would continue without question. Mesa Verde, and the rest of her and her brother’s tribe, had fallen to chaos. Her home, and everything that she had ever known would have
to be left behind. She had brought nothing except a basket her mother had made, and most of their supplies that they would need to gain trust from the Zuni tribe that they were
escaping to. Her own tribe had been slowly growing worse in the chaos of the drought, ever since the start of a drought that she couldn’t remember the beginning of. She had very
little fear of leaving it.
She was scared to stay.
It was very dark; she knew they had to stop soon. Her brother found a small cave where she knew they would be safe, so she stopped, and thought back to the morning before.
She remembered her confusion as she was grabbed by the arm and pulled into a small hidden cave near her home.
“Ahote?” She asked, when she saw her brother. “What are you doing?”
“We must leave, as soon as possible. We aren’t safe. The tribe is corrupted, and farther south horrible things are happening in our brother tribes.”
“I know.”
She had heard the whispers between the elders of the things that were happening.
The drought had brought with it an unrest that caused disorder and pandemonium among everything and everyone around it. Many of the rumors were horrifying, with stories of cannibalism and wars between tribes. There was no question that they had to escape while they could. This chaos was finding it’s way north extremely quickly, and signs of it had begun appearing in her home of Mesa Verde.
They were going to a Zuni tribe that was known to protect those that came with supplies, and Ahote was carrying much of their family’s resources with him, to ensure their safety. It wouldn’t be perfect, but there was safety, and protection that would not be compromised while the tribes around them fell.
Some of the people from Mesa Verde had left even earlier than them, and were living in the Zuni and Hopi tribes. They left everything behind, and changed so that they would be
a part of a new, stable tribe. Meli remembered seeing a girl that was once her friend in
a Hopi tribe, answering to a new name and wearing new clothing while trading for pottery from them. The idea of becoming a new person was scary, but the girl had been happy.
As if her brother knew what she was thinking, he looked over. “Don’t worry Meli, everything will be alright. You, Halian, and I will be alright.”
“I know,” she told him, and she did. “We will be okay, and we will be safe.”
“Shh, Halian, everything will be okay soon.” she whispered to him, hoping he would stop before they were heard.
“Quiet him Meli.”
“I’m trying to, it cannot be helped.” She told her older brother quickly.
They could not be found, and they couldn’t go back to their home. She wasn’t upset
and she would continue without question. Mesa Verde, and the rest of her and her brother’s tribe, had fallen to chaos. Her home, and everything that she had ever known would have
to be left behind. She had brought nothing except a basket her mother had made, and most of their supplies that they would need to gain trust from the Zuni tribe that they were
escaping to. Her own tribe had been slowly growing worse in the chaos of the drought, ever since the start of a drought that she couldn’t remember the beginning of. She had very
little fear of leaving it.
She was scared to stay.
It was very dark; she knew they had to stop soon. Her brother found a small cave where she knew they would be safe, so she stopped, and thought back to the morning before.
She remembered her confusion as she was grabbed by the arm and pulled into a small hidden cave near her home.
“Ahote?” She asked, when she saw her brother. “What are you doing?”
“We must leave, as soon as possible. We aren’t safe. The tribe is corrupted, and farther south horrible things are happening in our brother tribes.”
“I know.”
She had heard the whispers between the elders of the things that were happening.
The drought had brought with it an unrest that caused disorder and pandemonium among everything and everyone around it. Many of the rumors were horrifying, with stories of cannibalism and wars between tribes. There was no question that they had to escape while they could. This chaos was finding it’s way north extremely quickly, and signs of it had begun appearing in her home of Mesa Verde.
They were going to a Zuni tribe that was known to protect those that came with supplies, and Ahote was carrying much of their family’s resources with him, to ensure their safety. It wouldn’t be perfect, but there was safety, and protection that would not be compromised while the tribes around them fell.
Some of the people from Mesa Verde had left even earlier than them, and were living in the Zuni and Hopi tribes. They left everything behind, and changed so that they would be
a part of a new, stable tribe. Meli remembered seeing a girl that was once her friend in
a Hopi tribe, answering to a new name and wearing new clothing while trading for pottery from them. The idea of becoming a new person was scary, but the girl had been happy.
As if her brother knew what she was thinking, he looked over. “Don’t worry Meli, everything will be alright. You, Halian, and I will be alright.”
“I know,” she told him, and she did. “We will be okay, and we will be safe.”