Voices that Carry

A Short, Short Story by Lo Brewer

Scenic Frozen Winter Lake/ © Wiki Media Commons by ForrestWander

People in the village were whispering about her, but she didn't care. Every day, she lugged her saw, a bucket, a homemade fishing pole, and bait across the frozen lake. Once there, she sat shivering while waiting for the telltale tug from a creature below the surface. This torturous task wasn't for the fairer sex but what choice did she have? On that particular day, as clouds and a north wind rolled in from the mountains, she was deep in thought about how she got to this point, so much so that she almost didn’t notice two little girls at the edge of the lake, shouting and pointing...

When she was born, she was named Istas, meaning ‘snow.’  She arrived in the middle of a blizzard on the plains.  Her mother believed she would have a cold spirit, only warmed by a very special love. Her mother, as always, was right.

When the wife of their village’s leader gave birth to a baby girl, she was named Taborri, meaning ‘voices that carry.’  She came forth from her mother wailing and it was predicted that nothing, not even death would be able to quiet her. This prediction was also true.

As children, Izzy and Tabby were inseparable.  They were like two sides of the same coin.  Izzy was rambunctious, constantly getting into trouble, never doing her chores and often bringing Tabby into precarious situations.  Tabby, however, was industrious and skilled.  She excelled at hunting and was as fast and as strong as any of the boys in the village.  Her skillset and position as the leader’s daughter, would garner a very high dowry.

When they were younger, they were bonded as close as sisters.  But as they grew, their bond changed.  They started looking at each other more like nȧhtse'eme, as a husband views a wife.  Izzy was convinced that everyone around them could see their love for each other and would tear them apart.  She begged Tabby to leave the village with her.

“But where will we go?” Tabby asked.

“Far, far from here, where no one knows us.  Where we can live our truth without the judging eyes of our families,” Izzy said.

“But if only we tell them, they may not react the way you think.  They love us.  We’re a community.  They will never abandon us.  We shouldn’t abandon them,” Tabby said. 

“But they will! You don’t see.  Your family is highly favored.  Mine is not.  They’ll blame me.  They’ll say I’ve taken you down a dark path.  Then my family will fall further into disfavor. Please.  We must go, and soon!” Izzy pled.

“Fine then.  I will go with you,” Tabby said.

Even though Tabby firmly believed that nothing could damage their bond to their village, she agreed to go with Izzy.  They left that spring and traveled west and north across the plains.  When they finally stopped it was summer and they were in a fishing village near a large river and many lakes. 

Tabby immediately got to work setting up their new home.  She built it with her bare hands.  She hunted throughout the summer hoping she’d be able to salt enough meat to carry them through the cold winter months.  They were happy for a time.  But when autumn came, Tabby fell ill. She was no longer able to hunt or fish.  She needed healing that only their people could provide.

“Izzy, it’s time to go home,” Tabby stated firmly.

“Home? No, we can’t return. We left them.  They’ll be angry.”

“They have strong medicine there.  They will heal me. These people here, they’re not our people.  They are doing the things you thought our people would do.  They whisper about us.  They say we are like winkte.  But you were wrong.  Our people love us.  They will welcome us back.”

“No,” Izzy said, obstinately.  She couldn’t bring herself to see things Tabby’s way.

“Very well.  Have it your way.  I will call to them.  I will call to them and they will come.  You’ll see,” Tabby said. 

But a few weeks later she died.  Izzy knew that Tabby’s voice carried home.  But it clearly fell on deaf ears.

Now she sat, in the middle of winter, with no meats left to fill her belly and no love left to fill her heart.  All she had were regrets to fill her mind.  Her thoughts of the past were broken up by the sound of children shouting. She saw two girls across the lake pointing to the woods behind them. Izzy stood and squinted to get a better look.  Could it be, she thought.  She saw her people immerging from the forest. She raced across the ice towards the mirage before her.

She fell at the feet of the leader of her village and asked, “But how, how did you find me?”

“It was Taborri,” the leader said. “My daughter called to me and said that we must come here. She said she was not long for this world.  But we had another daughter who needed saving.”

Taborri had not asked for help or healing for herself.  She cared only for the well being of Istas. Her words, ‘I will call to them and they will come,’ rang in Istas’ head as she was wrapped in hides, turned towards the sun and guided home.

Follow us on Twitter @FlairHuxtable, Instagram @Flair.Huxtable and @HomeBrewedLove, and Facebook at @Flair Huxtable! Then buy Lo’s first book, “The Semester,” HERE!