Mysteries Live in the Mountains

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I made sure my sister was good and comfortable following Tuk, which was not a problem for her. I was rather uncomfortable with the fact she was not with me. Our whole lives we spent eating meals with her seated in either my parents or my own lap.

Lo'ak led me to sit next to him, and his sister on the other side of me. I had yet to have a conversation with her, but she seemed rather shy towards me. Next to her the eldest brother sat.

"What is it like in the mountains?"

My ears perked up at the question from the girl who had yet to speak to me.

"Yeah Santanhí what's your home like?"

Lo'ak followed her question in a much louder tone. It was weird to me to be asked about my home. I tried not to think much about it since we left.

"Um well it's nothing like the forest. There aren't many trees or anything. It snows a lot and it gets pretty cold sometimes in the winter... The sky is really beautiful at night. It's much easier to see the stars then it is here."

I looked at the girl that was now examining me in a way. I felt rather uncomfortable being under the eyes of the three siblings. The two younger ones were purely curious about me, while Neteyam I wasn't sure. He didn't seem interested in the conversation, but he was definitely listening.

"Snow?"

I smiled a little realizing that they have never seen snow before.

"Yeah it's like really fluffy white stuff that all the children play around in. It makes the land look really beautiful. Everything gets coated in white and the mountains look even prettier then normal."

Lo'ak seemed rather confused as I tried to explain what snow was, but Kiri seemed amazed. Her eyes sparkled at the sound of this new thing she had never heard of.

"Your home sounds amazing Santanhí..."

I smiled at the girl. She was very sweet. Curious like her little sister, but more quiet.

"Thank you Kiri.. The forest is very beautiful as well."

I continued to have small conversations with the two of them. They continued to ask me questions, mainly Kiri who was very interested. There was one thing that was nagging constantly in my head. Neteyam was constantly giving me this look. Not interest or curiosity. Not pity or shame. It just felt like an out right blank stare. After a while I began to feel rather uncomfortable under his gaze.

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"I don't wanna go to sleep..."

Läi pouted as she held my hand walking back to the tent we were told we could sleep in. She was begging to get more play time with her new favorite friend. I sighed as I was tired of hearing her whine.

"Läi it's Tuk's bedtime too. You will get to see her in the morning."

She continued to tug at my hand trying to bring me in the direction of the tent across from ours.

"Santanhí pleaseeeee..."

She continued to whine as I picked her up off the ground now carrying her to put tent.

"I promise you'll get to see her first thing tomorrow but that's only if you go to bed now."

She immediately stopped kicking around in my arms and went silent. I set her down on the floor and quickly took down her hair before laying her down. I knew it wasn't the most comfortable. Normally we sleep on mats in the floors of the cave, but in the forest they use what is called a hammock. Rather odd in my opinion. The floor of the tent was hard and slightly cold. It's not something that would bother me, but knowing my sister it's gonna be a problem.

"The floors cold..."

She pouted and whined. This was a common occurrence when the little girl got sleepy. She's a little grump.

"Yeah I know.. You can lay down in the hammock if you want."

She rubbed her eyes and looked up at me with a frown. The hammock was only big enough for one person.

"But what about you..?"

I shook my head and picked her up placing her in the hammock.

"I'll be right next to you on the floor okay? We're safe here. Nothings going to happen while you sleep, and even if I'll be right here."

She just quietly nodded and closed her eyes. There hasn't been a night since we left the mountains that she didn't sleep in my arms. Even then back at home she usually slept with Mom and Dad. In the forest when we were alone I would tuck us away in brush and hold her when it was night. I could never sleep. The sounds of things walking and growling around us kept me alert.

As I began to hear little snores from Läi I began to take down my own hair. It gets annoying being as long as it is, but my mother never let me cut it. She told me that as future Tsahík I should never cut my hair. It was tradition. The Tsahík was the only women of the clan that ever wore her hair down. It was a sign of authority and it was disrespectful of anyone else did it. She said that when I become Tsahík I should have long beautiful hair to flaunt of and earn respect. It is something I never fully understood, but I never questioned.

I raked my fingers through my hair before laying myself down on the cold floor. I shivered and hugged myself hoping for a little warmth. I shifted around as the sounds of the forest around us began to set in. I tried my best to ignore it and focus on something else, but it was impossible. All I could think about was the traumatic nights of the forest.

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"Santanhí! Help!!"

I panicked as I watched my sister slip off of one of the branches as she was running ahead of me. The animals around us growled. I grabbed ahold of her hand as she hung down. One of the predators jumped from the ground attempting to take a bite of Läi. I gasped as she screamed. The animal barely grazed her tail. I pulled her up as fast as I could and brought her close to me. I collapsed and held her tightly to my body as we both cried. We sat close to the trunk of the tree high enough where we could not be reached.

The whole night I listened to the predators scratching at the tree and howling at us. This was all my fault. I had fallen asleep instead of keeping watch to keep us safe. I almost lost my sister.

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I woke up gasping in a cold sweat. The memories of that night flooded my brain and I immediately looked around for my sister. There Läi was sleeping peacefully as ever. I let out a sigh of relief and quickly wiped the stray tears from my face. I knew I could not risk putting her in danger ever again.

I sat down crossing my legs outside the tent deciding it would be best to keep a watch just incase there was something dangerous here.

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