Nazura

Nazura

Chapter 1

She hid among the bushes. Quiet and still. She didn’t want to be caught for if she were she would be severely punished. She was not wanted here or at her own home. Her heart beat so erratically she thought she would be caught from them hearing it. She released a steady breath and got control of herself. She continued to watch as the other children forged ahead towards their hunt. A little less that 30 feet ahead was a buck fit enough to feed the tribe for a few days and make a few good clothes and shoes for the adults and children.

Her tribe was a small one. With only a chief, his wife and son. There was also her father and mother. As well as three more families making their tribe consist of only 15 people. Her father was also the brother of their chief. She always loved Chief. He was a nice man and made her feel like a part of the tribe when no one else would. She respected and tried to follow all of his orders as sufficiently as she could. Chief’s son was another issue altogether. He would be mean to her when Chief was not looking at them. He would pull her hair, put snakes and bugs in her bed, and once he actually pushed her into the sinking sand. It was a good thing her father was looking for her that day because the other children just looked at her and laughed; glad to finally get rid of the bare.

            That was what she was. The people of her tribe and many other tribes were either covered in stripes like a tiger or had spots like a leopard or cheetah. She had nothing. She was bare. Not a stripe, a spot, or even a dot on her pretty bare face. She didn’t think of herself as pretty. It was her father who called her pretty. Her mother wanted nothing to do with her, but Chief had forced the woman to at least care for the girl until she was of hunting age. It would be her 13th year this year and that was the year most children were of age to hunt. That is if they could.

That was why the girl was hiding and watching the other children hunt. She was never allowed to join the other children on the hunt. They would beat her if she tried, or they would send her in a different direction so she would get lost. They never knew that she would always find her way back before they even found something to hunt. She was good at hunting. She could always find a great hunt and try to lead the others to it. The others never knew she was the one giving them the hunt they looked for. The chief was the only one who had a thought as to what was going on because he noticed that the hunts he sends her on they always ends up well fed and plenty satisfied, so he sends her on more hunts than normal for the other children. What she didn’t know was that Chief was waiting for her to bring in her own hunt so he could make her his son’s bride.

The girl heard a snort in the distance and cries. She knew that the others had finally gotten the beast and was starting to prepare it for transport back to the tribe. She followed closely waiting for the other children to come out of the forest before her so she could walk back to the tribe. She heard grunting that sounded like Chief’s son, Mincah. He was always the leader of the hunts. His job was to make sure that the hunt went smoothly and safely. That no one was left behind. Mincah led the others back to the tribe with the great beast dragging behind them.

She followed behind slowly making sure she wasn’t seen so soon. She was a very quiet person. The girl had an idea as to how she would be able to go hunting with them, but she needed a special paint for that. The older girls would not tell her how to make this paint and her mother was absolutely against talking to her so she was not even an option. The only person who she could go to was Chief’s wife, Hahaya.

She was a nice enough woman. She took care of the girl when she was a babe and then taught her things her own mother should have, but could have cared less to do. The girl honestly thought she was more deserving of the title Mother. She knew what she had to do to join the hunt, but she didn’t know if Hahaya would allow her to wear the paint at so young an age.

The girl continued to follow the group into the tribe village and watched as they continued on towards the center of the tribe to show off their catch. Mincah grunted some more and waved to how off his prize. All the adults grunted their cheers and then went to congratulate the young soon-to-be-chief. Mincah nodded to their praise as they touched his head to share their feelings.

That was how the people shared their thoughts, feelings, and even memories without the spoken word. No one spoke they may grunt a bit to gain attention, but the spoken word was not yet created for these people to use.

The girl sat and watched as Mincah gained attention from his parents and Chief laughed. She smiled happy that Chief was happy for his son. He would make a good chief in the future. And his wife would be proud to his.

The girl stood and went back to her small hut of a home. It was all hers because her mother refused to live with her and her father had passed on just last winter. She was alone now. She had no one to boss her around, beat her when she was late, but she also didn’t have someone to hold her when she was scarred during a thunderstorm, or wipe her tears when she remembers her father and his love. She was alone. She was only in her thirteenth year. Her name is Nazura.