The Trail Of Her Tears

Chapter One

Sunlight shown in through the open spot in my tent. I stood up and stretched. Walking outside the golden light hit my eyes and caused me to cover them. I looked to my left to see a commotion of ladies sewing dresses and cleaning chickens. I walked over, smiling respectfully at them. "Good morning miss Gouyen!" One of them said happily. I bid her good morning and continued on my way. The Gouyen family had been living here for generations. My father was a chief just as his father was before him, and my brother will become chief next. My mother grabbed me by my arm, dragging me into a tent. She put me in dress after dress. Hair up, hair down. I decided it was best to let her have fun with it. My Grandmother Metzili shooed her away, handing me a dress made of buffalo skin. I smiled, spinning around in it. "I thought those strange men chased all the buffalo away." I said to her. She chuckled, mischief in her eyes. "I have my ways." She winked at me, before fixing my hair up and making me look beautiful. I heard voices outside and I knew my father had returned from his hunt. I ran outside to find them empty handed. People in the village all started to panic. Mothers cried about their children, others worrying about themselves. "What are we going to eat?!" "How will we get food?!" My father silenced them with a raising of his hand. In my mind my father was always a strong man who had all the answers. He was now frail and broken, and had no answers at all.