A Beginning for Crow

Chapter 8

Nightmare: I am walking towards the jail house. My surroundings are pale yellow and I feel the warm sunlight all around me.The pale-yellow shifts drastically to a fierce navy, like a squall overtaking the sea. The town bells begin to clang loudly. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. This time I hear nothing. There are no screams, no one is crying. Turning in a slow circle I strain my ears to hear any noises. My heart beats heavily inside my chest and I begin to run; calling out, hoping for someone, anyone to respond. I feel tears rushing down my face; I feel a bone chilling gust of wind tear across my path. The bells clang again, louder. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Dropping to my knees I press my hands against my ears and let out a scream. But nothing leaves my mouth. My voice, like the town, are empty.Curling into myself I lay my head on the hard-cold ground as tears fall slowly. Then I sense someone approach behind me, I feel them kneel next to my side, guiding their fingers in between mine and closing in on my hand. I squeeze my eyes shut and a sense of calm settles in my chest, like this person had been a missing piece of me and we are finally reunited. Slowly I lift my head and my eyes lock into a pair of the darkest brown almost black eyes peering down at me. Sounds from the town slowly fill my ears; birds chirping, the clip clop of horses trotting down the road, and people. So many people talking and people laughing, people who are here. The air around me is warm again and I can smell a hint of sunshine and aloe.A smile unfolds from the man's lips as his other hand comes down to rest on my cheek, his thumb gently brushing away tears. Leaning forward so his mouth grazes my ear I hear him say, "Pearl, wake." Approaching the tree, I spot Kangee laying across the back of his horse in a lazy manner only a man can seem to pull off. One leg hitched up while the other dangled down the side of the painted horse, who was strolling the bank of the river munching happily on the tall grasses. I walk Mouse up alongside Kangee and reach over to stroke his horse down the neck. Kangee's horse stood at least seventeen hands, perhaps eighteen. I had never seen a horse this large outside of the Clydesdales the farmers used for plowing fields. After our first encounter I had asked Daniel what type of horse most natives ride, he informed me they typically prefer the paint breed. But they were not usually this large, a standard paint would be around fifteen hands. "What is your horse's name?" I ask.Rolling his head slowly to face me, Kangee grins wide. "Awan.""What does that mean?""Dakotah say Awan mean 'Somebody'." Kangee drops his leg to straddle the horse, backwards, as Awan continues to walk where he pleased. Leaning forward Kangee rests his elbows on the horses' flank and props up his chin, looking devilish and young. "Who is Dakotah?" I ask, not able to contain my smile."He is..." Kangee pauses, "He not brother." Holding up his hands he gives himself a handshake, then turns to look at me as if we are playing a game of charades."A Friend?" "Yes! Dakotah is friend." "That was a fun way to learn a word." I say chuckling. "I need more words." Kangee replied sliding gracefully off the back end of Awan. "You walk with me?" Nodding I dismount from Mouse and hobble him so he won't run off, turning Kangee has moved silently to my side. We walk in an pair, close enough that our hands occasionally bump, down the length of the river, in a peaceful quiet. "Kangee? Where did you learn English?""Dakotah teach me." Kangee kicks a small stick into the river and grins. "Pearl, I need a word.""Alright." I bit my lip, nervous that our language barrier could be potentially difficult to overcome. Yet hoping he would end up trying another round of charades."I sad for day you and brother Daniel see me and Hesutu." Kangee turned his whole body to face me. His hands go up to his heart. "I sad.""Are you apologizing?" Kangee nods."Oh Kangee, you have no reason to apologize. This is the world we live in."Nodding Kangee reaches for my hand, "I sad." "I believe you mean to say, 'I am sorry', that is another word for apologize." Grinning at the light of recognition in Kangee's eye, he nods again. We start walking again, slower this time."Is Hesutu your friend too?" My question comes out quiet, as I remember the terrifying figure that is Hesutu."Yes. We friend..." His voice cuts off as he hovers his palm above the ground like he was measuring a small child. Then his hand raises until it reaches the top of his own head. "You grew up together, since you were children." I provide. Kangee nods happily, he seems to enjoy our charade game as much as I do. "I need a word." Kangee turns to face me and darkens his features into something fierce, a warrior's face. His eyes emitting rage, his posture tense. Kangee then points to his face and again says, "Need word."Making a nervous face of my own I guess, "Anger?"Kangee relaxes and gives me a smile. "Anger". He repeats. Turning back to restart our walk he describes to me the day he and Hesutu attacked Daniel. With the help of charades and his amazing range of facial expressions, I learned that when Hesutu was a young boy he and his siblings were out with their mother when a group of towns-men came upon them. Hesutu being the oldest tried to protect everyone, but he was still so young. A man hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious and they abducted his mother and killed his youngest sister. Shaking my head to clear away the tears I felt clawing their way out of me, Kangee reaches over and grasps my hand again. "Pearl? You sad?" "A little. My heart is broken for Hesutu and his family. Kangee, I promise not all people from town are that cruel.""What word is promise?""A promise is something you will not break because you care about the other person." Kangee's eyes caress my face as he lifts his hand to tuck a loose strand of hair back behind my ear. "Promise." Kangee whispers. "Pearl?" Kangee steps closer, our arms brushing together as he paused, "I need a word.""Of course." I replied tilting my head up to watch him. He raises his hand and gently brushes the back of his hand down the side of my face."Face." He said. Then his fingers drop to my throat."Neck." My eye lids drop as his fingers slowly trace up to my mouth."This word." Kangee's voice was barely a whisper as his finger softly skimmed my bottom lip. Opening my eyes slowly Kangee shifts his finger from where it grazed my lip leaving a subtle heat, onto his own. His eyes searching my own, questioning. My brain suddenly shut down. I could not remember my own name let alone help Kangee with any words. "Um... Lips." I managed to say."Lips." Kangee repeated with a smile. Kangee's fingers weaved through my hair cupping the back of my neck, tilting my head back he leaned down and brushed his lips feather soft against mine. "I need a word"My heart felt as if it was pounding out of my chest, I could swear Kangee heard. When I didn't respond to his prompt, Kangee gave me another smile that almost had my legs give out from under me. With his free hand at my waist pulling our bodies closer to each other I close my eyes and whisper, "Kiss." I am rewarded when his lips press against my own again. This time they were firm and he did not release me. His mouth tentatively left mine and gradually traveled up to plant soft kisses on my cheeks, my nose, my eye lids and finally my forehead. I feel my knees begin to give out, but Kangee's reaction time was impressive. The hand he held at my waist circled around to support me as I lost balance. My hand went to his shoulder as I stumbled to placed my legs back under me, startled. "Pearl?" "I am fine Kangee. You surprised me, that is all." I explain as he smiled down at me. Releasing me just a fraction he reached for my hand and traced his thumb in small delicious circles against my wrist."Good surprise?" He asked, his face bearing a coy grin. Giggling I push his shoulder with my free hand, and he began to chuckle. "The best surprise." That evening after dinner Daniel retired to our little parlor; standing at the wash basin scrubbing our dinner plates I hear a jangle sound followed by a thud. "Daniel?""Everything is fine Pearl!" Daniel hollered."Are you sure?""Yes Pearl." Peeking my head into the parlor I see Daniel on all fours picking up the small cloths and brushes he used when cleaning his guns. He has piled them on the small table near the sofa. "Did you drop something?"Daniel sighs exasperatedly, "Yes Pearl.""Did you try and carry everything in at once?""Yes Pearl." Daniel grumbled."If you were to make multiple trips, I assume you would be less prone to dropping everything." Daniel shot me an icy glare and I retreat to the kitchen snickering. I turn back to the basin and chuckle as I hear Daniel grumble to himself in the other room. Tucking the plates and our cups on the little shelf, I dry off my hands and lean against the basin. "Daniel!" I call from the kitchen."Yes Pearl?" He echoes, but mockingly."Will you teach me about your guns?" I ask sweetly. Hearing movement, Daniel walks cautiously back into the kitchen, a curious look on his face. "Why do you want to use a gun Pearl?" "Well, we live in the country now Daniel. What happens if we have another run in with someone..." I pause searching for a word not to describe Kangee and his people, but Martin and his cronies. "Unsavory?" Daniel wipes his hands slowly on the little rag he uses to clean all his firearms. His eyes took in my face and I knew he was thinking about our encounter with Kangee and Hesutu, and how I had shot his gun into the dirt instead of aiming it at Kangee. "Alright. C'mon Pearl." Trailing Daniel into the parlor at the front of our house I kneeled down next to the giant cloth he had laid out on top of our rug. Placed on the grease canvas cloth were three guns in varying sizes. The first gun was small, Daniel typically wore it in a holster strapped around his waist. "What is this one?" I ask pointing at the smallest gun. Daniel sat across from me his legs sticking straight out, he lifted the gun in his hand and turned it so I could see the side of it. "This is called a Colt Peacemaker. Pop bought it for me when I accepted the position out here." Daniel's gaze turned soft, which I thought was odd when looking at a gun. "Pearl, the most important thing you need to remember about handling guns is that you do not put your finger on the trigger unless you plan on using it. Taking someone's life is not something you can change your mind about later. Here hold this." Handing me the gun he continued to explain. "This is known as a revolver, most of the deputies carry at least one. They have a cylinder here that holds six shots. This is called the hammer." Daniel pointed to the metal bit on the top that resembled a backwards number seven. "You need to pull this bit down with your thumb before you can actually fire the gun.""Are there shots...""Bullets." Daniel corrected."Bullets, thank you. Are there any bullets in the cylinder now?" I asked holding the revolver delicately."No. Whenever I clean my guns, I take out all the bullets. Another good rule of thumb is if you see a gun just assume it is loaded and proceed with caution." Setting the revolver down I point to the second much larger gun. "What is this one?""This one." Daniel lifted the medium shafted gun across his lap. "This one is called a double barrel break action shot gun. I keep this one in a scabbard on my saddle." My eyes grew wide. This was the gun that injured Hesutu and could have killed Kangee. "Yes, I remember this one." Chills ran down my spine as he handed me the shotgun. It was heavier than I remembered, much heavier. Daniel showed me how the barrel released and the whole gun hinged open so you could load in two bullets, Daniel told me the ammunition these fired were called 'man killer' because when they released from the barrel nine .33 caliber bullets shot out and spread. This explained why Hesutu's whole arm took damage. I tried not to think of what it would have looked like if this hit him in the chest. "Last but not least, what is this monster?" I point to the gun with the longest barrel.Smiling Daniel moved up onto his knees and lifted the last gun into his hands resting the front of the gun on his knee. "This is called a Winchester lever action rifle. Easy to shot with, especially for beginners." "Will you take me out sometime and let me shoot with you Daniel?""Sure Pearl." Daniel chuckled, "But if I tell you that you are doing something wrong you cannot snap at me. If you want to learn, you will learn the correct way. I do not want you to shot yourself in the foot." "I bet with some practice I will be a better shot than you by this time next year!" Laughing so hard I need to clutch my ribs afraid they would burst from the disgusted look Daniel threw my way. A soft knock taps at the front door. Daniel's eyes travel to the door, he stands holding the butt of his shotgun giving it a small jerk and the long barrel snaps up to connect it whole. "Pearl, are you expecting anyone?""No." We never have visitors in the evening. The town has a set routine that around an hour after dinner time everyone stays in doors. The only stragglers who stay out are either the on-duty deputies patrolling the town or a handful of rowdy youths who are always found by the deputies and escorted back to their parents houses with scolding. Daniel cautiously approaches the front door and leans against it. Another soft knock sounds against the sturdy wood door. Opening the door, a fraction Daniel peers out and I see the tension in his spine fade away. His head cocks to one side and I hear him talking to the unexpected visitor in a hushed tone. Daniel turns to look at me with an exasperated and annoyed grin on his face. "Oh Pearl, you have a caller." His tone is mocking as he opens the door to let in the late-night visitor."Hiya Pearl." My mouth drops open as I stand up slowly from my chair. George.