Bonds that Heal the Wound

Chapter 1

In the early morning of a late fall day, blue eyes scan the horizon of a living wilderness. Birds fly through the sky, their calls to each other are distant from the cliffside that a young Inuit girl is currently sitting at. Her deerskin covered legs swing off the edge as she enjoys the cool breeze that passes through the locks of her dark brown hair. Coming to this cliffside at the early hour is a daily routine for her. It allows her to feel at peace before her day starts and the heavy weight of her stress and sorrow consumes her. How can one not be at peace with this beauty? The sun is just rising. Oranges and yellows paint the east and a light fog sits upon the woods beneath the cliff. The leaves the trees are consumed by their own shades of reds, oranges, and yellows as they prepare to fall in the coming month.

"Halona! There you are!" the girl turns her head at the call of her name. Another girl approaches her, wearing similar deer-skin clothing. Hers are gray in color, unlike the brown ones that Halona is wearing. Around her neck is a stone carving of a deer. It's oval-shaped, minus the detail taken to create the face and front hooves of the animal. This is her totem, representing that, to be considered a true woman of the tribe, she must be guided by peace and compassion.

She's out of breath from running up the hillside to meet her friend at the cliff.

"Tanana's been looking for you. Are you ready for your ceremony?" the girl asks.

"As I'll ever be, Mai," Halona sighs. Mai frowns, her gray eyes piercing into her friend.

"Look, I know you wanted Kenai here for your big day, but he's gone. He's off living his life. For whatever it's worth, though, I think he'd be proud and happy for you," Mai walks over and places a hand on Halona's shoulder, her black, tied up hair swaying softly in the breeze.

"I...just didn't think that he wouldn't be here for this. We told each other when we were kids that we'd support each other for the coming of age ceremony. I was there for him, but he won't be here for me," Halona turns away, her once peaceful eyes become dark and fill with sadness as she stares back out at the horizon.

"I know, but you at least have me and Denahi still. And Sitka is watching over you, probably ecstatic to see your reaction to the totem that he and the other spirits have chosen for you," Halona looks up to Mai at the mentioning of Sitka. It's been months since his passing, but she still can't help but to wince at the thought of him no longer being here.

Mai holds a hand out to Halona, "C'mon, we got stuff to do before the big moment." In the village, it's tradition that the member of the tribe that's receiving their totem collects the fish and wood for the ceremony. Since it's such a large task, Halona had asked Mai ahead of time to help her collect everything. Of course, Mai accepted the request.

"Whatever totem you get, though, I'm here for you. I'm no Kenai, but I'm still your best friend."

Halona smiles, taking Mai's tanned-skinned hand and pulls herself to her feet. Still, holding onto her hand, Mai pulls her into a hug and whispers to her, "It's going to be okay."

After the two girls make their way down the hill, they work together to gather branches and sticks from the forest for the large bonfire that's lit during the ceremony. After the sticks are gathered and tied into bunches to carry onto their backs, they make their way to the nearby stream. The stream is a halfway point between where Halona was sitting and the village. It's gorgeous clearing with crystal clear water and shrubbery planted in just the right places.

"Halona catch!" Mai calls out, tossing her one end of the large piece of cloth that's used to catch fish in groups rather than taking the time to fish for them individually with a spear. They dip down, the cloth submerging into the clear waters. It only takes a few moments until a school of salmon makes their way over the cloth. The two pull up in unison, dozens of fish taken out of the water by the cloth. They flop around, gasping for air. A few fall off the cloth and back into the water, but most stay in place. They bring the cloth a few feet from the stream and place it on the ground, waiting a few minutes for the fish to take their last breaths. Once the last fish stops moving, the girls work together to place them in the basket that Denahi had made for them to transfer the fish to the village.

"Better hope a bear doesn't get to this basket this time," Mai jokes, "Not only will Denahi be furious, but the last thing we need is someone else getting turned into a bear."

Halona sends Mai sharp glare, "Not funny."

Mai throws her hands up in defense and chuckles lightly, "Sorry! Sorry! Just trying to be funny."

Once every fish has been placed into the basket, Halona takes it into her arms. It's a bit heavy, but it's nothing that she hasn't lifted before.

"Sweet! Now let's get going. We don't want to be late for the ceremony!" Mai swiftly turns in the direction of the village and starts walking.

"Try not to get too far, okay? This isn't exactly the easiest thing to carry!" Halona calls out with a light laugh.

"You know your way. You'll be fine," Mai calls back, her hand waving in a 'no big deal' manner. Halona sighs and rolls her eyes before continuing the walk back towards the village.

It's late morning, almost noon by the time the girls arrive at their village. Children run about, tackling and playing with each other. The older village members are preparing their own sets of chores in preparation for Halona's ceremony. Some are cleaning up, removing some of the fallen leaves from the major walkways. Others are gathering paints and stones to take to the ceremony site located at the top of the hill next to the huts. It's a stone platform and is where all ceremonies are held, whether they be village meetings or even the coming of age ceremony.

At the site of the children, the corners of Halona's eyes crinkle up as a smile forms on her face. Her cheeks dusted with a light blush as she giggles at the children. She's always had a soft spot for children. Seeing the children play remind her of when she was younger, and she and Kenai played together. Those were the happy and innocent days when everyone she cared about was alive and she had nothing to worry about.

The memory of her childhood pains her heart a bit. It's a reminder that those days are gone and so are most of the people she held dear.

"Halona, hey. Snap out of it!"

"Huh?" Halona breaks out of her moment of thought to see Mai attempting to grab her attention, gray eyes speaking volumes of concern.

"Getting lost in the past again?"

"Yeah. I really need to stop doing that," Halona sighs, shaking her head slightly.

"I'd recommend it. You're going to end up getting gray hairs and wrinkles before the ceremony even starts," Mai teases.

Halona laughs, "Hey that's not even funny!"

Mai shrugs and lets out her own laugh, "I thought it was funny."

Halona rolls her eyes and readjusts the basket of fish in her arms, "Let's get all of this put away. The ceremony will start soon." Mai nods in response and follows Haley towards a singular tree that lay a few meters from the forest surrounding the village. Mai pulls a thick rope from her bag and waits for Halona to find the perfect spot to place the basket of fish. After a few moments, Halona finds the perfect spot on a thick branch that's a few sets of branches from the ground. The branch is sturdy and high enough that a bear won't be able to grab it without using a good bit of effort. Mai takes the rope, tying it tightly against the tree so that the basket doesn't lose balance and fall.

"Perfect! Now let's take these sticks and branches to Tanana so we can get your ceremony started!" Mai cheers. Halona lets out a small chuckle as Mai makes her way to the stone platform atop the hill. Halona allows Mai to walk ahead a few meters before giving up on her chuckling. The happy mask she had placed upon her face falls and she looks up into the sky.

"Sitka, please let things turn out okay. Please, I beg you," Halona mutters into the wind, hoping that his spirit can hear her. A loud screech of an eagle tears her attention from the clouds and towards a flying eagle, circling around the village from the sky. Halona smiles lightly.

"Thank you, Sitka," she whispers before jogging to catch up with Mai.