Radoonhagaa?
Radrahohogon?
Ratoonhagay?
I sighed for the umpteenth time as I crossed out another name which I had scribbled down a few seconds ago. What a crisis this was! I had made friends with a boy from the valley and was due to visit him soon (although it was a bit rude considering he never invited me to come back) and here I couldn't even remember his name! And Zeke had to leave for town on the same day I had planned to bake crumpets and small macaroons to take back to the valley. Now, Zeke was not expected back till the weekend and I was beyond impatient. But it would not be too discourteous as Zeke had been reluctant to ever go exploring with me again, I sighed dejected.
A small knock on the door alerted me and I hurriedly hid my parchment and quill in the wooden drawer before voicing permission to enter. A dark skinned maid with a Southern accent kindly told me that the food was ready to be packed. I grinned happily and hopped down to the kitchen where all the materials had been set out. What a shame, I contemplated staring at the beautiful pink macaroons that Zeke would miss out on such delicacies. My mouth watered unintentionally and I was tempted to sink my teeth into the small cakes, but then I remembered that this was for Radrahohogon. Or was it Ratrahagay? I would just have to ask him to repeat his name till I had it etched in memory.
After reassuring the maids that I was having a picnic nearby with a friend from another mansion down the path, they reluctantly let me go insisting that they would be happy to accompany me. As if that was even an option, I brooded missing Zeke's presence more than I cared to admit aloud. Zeke had his responsibilities to go into town and gather materials for whatever he did in that stable. But at least he was free to go anywhere whereas I had always been the sheltered child. Miss Penelope would have her nerves fried if she saw me stomping up the valley; my hair sticking to my forehead from sweat and my shoes stubbed and tainted a slight green from the grass. But I had studied her schedule a few days ago and I realised that the man in the red coat would always ask Miss Penelope to accompany him on Fridays, thus Fridays would be mine and Raton's and maybe even Zeke's if he wished to be included.
The sound of flute and drums was finally becoming more prominent and I released a shaky breath of relief that I didn't get lost. To be honest, the whole affair of visiting the valley boy had been unsettling without Zeke, but I had to show courage otherwise friendships would never form and I would forever be stuck in the mansion with only history books to accompany me.
My trail of thought was cut off as I tripped and went tumbling on to the sharp rocks. My eyes watered with pain, but I was shocked to see the basket of food land on top of a figure lying nearby with his eyes closed. His eyes were already opened and he watched me carefully while occasionally passing glances at the basket as if it was to explode. I giggled at this silly expression on his face and he frowned disapprovingly.
"I thought I told you to not come back." He sat up and pushed the basket aside gently. The contents in it shook and I hurriedly snatched it before all my efforts went to waste.
I nodded remembering him mentioning that, but I could not be straightforward with him like last time for it had not yielded satisfying results. I was not to remind him that I wanted to see the civilisation past the valley for he would turn me away instantly. Instead I beamed at him slyly. "You told me your name last time, but when I went back to my mansion I could not recall it! So please, Raton, can you say your name again?"
He glared openly. "Raton?" Spluttering in disbelief, he eyed the basket again. "And this basket must be an apology for forgetting my name, I presume?"
I twirled my blonde lock hesitantly. "Well, not exactly. It is a tradition that we must bring gifts to the people we visit."
"No thank you," he refused, lying back down; an arm thrown across his eyes to shelter the sun's rays.
I huffed in anger. "You are boorish and ungracious! I have brought you food that you would otherwise never have the chance to eat and you refuse me so straightforwardly!" Stomping my feet I kicked a small pebble and it him in the arm. Instantly, he was standing so fast that I nearly fell backwards on my side of the valley. How frightening!
"Do not call me boorish when you have turned up here despite not being welcomed. Turn back now or I will use force." He edged a small knife out of his sleeve as if to make a point. But this time I was not as frightened like before. He was only slightly taller than me and he had to be my age. Children my age could not use a knife or force like he said he could. He was all talk, I decided smugly sitting down and smoothing the creases of my dress.
He stood in front of me then, confused. "Are you deaf girl? Go away."
"No." I stated, pulling out a pink macaroon and eating it with great relish. "I have not tres . . . trespassed! I am not on my side of the valley, but neither am I on yours. Therefore, I shall stay!"
He looked fractious and at lost for words. I grinned and picked another macaroon and this time, his stomach let out a loud growl. I turned up to see him turning away hurriedly, his face a deep red and his hand rubbing his stomach gently. I made sure to chew loudly on my macaroon this time and soon he was openly staring at the basket with hunger prevalent in his eyes. After I had reached my fifth macaroon, he finally snapped in anger and stood in front of me once again.
"Is it not bad manners to eat without offering others too?" He hissed, his hands at his sides in tight fists. I offered him a macaroon then and although he stared at it as if it was not food, he still took a hesitant bite and chewed. Then he was wolfing down the contents of my basket while I stared at his profile engrossed. Raton had terrible eating habits, I noted, but he was extremely pleasing to the eye. I blushed and grabbed a few flowers from the grass and unconsciously began to weave a small daisy chain while trying my hardest to not stare at the boy any longer.
Soon after when he was done stuffing himself, he turned to me looking intensely flustered. His cheeks were red again and a small bead of sweat was running down the side of his face while his hands fiddled with the blades of grass. My heart stopped when I met eyes with him and to rid off the awkwardness, I fixed the daisy chain on his head tittering manically. He looked cute with a daisy chain on his head even though his outfit was rather puzzling and unlike anything I had seen before.
"What are you doing?" He questioned, removing the daisy chain from his head and studying it carefully. "What is this anyway?"
"It's a daisy chain!" I gasped at his outlandish behaviour. "How are you not aware of what a daisy chain is?"
He harrumphed. "I have no need for such things."
I pouted, moving to sit on my knees. "But it's a present! Daisy Lee is giving you a daisy chain so that you may never forget my name! You should give me something too so that I may never forget your name, Raton!"
"Stop calling me Raton!" He was standing now and looked ready to leave.
The nerve of this boy! He had ate all my lunch, stomped on my daisy chain and was leaving without telling me his name. Why must he be so difficult? Were all boys so horrid and mean? I shook my head as I remembered kind Zeke who had continued being my friend despite the fact that I never listened to him.
Before he could bolt, I grabbed his hand tightly. "You will not leave until I can say your name!"
He shook me off looking vexed. "Otsinò:wen, let me go!"
"No!" I jerked him harder until he was no longer on his edge of the valley. I must have tugged him too hard for he was falling towards me and I was tumbling down to the ground. My back screamed in pain and soon I could not breathe as a heavy boulder landed on top of me. The pain and the lack of oxygen was enough to send me wailing. Tears leaked out of my eyes even when the mass lifted and the pain ceased. I realised then that I had many reasons to cry for; Zeke was gone and I was lonely, Father was gone and I was lonely, Miss Penelope was gone and I was lonely and Raton was a horrible person.
"Don't cry! Don't cry!" I felt myself being lifted from the ground till I was no longer staring at the blinding sun, but at the boy who looked agitated. A wide range of emotions in flashed on his face as he poked my forehead incessantly. "Did you hurt your head? Can you see me? How many fingers?" He held up a hand of two fingers in my face.
I blinked and shoved his hand away. I had lost count on how many times I had felt extreme anger for this boy, but I cared not to stay enough and provoke myself further. Crawling away on my knees, I moved to step down the valley when I felt a tug on my moss green dress.
"I am sorry." He whispered, his eyes looking anything but cold like earlier. They shone earnestly like beautiful onyx gems and I blushed furiously again. It was not enough to soothe my anger though and I wrenched my dress out of his grasp, glaring.
"You are not forgiven!" I declared, grabbing my basket and jumping to my side of the valley. "I will not visit you again! You are a terrible person and Zeke was absolutely right!"
Treading heavily down the valley, I did not turn around again. I never intended to come back here again, I decided. Being insulted and rebuffed continuously had taken a toll on me. Zeke and I were enough for each other, I thought frowning at the memory of sad black eyes.
The next few days were spent in a monotonous fashion. I would rise and bathe, attend my history lessons and then play with the horses with Zeke in the stable. The days became tediously boring and soon I had explored all the area surrounding the mansion with my companion. I had also told him of my encounter with the valley boy and how he had been right all along about him. Zeke did not look smug at all and instead was concerned about my injured back. He was my true, true friend, I decided contentedly.
So a week after the incident when Zeke came hurrying down the path that led up to valley looking half dead, I was truly frightened. What if the valley boy had attacked Zeke in retribution because I had called him a terrible person? The thought was enough to freeze me to the core, but Zeke was already speaking regardless of whether I was listening or not.
"He was there! The valley boy was there, Miss!" He cried, wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his sleeve. "He saw me and pinned me to the ground! He said that he had been waiting a week for you to come and visit!"
The arrogance of that brute!
I fist my hands angrily to my sides. "I told him I would not be returning! How dare he make demands from you?"
Zeke looked conflicted. "Miss, he said that he was sorry and that you-"
"Nonsense!" I cut him off, grabbing him by the shoulders. "He was rude and uncouth! He ate my food and did not even say thank you! I asked him for his name, but he tried to run away! Not to mention the last time he threatened us with a knife!"
Zeke winced stepping out of my clutches. "But miss, you did visit him without an invite. Surely that is most rude."
I gasped in horror. "Zeke! You are my friend, not his!" Crossing my arms in offence, I saw him shuffling his feet uncomfortably.
"Miss, I wouldn't say anything unfair." he rubbed his neck gently. "But if he has been waiting a week, he must really be sorry."
I looked at the valley sceptically. "He is probably just saying that!"
Zeke said no more and I sighed in defeat. Why did he always have to be right? Zeke was much wiser and calmer than I and he probably would make a very good negotiator, I thought as we began trudging up the valley. With a start, reality hit me that I was turning up to visit someone without a gift, but then I remembered how awful he was anyway so he deserved nothing but an earful. Also, he had a lot to answer for especially as to why he had Zeke pinned down.
Before we had even climbed half way up the valley, I spotted him standing very still. He was observing us silently, but already he looked red faced and guilty. Of course, he would be culpable after what he had done to Zeke! I did not continue on with Zeke and instead ran forward right into the valley boy, shoving him hard.
"How dare you! You threatened Zeke!" I yelled, sitting on top of his chest as he lay writhing under me. I slammed a fist down hard and he did not even flinch. Seeing red then, I was pounding hard on his chest repeatedly. "Speak, you hooligan!"
"Miss, no!" Zeke plucked me off the jerk and sat me down near the ground. The delinquent charged to his feet and shifted away.
I watched as he shook his head, his black hair swishing from left to right and catching the sunlight. "I didn't threaten your friend! I asked him about your whereabouts."
Zeke nodded and I scowled at him. Was he going to disagree with everything I said or did today? The heat from the sun was getting to me and I breathed evenly keeping my eyes trained everywhere but at him. He was dressed in the same fashion again today, I noticed eyeing him from my peripheral vision. Maybe the people behind the valley were not up to the current trends otherwise no one would dress like that! If we had been on speaking terms, maybe I would have gifted him a nice pair of trousers.
"I am . . . I am really sorry!" Raton or whatever implored stepping forward. "When I went back home that day, I realised that I had been wrong. My kind . . . we . . . do not get along with the outsiders very well."
His kind? Were we not all of the same kind? But then again if they hid behind the valley and let no one come to visit them, of course they would not get along very well with the outsiders. Raton was a perfect example of this.
I turned to look at Zeke who was intently focused on the boy, however Raton had his eyes fixated on me. I blushed slightly at the attention, but did not look away urging him silently to continue on.
"What I am trying to say is . . . that I am not like you!" He finished, frustrated.
Silence ensued us and the music behind the valley that previously soothed me was now a reminder that Raton was different. His people played music everyday - there had never been a festival. He wore different clothes from everyone I had seen and spoke words which I had never heard before. Also, he carried a knife and I was not even allowed to cut a cake using a kitchen knife. I looked at Zeke then and remembered our first conversation - he had claimed to be different too, but I had never seen any distinction between him and I. So was there really something there that set us apart? Something that would never let us become friends?
"You're wrong."
Astounded at the fact that it was my friend who spoke, Raton and I were both fixed on Zeke who stood resolute and rigidly in front of the other boy. It was the first time Zeke had shown pluck much different from my earlier meetings where he would say little to none.
The birds around us chattered and the music grew to a crescendo before evening out to a synchronised hum of drums. The breeze took the stray leaves with it as if it was taking any vestiges of animosity that had been prevalent between us. I focused on Zeke again seeing more than a weak boy, instead someone who would go on to become much more.
"Before I met young miss, I felt the same. All my life, I had never been treated kindly - hated for who I was . . . for reasons I could not understand. The only kindness I had ever received was from the animals I tended to. Until, I met young miss. She hounded me and I was scared of her . . ."
He paused meeting my eyes and then smiled, embarrassed. I pouted, plucking blades of grass and fiddling with them uncomfortably.
"Yet she was kind and only sought friendship with me. It was the first time, I was treated like an equal." He sighed, sitting down next to me, his eyes still fixed on Raton. "You may be different than us, but to young miss it would not matter. That's why even when you frightened her on our first meeting, she still came back to visit you."
Raton said nothing more and left without a word.
Zeke sighed and turned to me, his eyes sad and defeated. "Forgive me, miss. My words could not reach him."
I hugged him sadly. He should never feel guilty. Not being friends with Raton or being unable to see past the valley was not the end of the world. I was content on having the greatest friend in the world.
"We should go now," I said, turning to look once last time past the forbidden side of the valley. Smoke was rising slowly from the distant cottages and the music was no longer audible. The flock of deer were travelling away from us and the whole atmosphere was melancholy. I could stand there no longer for I feared I would burst in tears. I had already fallen in love with this sight and Raton . . . I had seen him as a friend before he had started being mean.
"Miss, there is much to see in the world." Zeke promised, taking my hand in his own and squeezing gently. "Places that would welcome you with a warm heart."
I smiled, squeezing his hand back. "As long as you will be there, I shall have great pleasure seeing them."
"No need." A familiar voice behind us spoke. We jumped and turned to stare at Raton, his hands holding a small platter. It was food.
I grinned excited at the strange dish and also the significance it held. Raton was offering us food - he had accepted us as his friends!
"Is that for us?" I exclaimed stepping forward, my hands outstretched. "What is it?"
He nodded, blushing furiously. "It's called a wojapi. It's made with blueberries. These are fry breads. You dip them in and eat it together." He looked away from me. "It's not as pretty as the food you gave me last week and maybe it won't taste good to you, but . . . my mother made it and -"
"Nonsense!" I cried, stepping forward and snatching the platter from his hands. "I will like it! I love blueberries!" Dipping a greasy fry bread, I stuffed it in my mouth chewing at a speed of a mile. Strong flavours exploded in my mouth and I could taste nothing, but wild blueberries. The fry bread itself tasted sweet like honey, something I never had before. I grabbed another one before remembering Zeke and handed him one eagerly.
"Try it Zeke! It is most delicious!" I had already had three and Zeke had another one before we met eyes with Raton. He was smiling happily and for the first time he seemed just like us. Young and free.
Apologies for butchering Connor's name multiple times, but I tried to keep it realistic in mind for a 4 year old child. This story takes place a few months before Connor's village was burnt down. Connor, Daisy and Zeke are all 4 years old although I'd say Connor is a few months older than Daisy and Zeke is probably a few months younger than her.
Terminology:
Otsinò:wen: a word in Mohawk language meaning mouse. I am not aware if this can be used as an insult, but I decided to use it anyway.
Wojapi: A Mohawk desert. Thick berry sweet dish commonly eaten with fry breads.
Once again, thank you very much for reading. ⊂二二二( ^ω^)二⊃
