A/N: Yes, this is the same story - you haven't gotten lost! I need to spend some time introducing a new character.
7/14/2020: had to rewrite this. I got the geography all wrong.
PART TWO: Spirit Mother
The Creek
A smile spread across Viera's face as she looked out the foggy window of their single-room thatched-roof house. The sun was shining after two days of steady rain. She had passed the time as best she could - helping her mother with some cooking and cleaning, helping with some sewing - but there was only so much a five-year-old could do. She had been bored and lonely since Vixen hadn't been around. It wasn't fair. She was the only child that she knew with no siblings. And now even Vixen had deserted her.
"Mama, do you think Vixen is OK in all this rain?" she asked.
"Cats are very good at taking care of themselves," her mother responded. "I'm sure she's fine."
"But why did she leave?" she asked for the hundredth time.
Her mother gave a sympathetic smile. "Sometimes cats just move on, Sweetie," she said. "You have to remind yourself: she was our guest -"
"- not our prisoner," Viera finished dejectedly. "I know Mama. I just miss her. Doesn't she miss me?"
Viera's mother took a thoughtful breath. "You know, it's the right time of year ..." she began.
"For what?"
"Well if we're really lucky, Vixen might come home with some kittens. Sometimes cats go off by themselves when it's time for them to have their babies. She was looking pretty plump the last time we saw her, wasn't she?"
Viera's evergreen eyes lit up. "Oh, do you really think so? Really Mama? Really?"
"I hope so, Sweetie, but we might never know. We can say prayers for her tonight before bedtime, OK?"
Viera nodded earnestly.
Viera's mother walked over to the kitchen counter where she picked up two medium-sized yellow summer squash. "Now that the rain has stopped, I have a job for a big girl," she smiled. "I'd like you to deliver these two squashes to Brienne's house."
Viera began hopping with excitement. "Yes Mama! Yes! And can I stay and play with Breezy for a while? Please? I mean if she's not busy?"
Her mother smiled knowingly. "Of course, Sweetie. I know how long you've been waiting to get out of the house. Just change into your work clothes first. It's muddy out there."
Viera raced over to the trunk next to her bed and stripped off her clean linen "inside" dress. She slipped into her rough burlap work dress and grabbed her sun hat. The dress was scratchy, but she didn't mind. Then she raced for the door and slipped into her boots.
"Viera dear, you're forgetting something!" her mother prompted.
Viera turned blankly and followed her mother's gesture. "Oh," she said with embarrassment. She hurried to the counter and picked up the two squashes.
"Carry those carefully now," her mother advised. "And remember not to go near the creek. After all this rain it's bound to be swollen."
Brienne's house was just the next farm over, but on the muddy wagon cart path it was slow going. Viera clutched the squashes tightly. She wanted to deliver them nice and clean, like a big girl would, so she took each step carefully so as not to slip. When she was still 50 yards from Brienne's house, she heard a man call out.
"Hi Vivi! What have you got there?"
Viera followed the voice and saw Marcus, one of Brienne's two older brothers, throwing feed to their family's chickens. "Two summer squash," she called proudly. "They're from Mama!"
He nodded kindly. "Breezy and Mother are inside," Marcus smiled. "Come help me feed the chickens!"
Viera wanted to run, but she didn't want to trip. Certainly not in these last 50 yards. That wasn't what big girls did. It wasn't what Breezy would do. When she looked back at Brienne's door, she could see it was open already, with Brienne standing happily inside waving. She hurried inside.
"Good day, Mrs. Lindholm," she said as she set the squashes on the counter. "These are from Mama."
"Why thank you, Vivi. And be sure to thank your mother for me, would you?"
Viera nodded. Brienne had already grabbed her now empty hand and was towing her back towards the door. "Come to the barn!" she said excitedly. "There are kittens!"
Viera's eyes grew wide. "Vixen!?" she said.
"You know your cat better than I do, but it must be," she said. "She has your hair and eyes!" Brienne patted Viera on the head.
The two of them ran from the house, Marcus and the chickens forgotten. In the barn, they dashed up the ladder as fast as their dresses would allow, and Brienne led Viera to the hay piled near the loft window. Sure enough, there were kittens; five of them, all black with green eyes, just like Vixen.
Viera gasped in delight. "Oh, Vixen! You didn't desert me!" she said. "You just had mama work to do, didn't you?" The cat meowed as it laid lazily on the hay. The kittens' eyes were open, but they weren't getting around too well yet. There was nothing wrong with their voices though. All the high-pitched mewing was just so adorable, Viera giggled at the scene.
Then she heard Brienne's voice from the loft's bay window. "Vivi, look at the creek!" she said.
Viera could hardly tear herself away from the kittens, but her hesitation gave way to her bond with Breezy. The creek was higher than she had ever remembered seeing it. Noisier too.
"Let's go throw some stones in it!" Brienne suggested.
"Mama says not to go near it," Viera cautioned.
"We don't have to go near it to throw stones, silly!"
Brienne was seven, so she was smart, and Viera wasn't silly. "OK!" she said enthusiastically.
The two made their way through the wild goldenrod behind the barn to where it opened on the clearing alongside the roiling creek. The stones were plentiful. Viera threw one, but it only went about ten feet. Brienne's went twenty. Viera didn't want to get any closer to the creek, so she contented herself watching Brienne throw them. They made a barely audible "splunk" sound as they disappeared into the loud mud-churning water. Then Viera saw an armful of goldenrod that had been bundled up with twine. It had been left behind when the area was cleared.
"Look, Breezy," she said, pointing at it. "I bet it would float, like the story of Moses!"
Brienne glanced in that direction. "No, it's too wet," she replied as she threw another rock.
"Daddy says goldenrod always floats," Viera retorted. "I'll show you. Can you help me roll it in?"
"Sure, just don't get too close, OK?"
The two girls worked together rolling the bundled goldenrod to the edge of the creek, and then heaved it in. They watched together as it bobbed along. The water quickly carried it out of sight.
"Your daddy is right!" said Brienne.
Viera crossed her arms and gave a firm nod of satisfaction. Her daddy was always right.
The two turned and took a step away from the creek. One step. They both gasped as the ground gave a sudden heave. Their eyes connected in confusion. Brienne opened her mouth to say something but what came out was a scream as the whole embankment they were standing on collapsed into the water.
Viera didn't know how to swim. She didn't know anyone who knew how to swim. The coldness of the water made her gasp, but that only hastened the intake of water. She gagged convulsively, but then there was no air left. She thrashed in the water. It was so muddy she couldn't see. She didn't even know which way was up. The turbulent water rolled her to the surface for an instant, but her eyes were too blurry to see anything, and she didn't have the time or the presence of mind to catch a breath. Back into the murky depths she thrashed. Her little hands grasped for something - anything - to hold onto. Slippery things passed through her grip, sometimes poking her, sometimes striking her, but nothing compared to her screaming lungs. Her mind was fogging. Again she rolled to the surface and this time she caught a glimpse of a woman's legs standing on the bank of the stream. Who? It wasn't Brienne... Under she went again. Her vision was black. She could still hear the roiling water, but it seemed so distant. She was passively aware that she had stopped thrashing. She was ... was she? The roar of the water had faded to a buzzing in her ears.
And everything was quiet now.