The magenta color of the early morning sun rays illuminates the cloudless sky. Sequoya had awakened to the sun beaming in through the open window of her cheap hotel room. She laid there in bed peering out the window with tired eyes, watching the flaring colors of the sun and the sky, and feeling the morning breeze caress her face. It was such a beautiful morning.

A smile appeared on Sequoya's face as she began thinking about Aaron and what they had planned for today. She had so many questions to ask Aaron and yet knew that he might not have all the answers for someone his age. She wanted to know everything about Aaron just as much as he wanted to know everything about her. She learned that Aaron has an older brother named David, who works to provide for the two of them.

Sequoya slowly got out of bed, stretched her arms, and dragged her tired feet as she walked to get her luggage at the foot of the queen-sized bed. She grabbed the baggage handles and dragged it along with her to the bathroom. As she was preparing for the day, she began recalling the last conversation she had with her cousin Dria before she came to this country. Sequoya and Dria grew up like sisters. However, Dria's parents took the liberty of caring for Sequoya after her parents were killed in a car accident.

Sequoya and Dria had been preparing for their last dinner together the night before Sequoya's departure.

"How long will you be gone?" Dria asked Sequoya while cutting up vegetables for the stew.

"I don't know. Maybe the whole summer." She replied while kneading the dough to make frybread with her petite hands covered in flour.

"The whole summer?"

"Yup."

"Are you sure about this trip? I mean, what if those aliens aren't what you expect them to be."

"That's the reason why I'm going on this trip. I want to see the aliens for myself and maybe interact with them. I don't want to base my opinion on other people's opinions about the aliens."

Dria stopped cutting the vegetables for a moment and looked at Sequoya, "Is it that important to you?"

Sequoya turned her head to meet Dria's gaze, still kneading the dough, and replied, "Well, yeah! But, if it wasn't important, would I be going in the first place?"

"Yeah, but …" Dria paused and turned her gaze to the stew.

"But what?"

Dria replied in a more serious tone, "Is it more important than learning about your own culture?"

Sequoya thought about the question for a moment. It was one of those questions that needed a well-thought-out answer, especially when you belong to one of the Native American tribes struggling to maintain what is left of their culture. She wanted to give Dria an honest answer since Dria is the only person who seems to understand her better than the rest of her family. Even when Sequoya mentioned going out of the country to her family, Dria was one of the prominent supporters of her decision. Her aunt and uncle, however, disapproved. Not that she needed their approval or anybody else's approval. The rest of her extended family had mixed reactions. Some were distraught and didn't know what to say. Some were angry and criticized her. Some were proud and encouraged her.

"I've learned what I can from our own culture. What more can I learn? The language is hard to come by since nobody in our family speaks Shoshone fluently, except for grandma. I just need to get away from this place for a while. I'm not going to learn anything new if I stay here."

Dria carefully placed all the cut vegetables into the boiling stew, then she replied, "Well, I'm happy for you. I think that there should be more people like you. People around here shouldn't be afraid to go beyond their boundaries. Some people around here need to get a life at least and do something."

"Yeah," Sequoya stopped kneading and placed the dough into a large bowl. She grabbed a piece of the dough and dipped it in flour. Then she began shaping the dough, preparing to fry it in heated vegetable oil.

Frybread and stew were what they had on their last dinner together. Her family would often serve this kind of meal for every special occasion.

Sequoya came out from the bathroom dressed in her lavender tank top and denim jeans. She carefully brushed through the damp, long lengths of her black hair. The ends of her hair reached below her waist. People often compliment her about the length of her hair. She would often put it up in a ponytail and sometimes braid it to keep it from tangling in the wind. She could easily wield it like a whip if she wanted to. Having longer hair requires extra care.

After fixing her hair up in a braided ponytail, she left the hotel and walked to her destination. On her way there, she decided to shop around at a few stores to stock up on some snacks for the day. She was too anxious to shop, and she couldn't wait to see Aaron. She got what she needed and hurried over to District 9, carrying a paper bag full of goodies for the two of them.

She hoped that Aaron would be there waiting for her, in that same spot where they met yesterday.