A tisket, a tasket, red and yellow basket

Strong hands
Big plans
All reduced to this.
Hard won Freedom
How could you have missed?
Scared, are you?
You do it on your own
You do it all alone.
We all did.
Scared, are you?
Half the lines we make up dear
The best that you can do
Everything you would be
Pass you like a ghost.
And kind words are scarce at best
When you need them the most.
Scared, are you?
You do it on your own
We all did.
Scared, are you?
Half the lines you make up here.
The best that we can do.
Hope brings you luck
Doors open up.
And if you should fall,
I'll catch you dear.
It must be!
It must be!
Scared, are you?
Finally on your own
You do it all alone
We all did
Scared, are you?
Half the lines you make up dear.
The best that we can do
And we do
~Better Than Ezra

The walk across the harigga became accompanied by the sounds of the drums. He had to have gone straight to the drummers for the staccato beats to begin so soon. I did smile a little wondering if the herald was offered by the hands of Sahli but knew it lacked the depth and soul the man offered the winds in his messages. It was alright, they simply spoke of the end of a slave. Not missing or dead .. just one that no longer existed. No matter how small, lost or alone I felt at the moment, they didn't speak of a woman without any heritage, without family ... a stranger. They spoke of a woman named Leonette who sought to make a place among the Tribe. As they pounded out the images of the rains, the sky, the grass and the bosk .. of learning and growing, of strength and heart over the camp, I made myself a promise to live up to the thunder that the music represented. The beat of those drums, the tap of my hem and the thud of my heart set my pace and lifted my head higher.

Fonce had told me to stop by the slave wagon to gather whatever things I wanted to keep, but it was passed without ever slowing down. What little I had, rested beneath a storage wagon among the kaiila clan. As I made my path further on, I did leave something, there with the memories of the girls that I had served side by side with, had grown close to, had cried and fought with, I left the best of wishes for them, each and every one of them.

I'd made it to the circle of the kaiila wagons when I had to step in close to the one that belonged to Crag. A team of bosk ambled up from behind and I had to scramble to keep from getting trampled on. The driver drew them up to a stop then leaned down from the seat to look me over. He spit, eyed me again then asked, 'Ewe tha nuu taymer?' I was wiping my hand across my forehead trying to decipher that, then it dawned on me .. well yes I guess I am. 'Ar ya, ar arn ya?' I was laughing as I gave him a more definitive answer, Yes. 'Wall, whar diya wannit?'

The wagon! He meant the wagon .. damn ... where was Cana? Where was it supposed to be put. Duran, his mate and all their little fur urts had come out by now. Lux and Mobie had wandered up as well. Truth was there was a whole crowd gathering .. all of them looking at me expectantly to make a decision. 'There! Put it there between Duran and Ebet'. I heard myself talking but in my head I was yelling at the man that I had noooo idea just put it somewhere you think that Cana would approve of. That seemed to be all everyone was waiting to hear. It was rolled in pretty as you please and soon disappeared beneath a swarm of men and slaves. Ever watch an ant colony with a crust of bread? Everything was happening far too fast for me to feel lost ... at least completely.

Before the wheels had a chance to be chocked, a tall long legged bombshell strolled in saying that Tarra had sent her over. With so much going on, I didn't take time to look at what I had been offered but I ran up the steps to tuck it safely inside then sent the girl back. I didn't want to keep her away from the expectant mother any longer than I had to. She was needed .. there, not here. Next came tilde with another girl in tow. Their arms laden with baskets sent by Aiyana. Each of the containers given a quick once over then motioned on up the stairs to be placed inside. Somewhere along the way, Vreeland strode up and pulled me off to the side. I felt the press of something to my hand and the gruff sound of his voice held an unusual tone to it, soft, low, filled with concern. 'For your protection'. He was already stalking off to talk to Ebet before I thought to glance down at a small bone handled quiva I now held. Without a word, I tucked in my boot.

By the time everyone began to disperse for the comfort of their own little slice of heaven, I was grateful for the quiet. It would take a while before personal possessive pronouns didn't feel so strange but for now I looked at my new home. It wasn't 'new' new but then I felt a sort of appreciation that it wasn't. I walked around it, touching the sides, the platform, the cover as if the ends of my fingers might at any moment pass through and it would all be gone. I grasped the rail tight enough to feel the grain of the wood again and again as I ascended the stairs and dipped beneath the flap. A glow of the brazier was what welcomed me in my first real glimpse inside. The girls had lit a fire and arranged the furs for me but I knew I was too ... wired to be able to sleep just yet.

I just sank down in the middle of the floor huddling the baskets up close around me like a small fortress. Realizing I was hungry I plucked out a juicy strand of jerky from one to chew on while I rummaged through all the goodies. I had almost forgotten the gift Tarra had sent but now I studied the talisman and the craftsmanship of it. The white fur wrapper rested on my knee as I held the mandala up to the fire so I could see the intricate design. Kaiila and grass came to life in finely painted strokes on a larl's tooth. The bits of soft herlit down brushed under the weight of my fingertip before I set the little blue beads to motion. It was just instinctive to curl it up against the bottom of my nose ring and inhale the musky aroma of the sage and smoke. It was powerful. She was protecting me. There was a fleeting thought that maybe she might have been protecting something from what lay within me. Either way I felt the touch of her hand as if it were on my shoulder, reassuring, strengthening and in her own way calming.

I was reluctant to put it down to begin exploring through the baskets. There were several cuts of meat, both cured and salted in the largest one. Spices, thread, needles, things I call littles in one of the other baskets. 'Littles' described all of the little things women need that men never think of .. soap, combs, hairties ... you know ... littles! I licked my thumb and crouched forward, finally putting the omen back on the piece of fur so I could pull a blanket out. Aiyana's talents never cease to amaze me. The purple and blue border to me looked like the distance I had traveled from my old world to this one. Each corner beneath it had spread wing herlits as staunch protectors of the four directions. All of them interconnected with lanterns of light and white bosk horns that formed black diamonds when they touched. It was the medalion in the middle that drew me, three kaiila claws circled their way around the center.

The blanket found its way crooked under my arm not willing to put it down either so I could delve a little deeper in the basket. I was almost head first upside down in there when I lost my breath. I sat back with my little prize feeling like I was about to cry. The softness of the leather was nothing compared to the exquiste detailing of beads on the new dress. It was beautiful, simply beautiful. It felt too intricate for me to wear. I folded it back up with loving care and crept to the furs dragging my favorite three of the treasures with me. I didn't know how to explain to Fonce, Tarra, Aiyana, and all of those who had given how much these gifts meant to me.

Once again I was at the furtherest point of the outer wagons making my way inward. I had expected all of this to stand the entire Tribe on its ear in such a way that Turia would tremble beneath the roar. Instead I felt as if the combined voices of family, of friends, the bond of the Tuchuk as a whole could have shaken the foundations and rent their temples in two.

I had family, a very warm and loving one ... my people.

My treasures were stacked on the empty spot of my fur. They lay where I could see them, reach out to touch them again and again then I held the braid of my hair clasped tight like a life rope and drew my old thread bare saddle blanket up over me.