Candlelight (Part 3)

by Rebecca Clearwater

Katheneria

The rain hit my back hard, cutting into my rough shoulders slightly. I knew it was time to go inside and yet I had a problem. I loved rain but this rain was going to cause me hardship.

I couldn't see for more than three feet around me it was raining so far. This meant that I had to trust my gut and go in the direction that was home. But what if I was wrong?

If I was wrong any of three things could happen. If I went one way I would hit the dreaded forest and surely be eaten by a mysterious beast of the savanna. The other way would present an opposing village where I would surely be held hostage. And lastly the vast ocean where I could only perish, not live.

I rushed in the direction I hoped was home. My bare feet slipped in the mud slightly. It was slippery and I couldn't find a grip. I fell, hard.

My knees scraped against a hidden rock and began to bleed.

That killed me. It made me realize how lost I was. I sat there in my mud puddle and hugged my knees crying. I wished I was home with my mother and sister. But no, I was alone.

Then in the distance I saw a light. It glowed dimly, a beacon in the rain.

I stood up and began to run towards it.

When I got there I was confronted by a white man. He was holding the oil lamp that had led my way. Not my way home but my way to danger.

But maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He was different than my people. I was different than my people. We were both in the same boat. Maybe this was for the best.