Crisscross Moon - 9. Chapter 9

9.

When the boy finally tried to talk with the girl again, she was with another woman. The woman started to run, but the boy brought out his knife. He'd never done that before except to protect himself, and the girl told him to put the knife away. When he did, the second woman stayed.

The boy told the girl that her warriors were smart, but he was more careful.

The girl replied that her warriors would catch him anyway.

The boy laughed and said her warriors had more important work to do. He added that he wasn't hurting anyone. He might even be protecting the girl.

The girl doubted that, and the boy asked if she'd seen any bears following her. The girl couldn't deny that she hadn't but said there were long times when she didn't see any bears. By then, the woman with the girl had started to move toward the village, and the boy let her go. But when the girl started to follow, the boy put his hand on his knife. The girl simply asked when he'd go back to his village.

The boy laughed and asked if that was something she'd tell her warriors. The girl admitted she would, and then the boy asked if she'd really help to kill him.

The girl was surprised he'd know about that and asked why she'd possibly help. The boy said the women in her village weren't that different from the women in his. He said he knew what women did, and that's why it was easy to follow her.

The girl didn't answer that, and the boy asked if she could live in his village. The girl said that could never happen. But the boy said that girls sometimes left their villages to marry, and he added that no one would hurt a warrior's wife.

The girl said she didn't think he was a warrior. The boy replied he even had a name. The girl didn't believe that, and the boy asked if she wanted to know his name.

When the girl didn't reply, the boy claimed that he'd never try to capture her alone. He said he knew her village had too many warriors. That since they protected her, she must be important.

The girl said she wasn't important. That no woman was so important to cause trouble. She started again to leave, and the boy followed her.

He said if he needed to, he'd take her family. He'd take her father and mother, her brothers and their wives. He said the only one he wouldn't take was her husband.

The girl knew the boy would know she had a husband because she was of age. The boy said he'd never kill her husband. He'd just wait for him to die. He said that warriors died all the time.

The girl couldn't imagine her husband dead. Brown Bark was young. He was too strong. She said if the boy was really a warrior that he'd have a wife, too. That he couldn't marry until she died.

The boy said that women died all the time, having babies. The girl couldn't imagine another woman raising her sons. But she'd been taught not to keep too close to her children because children died all the time. She knew that parents died, too, but hers were an important part of the village, and the girl didn't believe her family would leave with her just because something happened to Brown Bark.

The girl also knew that the longer the boy stayed with her, the sooner her warriors might appear. She was sure the other woman had already reached the village. So the girl continued to talk.

The boy seemed to know what she was doing, and he started to leave. He added that if he married her, he'd take her children, too.

The girl wasn't surprised that the boy knew about her sons though she'd never taken them into the forest. But that meant the boy had been close enough to the village to watch the meeting houses and huts.

Still, before the girl's warriors appeared, the boy left. When the girl got back to the village and told the leader's wife, the older woman said this was bad.

No one said the girl was haunted this time because the other woman had seen the boy. That was more important than the warriors chasing after him. But the women thought the boy was crazy, and they talked about the trouble other crazy men had caused. They said the warriors needed to kill the boy.

Some of the warriors still thought the boy was part of a trap. They said the boy knew too much about the village. If he told his warriors this, they'd attack. One warrior even said they should just give him the girl. That Brown Bark could get another wife.

Brown Bark had no power, so he couldn't object. But the girl's father could. Quick Leap said that his daughter was needed to raise his grandsons. The men knew that grandsons turned into warriors, so they couldn't argue.

The girl also told the other women that she didn't think the boy would fight. She said he was just showing off. That he was acting the way Brown Bark did before they were married. The women laughed at that but still thought this was different. They said a man who wanted something couldn't be denied. Not if he wanted it enough.

The girl said the boy was too small. He was too weak. But the women reminded her that he was smart. The girl said that if the boy was smart, he wouldn't be bothering another man's wife. The women couldn't deny that.

Quick Leap also talked to his daughter about the boy. He admitted the boy was a good hunter but said he was no better than Brown Bark.

The girl said she knew that.

Quick Leap reminded the girl how lucky she was to marry Brown Bark. He said if Brown Bark was careful, he'd be leader of the village some day.

The girl knew this but had never talked about it. It could only cause trouble. Later, when she was in their hut with Brown Bark, he asked if the girl wanted him to kill the boy. Before she could answer, Quick Leap said the village would never let that happen. The men would never risk losing Brown Bark. He said the boy wasn't that dangerous.

But Brown Bark insisted the boy had to die. Quick Leap assured him that would happen when there was enough time. When enough men could be taken from the village to hunt for the boy.

The leader's wife laughed when the girl told her about that. She said she hoped the warriors would catch the boy soon because she'd enjoy killing him. She said he was taking too much time from the village.

If any of the other women disagreed, no one said so. But the girl didn't think anyone disagreed.

(continued)