The Spirit Keeper by K. B. Laugheed

Author:K. B. Laugheed [Laugheed, K. B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780142180334
Publisher: Plume
Published: 2013-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

~19~

I SLEPT THAT NIGHT CURLED UP beneath our upside-down canoe. When I awoke in the morning, I saw a pair of dirty little feet in front of my face. Behind those feet were other little feet, and others and others, and then there was a pair of large feet and I heard Hector yelling, shooing the children away. When I poked my head out from under the canoe, I found at least a dozen youngsters who had, apparently, been daring each other to peek under the canoe to steal a look at me.

Hector’s shouted words in a language they did not understand moved the children back a bit, but when they saw my face, they gasped and scrambled away. This made me feel terrible for many reasons, not the least of which was that I suddenly realized how much I missed my younger brothers and sisters. Since I was old enough to watch others, I had ne’er had a single day of my life when I was not caring for children, and I was surprised how sharply I missed them. Besides, these children were adorable. Naked, save for a few breechclouts, they stood off in clusters of twos and threes, gawking at me and whispering together. I crawled out from under the canoe and leant against it, watching the youngsters watch me.

I asked if anyone spoke French, and when a lad who was perhaps twelve nervously said he did, I asked if he and his friends would like to play a game. He wasn’t sure what I intended ’til I explained how my siblings and I used to pretend to be bears or bunnies. If a bear caught a bunny, that bunny became a bear, too, and the chase went on ’til there was only one bunny left, who was the winner. It took a while for my translator to explain the game, but as soon as the children understood they were supposed to pretend to be a bear or a bunny, they began acting out their parts with great aplomb. Soon we were chasing each other up and down the riverbank, hiding behind or under boats, teasing one another, acting silly. It was such a relief just to play, and the children and I laughed and laughed.

Throughout this game, Hector stood motionless, his face blank as he watched. Eventually I ran away from a “bear” child and hid behind Hector. By this time all the children were after me, and when they descended, I told them this man was my Guardian who would drive off any beast who threatened me; therefore, our game was done. As the children wandered off, I looked at Hector and remembered the revelation from the night before. I dropt my eyes to the ground.

“Why did you sleep under the canoe?” he demanded. “It is an insult to refuse an invitation to stay in someone’s lodge.”

“I not want insult someone. But I . . . I not want you leave without me.”

Hector was deeply offended. “Why would I leave without you?”

“You say you take me to village of trade, leave me.

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