I wrote this story for my US History class last year and I wanted to know what you guys thought of it. It's a little long just to warn you.
A young girl by the name of Ginger was sitting in her room late one night writing a story for history. She had to write about something that had happened in her state of Colorado, it could take place in any time, and could do with anything, but honestly she had no idea what to write about. The big grand-father clock in the living room began to strike, she looked at the clock on her nightstand and it read 11 o’ clock, then she directed her attention back to her paper, “8 hours until you’re due and I have no idea what to write”. Just then the wind began to pick up blowing her raven-black hair and sending her blank sheets of paper to the floor. She bent down to pick them up and set a stapler on them and got up to shut the window. After she latched her window she turned back around and was going to head back to her writers-block when she was face to face with a girl.
She seemed to be around her age of sixteen, she wore Indian garments, but didn’t look Indian, in fact she seemed to be English. She had deep brown hair, that of a great oak and dazzling blue eyes which replicated the great sky. She smiled at Raven; the smile was warm and comforting but had an eerie presence within, and her sky blue eyes, though they seemed full of cheer, told a different story. Both girls stood motionless, not saying a word until Ginger stuttered out,
“Y-y-you’re a ghost!” The girl nodded her head and Ginger continued, “W-w-who are you? W-w-why are you here?” The girl continued to smile as she replied,
“My name is Robin, and I am here for you have summoned me.” Ginger took a step back and asked,
“W-w-why would I summon you?” Robin sensed the fear radiating off of Ginger and replied,
“You have no need to fear me, I an not here to do you harm. And the reasons of my summoning are of your own.” Ginger calmed down enough to talk without a stutter and became a little defensive,
“Well, if you’re here you might as well do something, give me advice, help of some kind,” and then quietly under her breath to avoid Robin from hearing, “or even write my story for me.” Robin quietly laughed for she heard this and said,
“I guess if you wish something of me, let me tell you a little story, one that takes place many, many years before you were born, in fact even before the first 13 colonies.” She paused for a second and then said, “You may want to sit, this may take a while.” Ginger sat down and Robin began her story.
“It takes place back in 1622, when my family arrived at Jamestown from England, the chief had been getting quite irritated with the settlers and began killing us off. My family along with several others fled the area on foot and bringing as little as possible.”
“But there was a boat coming, why didn’t you wait till then?” Ginger cut off. Robin politely replied,
“We didn’t know it was. Anyway, some were killed in the first few days, but the natives mainly showed interest in Jamestown. They traveled west as far as they could and once they reached Kansas I was born. I slowed down our caravan a little just as the other infants did, but we kept moving not wanting to be caught by the angry natives. It took thirteen long years to finally get out of Kansas. We had reached Colorado. We continued on for two more years until I was fifteen and the caravan finally decided to make a new settlement, we thought that we had gone too far for any native to have traveled. Our new settlement was upon a large cliff. Days quickly passed, and those days turned into weeks, and weeks to months.
We were successfully growing crops in large amounts, some fields that seemed to stretch for acres on end. Even though I was a girl, I had to tend to a large section of the field, for it was too much for the men since they were always out hunting buffalo and the elder women took care of the cooking. Sometimes we would be out for a few days harvesting corn. I was out one day tending to and picking corn. I had the strange feeling I was being watched the whole time, but that was impossible, the other girls had returned earlier, but I took my time making sure that my corn was the healthiest corn harvested than any other, I took great pride, care and enjoyment in it. Anyway I continued to get that feeling the whole day.
The sun began to set and I still had that feeling it just wouldn’t go away. I began hearing things, like sticks breaking, which seemed reasonable, I mean my post was right next to the forest and an animal could be walking by. I began to scare myself, I heard the loud crack and crash of a nearby branch falling and jumped dropping some of the corn I had harvested. I knelt down to pick it up, then I got the feeling I wasn’t alone anymore, I got the feeling a lot, but not like this before.
I slowly turned around and met the gaze of an Indian boy who was looking at me curiously. I began to scoot away dropping the corn once again. He took a couple steps forward and began to pick up the corn; I slowed to a stop and watched him. When he was done gathering the corn he walked to my side and knelt down next to me handing me the corn saying,
“It’s such a beautiful thing, it would be a shame to ruin it.” He smiled at me and I stared at him in awe for a moment and then smiled back.
“Yeah, it would, wouldn’t it,” I replied. He liked this answer and continued to smile at me and nodded. He extended his hand to me and I took it and he helped me to my feet.
“What would someone as lovely as you be doing out here this late at night,” He asked. Him calling me lovely made me blush a bit, I was hoping the dark would cover it up, but it didn’t. I had never been called lovely by anyone except for family.
“Tending to my section of the field,” I replied to him dusting off my skirt.
“But why so late and night?” he asked me and seemed more curious than before. I told him,
“Making my corn as healthy as possible. You see, the other girls that tend to the field just thinks it’s enough just to be able to grow the corn, but I do much more than that. For the past few months I spend extra days out here making sure that the corn gets everything it needs to be all that it can be.”
“But why do the girls take care of it and not the men and boys?”
“Because the men and the boys are always out hunting, it’s amazing if they are home for a day so it is up to the girls to do so.” He nodded understanding and then looked to the sky and then back at you.
“It is getting late, I should leave you to rest,” I nodded and he turned to leave.
“Wait,” I blurted out and he turned around, “If I am to ever see you again, what is the name I shall call you by?” He smiled briefly and then replied,
“Hayate, and you what name graces your beauty?” Once again blushing I replied,
“Robin,” he seemed to approve of this and then swiftly left. I, myself took the corn I had picked and laid it in a basket next to a cot I had laid out and fell asleep. Dawn seemed to come to quickly, I rose from my cot and folded it up. I gathered a few more ears of corn taking my time hoping Hayate would come see me again, but he didn’t. Completely sure of this I got my cot and basket of corn together and went back to the village.
Once I was there I ran straight into my house and was greeted by my mother, she said,
“Oh, Robin you’re home, I hope you’re corn is as good as last time or you will have no excuse for being so late.” I smiled and replied,
“It is,” knowing she was joking with me, “I have a wonderful story to tell you of last night.” Mother sat down at the table and said,
“Oh, do you now, I am wanting to hear this then aren’t I?” she said this as more of a statement than a question.
“Well, I was gathering corn when I met an Indian boy, he was really friendly so there is no need to worry. We only spoke for a brief moment but I sensed no bad in him like you said you felt in the other Indians.” I told her, she didn’t seem too frightened by the fact that there were Indians out here at all.
Father came home later that night and I had gone to bed early exhausted from earlier. Mother had told father about the Indian boy, he seemed sure to tell the mayor about this. The sun finally rose and I woke refreshed. I went downstairs for breakfast shocked that father had already left.
“Where is father?” I asked Mother. Mother turned around holding a pot of hot oatmeal and said while placing some in my bowl,
“He went to tell the mayor about your Indian friend,” I stopped eating and looked at her in shock.
“What? Why would he do that!?” I asked her sternly.
“Don’t worry Robin, he’s just telling him just in case the natives prove dangerous,” she told me, but I was outraged.
“They aren’t dangerous! If they were don’t you think he would have done something?!” Angered I ran out of the house to find my father. I did find him, leaving the town hall.
“Robin, what are you doing here?” He asked me this as if he had no idea what was going on. I replied,
“What did the mayor say?” I was trying to hold back tears as best I could fear the worse.
“He said that we are to capture them so they don’t become a threat and maybe to use them a laborers.” Doom fell over me and I stood dumbfounded for a moment, this was worse than what I thought the worse could be. I turned on my heals and began to run away from him and yelled back,
“They aren’t a threat!” Tears filled my eyes and I could barely see, but I kept running. I ran into the cornfield, back to my section and collapsed to my knees and began to sob heavily into my hands. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and I looked up and saw Hayate,
“What’s wrong?” he asked now kneeling near me. I hugged him close and said between sobs,
“I told my mother of our meeting, and she told my f-f-father and-” I began to cry harder, Hayate hugged me back trying to give comfort.
“What did happened after that?” he asked, not demanding or anything but I don’t know I just can’t explain.
“He told the mayor and he wants to capture your tribe because he thinks you mean us harm, and maybe even force you into labor,” I continued trying to calm down, but it didn’t work. Hayate pulled me away from him and held me there so he could look at me and said,
“We don’t mean you any harm.” His face was stern and held maybe held a little fear. I began to quiver and said,
“I know, I tried to tell him, but he, he just wouldn’t listen,” I didn’t move, not that I had a choice, he had a firm grip on me so I wouldn’t leave.
“Then we shall tell the mayor that I mean you no harm,” he said still very serious. I nodded and he helped me up and we went back to the village.
Many people saw us walking in and stared at us and said things. Finally we made it to my house and went inside.
“Mother, where is father?” I asked her. She had her back to us preparing the buffalo that was killed earlier. She still had her back turned when she said,
“He’s up-,” she turns around and sees me with Hayate and screams, “Indian! Indian! Indian!” Father ran down the steps nearly falling,
“What? Where?” He saw me standing there and the Indian boy also. “What?! This is an outrage, we will have no savage in this house hold!” Before I could protest or react in anyway Hayate stepped forward and said,
“Sir I mean you and your people no harm, I wish to talk about what is to be done with mine.” Father grew angry and stormed out of the house taking Hayate with a tight grasp around his arm. I tried to follow but mother held me back.
“Father!” I yelled trying desperately to get him to consider another way, but he ignored me. I struggled out on my mother’s tight grasp and ran after him. He was nowhere in sight, I figured that he was already in town hall, so that’s where I ran. I ran up the door and into the hall.
Inside the hall there were many doors, I didn’t know where to start, so I started from the front. I carefully placed my ear to each door and listened. I heard nothing in many doors, until I was nearly through when I heard voices from the last room.
“You did very well George, and as a reward he can be yours. The first slave ever to be used here.” I ran down the hall a burst open the doors.
“No,” I protested loudly. Everyone averted their attention to me, even Hayate who was now in shackles.
“And who may you be?” the mayor asked with rather distaste.
“It is my daughter sir, she seems to be on a wild story that the natives mean us no harm,” my father told him displeased in my sudden intrusion. The mayor stepped down from his high seat and began to pace back and forth in front of me.
“Tell me little girl, who was it that forced us out of our home in Jamestown in the first place? Who was it that killed many of our people before we left? Who was it that still killed our people even after we left? Hmm, HMMM?” I stared at him for a moment as tears of anger and sadness filled my eyes and I yelled back at him,
“Well, then who was it that gave the Indians disease in the first place? Who tried to enslave them once before? Who do you think angered them enough to fight back?”
“I’m sorry your Honor, she usual doesn’t act like this. She’s usually much more behaved. She is the one that grows the best corn in the village,” Father told him so I wouldn’t get in too much trouble.
“Yes, yes,” the Mayor said waving us out not really caring. My father nodded and began to leave, leading Hayate in one hand and grabbing my arm in the other. I looked at Hayate the best I could with tears quickly filling my eyes, I couldn’t tell if he was sad or angry with me even though he never quit looking from me to my father. I began to cry harder, just letting the tears fall from my eyes, father just ignored me until we go to the house where he locked me in my room, I’m not really sure what he had done with Hayate.
I collapsed onto my bed and began to cry my lungs and heart out. “I hope he’s ok, but, but I betrayed him, he has the right to be mad at me,” I thought and eventually passed out from exhaustion. The next morning I heard my door open, I turned and saw my father, he no longer looked as mad, but more sorry than anything.
“I talked to your friend,” he said sitting on your bed, which you were also now sitting on. “He told me about when you met and how he was just curious, and some other things. So you’re going back out to the field today right?” I nodded and he continued, “Take him with you, do as you wish with him.” He got up and dropped the keys to the shackles on my bed knowing what I planned on doing and left me to get ready.
I got dressed and threw some food in a basket and went outside and found Hayate sitting on the grass in front of your house. I knelt down next to him,
“Hey,” I said quietly, just above a whisper, I placed your hand softly on his cheek and turned his head so he was looking at me. “Let’s get out of this place.” He didn’t argue he just looked confused for a moment and I helped him to his feet. I took his hand in your free hand and began walking out to the cornfield where we met.
When we got to the place where we had met we sat down and took the shackles off him,
“Sorry I didn’t do it earlier,” I told him, “The village would have gotten upset. Here.” I said handing him some of the bread I had packed. He took it and looked at it then said,
“That’s ok, I had been eating flies all day.” I looked at him with a disgusted look on my face. He laughed and then said, “I’m joking.” I sighed and we ate the food I had brought. The day was ending and I didn’t have everything I would have needed to stay out late so I gather up what I had and stood up.
“It’s getting late, I better leave. Oh and I still believe your village is under danger, I don’t think that the mayor will leave you be,” I told him. He stood up and said,
“Very well I shall warn them,” he kissed me on the cheek and said, “Good bye.” And, we went our separate ways.
A few days had passed with nothing going on and it seemed as though the village had forgotten about the Indian boy. Father had came home quite happy that day and said,
“You’ll never believe this, the biggest herd of buffalo has just moved into the area, and me and the guys are going out to hunt!” We were so excited, we thought they had moved on since there had been such a long shortage. Father got his gun and that’s the last we saw of him for that night.
The next day mother was busy making breakfast when I came down.
“Go to the well and get me some water will you dear,” she asked me, I nodded and went outside. I got the bucket from in front of our house and went to the center of the village to get the water. I was just about to draw up the bucket when I began to hear several gun shots, they didn’t seem right, usually on a hunt the guns go off at the same time, these were scattered. They were followed by yells, yells of pain, I stood up and looked in the direction they came from, and then the ground began to shake. I wasn’t bad at first, but then it began to shake more violently, I squinted my eyes as a large dust form quickly crept over the town. At the base of the dust I saw the buffalo heard, they were stampeding!
I turned and began to run, moments after there were sounds of more screams and things being destroyed. I kept running for my life, and I only looked behind me once and saw the village was completely destroyed and the buffalo catching up with me, and that was the only time I looked back. The cliff edge caught up with me fast. I stopped and turned around to face the buffalo and shut my eyes awaiting my imminent doom. I felt myself being thrown off the edge. I felt myself fall, falling down to my death, when I realized that I hadn’t been falling at all. I opened my eyes and saw someone dressed as a buffalo holding onto me as he held onto the cliff-side. “Hayate!” I thought, but it couldn’t be, this person was older than he was.
After all the buffalo had fallen off the edge the person that had saved me began to lift himself up. He handed me to someone at the top who didn’t hesitate to quickly tie my hands behind my back.
“Ow,” I said trying to indicate that the ropes were too tight, but they ignored me, they didn’t even take off the costumes they were wearing. They began to lead me somewhere, but I had no idea. They took me to a village, an Indian village. They took me to a large tent where many Indians had already gathered. There were so many of them and they all looked angry, at least the ones I could see did anyway. I was shoved to my knees in the center of the tent in front of who I assumed was the chief.
“You have greatly endangered our tribe,” he said his voice booming, I was frightened, I didn’t know what to say, all I could do was listen. “There is no proper punishment for this than death.” My mouth gaped, I could no longer feel any of my body.
“Chief! Wait!” Someone yelled behind me, I heard their footsteps, until they stopped next to me. I looked and it was Hayate. “Please, sir do not be so harsh on her, she is the one that set me free when I was caught.”
“Is this true?” He asked looking at me, I slowly nodded my head, afraid that if I were to speak I would be acting very rudely.
“Very well, then you may live, as long as you promise to live as one of us, do you agree,” I nodded hastily. “Hmm, but there is the fact that you did tell people of us, but you set it straight, so other than being one of us, you must also marry my son.” He lowered his hand to a boy sitting next to him who looked like he was a little older than you. I sat dumbfounded, I didn’t know this boy at all and if I wanted to stay I had to marry him? I looked at Hayate, he had the same reaction.
“Very well,” the Chief said, obvious to my not knowing, “I will give you some time to make up your mind. Now, where is it that you’ll stay?” He pondered for a moment, scratching his chin.
“She can stay with me and my family Sir, I feel that it is only right that I repay the favor,” I looked up at Hayate, he looked quickly down at me and smiled, then looked back up to the Chief.
“Very well,” he said and then waved his hand dismissing everyone. Everyone left, leaving Hayate and me alone. He helped me up and untied me.
“Thank you,” I said, then I thought for a moment then asked, “Why did you do that?”
“I was just repaying the favor,” he told me and we left. Months past by and the Chief and grown impatient, so one day he came up to me and said,
“You have lived here far too long and have not given me an answer. Do you wish to continue to live here?” I looked at him and nodded, then he continued, “Then you are to marry my son.” Doom fell over me like a tidal wave. “You will marry him in two growing seasons,” he told me. Two growing seasons is the same as about six or seven months. In his case I was guessing six.
Five months past and horror struck, I had a child. It was Hayate’s child. The Chief found out about this and was outraged. He took Hayate to the hilltop, me along to watch. I remember it well, he didn’t beg for his life, he knew what was about to happen, right before they took him from me he whispered in my ear,
“I’ll wait for you.” I began to cry, I wanted to run away but they wouldn’t let me, they laid his neck on a tree stump. They didn’t blindfold him or anything, I could see every emotion possible in his eyes as they brought up the large tomahawk like axe. And just as heavily as it was brought up, it was brought down, taking the life of Hayate, the father of my child, my savior, and my friend. After it was over the Chief came to me and said,
“You will marry my son in three days,” and with that he left. For the next two days I received wedding gifts, including one from my future husband. Apparently it is a tradition for the man to give the women an important weapon that had done him many deeds. He gave me a dagger, expertly crafted with a fine wood handle. I sat in a room in Hayates’ parent’s house starring off into the distance cradling my child, and Hayate’s parents came in.
“You called for us,” his mom asked me. I nodded.
“I wish you to do the greatest favor I could ask,” I told them standing up, “I know I have done a great wrong by causing Hayate’s death, so I will set it right.” I walked over to his parents and said, “I wish you to raise Totsai.” They stood in shock for a moment then nodded taking him from my arms.
“We wish you luck in your choice,” they told me as they left. I nodded and sat down in the center of the room holding the dagger in my hand.
“You told me you would wait for me,” I said, “You will not have to wait much longer for us to be reunited.” I took the dagger and rose it in front of my face, looking at it for a moment, admiring its beauty and power, then lunged it deep into my chest. I gasped and everything began to go cold, and I fell to the ground and breathed my last breath.”
Ginger sat there for a moment in awe then said,
“That’s so beautiful, yet so sad.” Robin just smiled and said nothing. Just then there was a soft rap at the window. Ginger stood up and looked outside, there was nothing there, she opened the window and a small gust of wind blew past her. She turned around and saw it, it was foggy like, and it split in two and stopped next to Robin and began to materialize. There they were, an Indian boy around her age and an older man.
“I’d like you to meet Hayate,” she said identifying the boy taking her hand in his, “And Totsai,” she said introducing the older man, “Even though we died young, he lived his life well.” She stood there starring, trying to get used to the scene, then smiled and said,
“I am very happy you are all able to be together again. I think I know what to write for my story, for yours shall never die, not in my family anyway-” Hayate cut her off,
“Our family.” She looked at him confused, “We are your predecessors,” he said clearing her confusion. Ginger smiled contently as she sat down at her desk and began to write, she could feel the presence of the ghosts behind her.
“We will always be here for you,” Robin said softly, Ginger turned around and saw they were fading, she didn’t try to stop them, there was no need if they would be there for her, she just watched contently as they disappeared into the fading darkness.
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