A Place Of Trust ~ Chapter 1
by Michael Lynn
The moment had come. The unborn waited. Looking into the heavens with
Its many twinkling lights and thinking what the immediate future might
bring, the young mother to be knew she was in trouble.
Slipping through the moonlight into shadows, and between trees
surrounded by dense brush, she had made her way into a valley she felt
offered shelter. She had played here as a child and knew of a cave where
water ran warm in rivulets as it bubbled up from deep within the earth.
There had been signs of wild animals drinking there. She did not need
the water as she carried her own and wished not to disturb this place
that belonged to others who came for nourishment and perhaps over night
shelter. Soon her people would move on and she would miss the loveliness
of it all. The smell of the wild ones and the warmth offered up by the
water. Her heart was a little sad to go but the knowing she would return
some day lightened the sadness some how.. How could it be that such a
young child would know this.
Her lover, a boy not much older than herself, had fled sometime after
word came to him he was to be a father. His young male companions had
laughed and teased him without let up for days. They thought it funny
that any female would be brave enough to take up with him at all.
He was strong and had an attitude of a tough older man. He had come
through life with out parents. When the people found him he was near
death. The old Grandfather took him in to the surprise of all. He
learned to hunt. To swim and ride horses. He learned fast and was trained
well. As he grew he understood it was important to be accepted by the
people. He must be strong. He must be fair in all his dealings with
others.
She couldn't understand why he ran. He had not come to her. Now, heart
broken, she struggled to make her way to the cave. Being careful not to
leave track she had traveled for weeks. Her food was gone and she needed
water. She was weak now, the baby kicking hard, wanting to escape into
the earth of its Fathers and Grandfathers. Eager to leave the safety and
warmth of it's present shelter. "You must wait a while longer" she
thought to the unborn.
And then out loud she spoke "What if I can not care for you? What if I
do not live through this or even afterward? Who will take care of you.
Who will be there to care?" She moved onward now sensing the cave not
far away. Struggling up a steep incline she knew he would rest soon.
There...just ahead. The moon brought to her attention a small dark
opening. Hardly discernible. Almost unnoticed except she remembered what
she was looking for. "Thank you Moon"
she thought out loud as she lowered her body and squirmed inside the
opening where she would remain until Moon passed into day.. The child
must wait yet a while longer. No harm done. This she just knew.
