She blinked back tears. Poor Thomas. He had been stubborn, but he had been sweet and protective. She would not forget the day they were returning from the market and had been ambushed by some men. The boy, younger than her and the men had puffed his chest with pride and dared any of the men to tease his sister.
“I am sorry,” Hannah said to everyone in the room. To Mary who had lost her brother and best friend. To her mother who had lost a child. And to Samuel who hid his sorrow with anger.
“You look well,” her mother caressed her face.
Indeed she did; of the four of them, she looked the healthiest with a tan that blended with her skin.
“They fed her to be plucked!” Samuel sneered.
“Samuel!” her mother scolded.
“What? You force me out to bring back your prostitute of a daughter. She should not be here. I don’t want her here. God should have taken her instead of my boy.” His voice shook and without even staring at him, she knew he had tears in his eyes. He dragged his feet to the door and it shut loudly behind him.
“Mama,” Hannah said staring at her mother with fondness. She had missed her so much. “What happened? After I... I was taken?”
Her mother sat down and she handed her wiggling brother to her. Mary sat next to her.
“Can you believe that we were on the wrong trail?” her mother asked with a small smile.
“No way!”
“True. We thought we were going to die. The wagon had been ripped apart. Then one of the men asked in barely understandable English where we were going. I told him. They led us down another path. We... We thought they were going to kill us. I was so worried about you Hannah.” Her mother flicked a tear away. “I have been unable to sleep since that day. Unable to eat. All I have thought of was how you fared. What they... They would do to you. If you were even still alive.”
“Papa said you were dead. That they did harm to you and slit your throat,” Mary said.
“But I could sense you were alive. You are strong and I knew you would fight to be alive,” her mother smiled with tears.
Her mother went on to tell her about how the men had left them on the trail. A few more minutes and the horses had given up on them. They were stranded, with barely any food, and no horses, Regina had feared that this was the end for them. Samuel had rounded the family up and told them they might have to kill one of them to survive out there.
Hannah’s eyes boggled at this. “No, he did not!”
The serious look in her mother’s eyes said otherwise. Why was she not even surprised? Her eyes fell on her brother and she knew he would be the choice Samuel made. He would not decide on any of his children. Or Regina because he would not be able to take of the child alone.
“He had made a decision when... We heard a sound. We hid. I thought they had returned. With you.”
“But it was the officers. They were out on... On...”
“Patrol,” her mother completed for Mary. “They brought us here which wasn’t even far off.”
They would have known if Samuel had been a man and explored the lands. Instead, he had deliberated feeding on his youngest child.
“We told them about you. I told them to go after you. Immediately. But... They said it was dangerous. That they would be expecting them. A trap...”
Every day, her mother spoke to the constable to go in search of her. And with every day that went by, the constable was convinced that she was no more.
“He called them savages. That they rape, kill and feast on the bodies of those they take. He didn’t want to risk his men on such a cause,” her mother frowned.
Yet she had lived and had been hopeful that they would come for her. No wonder it took them this long. If they had taken action that very day, she would have not stayed that long with Bear Claw and his people.
“I never gave up on you,” her mother smiled, taking her hand. “I didn’t care what the outcome was. If you were alive, or dead, I just knew I could not give up on you.”
Her mother continued to plead with the constable who at a point shut the door of his office to her. And then, she turned to her husband.
“It isn’t something I am proud of. But I threatened him,” Regina said.
No way! Her mother had stood up to her husband.
“I told him I would leave if he did not go out for you. I began to put our things together. That made him see the constable and sweet talk him. He sent a few scouts around...”
