Page 32 of Freedom's Kiss
As if they’d heard Nokosi, one by one the otters slid into the water and disappeared under the surface. Winnie scanned the area, waiting for them to reappear. She laughed as their heads lifted above the water and then their bodies curved in a fluid motion as they dove back under. One turned on its back and floated along, as if she were too mature to take part in the others’ antics.
“Otters live in families and take care of each other, hunting fish to eat and fighting off predators like alligators, panthers, or eagles. Though they are on the alert, they do not allow danger to steal their moments of fun and joy.”
Winnie turned to look Nokosi in the eyes. At times she felt like she had learned the lesson of the otter. With Martha’s help she’d memorized passages from the Bible that reminded her that worry couldn’t add a single hour to one’s day and that tomorrow should worry about itself. She remembered the resolve that had flowed through her veins like solid rock when Nokosi, Scipio, and the brothers had crossed paths with their ragtag runaway band and offered them a new way of life. The resolve to no longer be the girl who quaked with fear, who allowed others to control not just her physical body but her spirit as well. The peace that she’d finally attained when she allowed her rage and hate to burn on the altar at the Green Corn ceremony. She’d been able to accept the family around her, past Asa and Isaac to the other runaways and the Seminoles who accepted them into their band. And she’d learned to laugh again. To love. To hope.
But…
But lately a restlessness had returned. Like a calm before the storm, she felt more than saw the gray clouds rolling and piling on top of one another just waiting for the right moment to break the bonds that were restraining them and unleash their unimaginable fury.
How could one fight back against a storm such as that? Instead the winds would threaten to topple them, the lightning to scorch them, and the pelting rain to beat their bodies. When the calm returned, the promising rainbow arching across a repentant sky, would any of them be left standing?
Winnie returned her gaze to the otters, a sad smile spreading across her lips at their chatter as they bobbed beneath the water and then resurfaced. “They’re small compared to the alligator, weak compared to the panther, and not as cunning as the eagle. Do they survive and win against such predators?”
“You would be surprised at how swift and deadly they can be. No one should underestimate an otter. Not even brother alligator.”
A high-pitched shrill pierced the air, immediately garnering both Winnie’s and Nokosi’s attention. Behind them, along the shore where they’d launched the canoe, stood Hachi. Nokosi dipped his paddle in the water and turned the boat toward the lone Indian.
“What is the news?” Nokosi asked even as he jumped from the canoe into waist-deep water, pulling the boat behind him.
“As you know, Eneah Emathla at Fowltown has been angered by the deaths of his people at Negro Fort and warned General Gaines that if he crossed the Flint River, a battle he would not win would be waged.” A muscle jumped in the warrior’s jaw. “The White General did not like Fat Warrior’s warning. He sent two hundred and fifty soldiers to arrest themekko.The people were driven from their village and fled to the swamps.”
Hachi’s jaw ticked again, and Winnie held her breath. Something told her the worst of the news had yet to be delivered. “Seven days later a boat carrying supplies on the Apalachicola River headed toward Fort Scott was overtaken by the warriors. Almost all of the fifty people on board, both soldiers and their wives, were killed.”
Nokosi’s fingers flexed, but he showed no emotion on his face. “The great white chief in the North will not allow such a deed to go unpunished.”
That black cloud Winne had felt was about to let loose on them all. “That means…”
Nokosi turned to her and met her eyes unwaveringly. “We are at war.”
