OCR Text |
Show Chua let the anger rest in his belly. How would he and his mother get along on their own? He was not yet a man. Could he care for her all by himself? Where would they go? Maybe they would starve to deaths Chua climbed the hill to the village. His feet felt likeX heavy baskets of clay as he climbed the steps to the mesa. He reached the top, watching his clay feet shuffle along. As he came around a rock, he tripped and fell sprawling to the ground. His nose smacked the sand and his teeth bit prickly sagebrush. He spat to clear his mouth. Dark guttural laughter filled his ears. Chua clenched his fists as he stood up. Ahote, his father's brother, shoved him. Chua's head hit the sand again. "I hear we're out of the Snake Dance," Ahote said. "And it's your first dance." His face sneered just like his voice. Chua got to his feet. "Leave me alone," Chua said through gritted teeth. He brushed himself off and walked away. Chua's friends Cheauka and Hanai ran up to him. "Hurry, Chua, it is almost time for the Snake Dance," Cheauka said. "I can't," Chua said with his head bowed. "Why not?" asked Hanai. "Mother and I have been ordered to leave the clan," Chua said. He went on to explain what had happened. "I have to go now. I won't see you again." Cheauka stood unmoving as if his feet were planted in the ground. "No!" "You can't go," Hanai said. "We're friends. We belong together to become men in the clan." |