OCR Text |
Show 16 Chua helped his mother to her feet and placed the jar on her head. "Kwakwhay" she said. He should have said 'you're welcome' in answer to her 'thank you,' but anger smoldered inside him, keeping him quiet. P lajS* *"y^C> l Chua lifted the two com baskets onto his aching shoulders. Chosovi fluttered to Chua's black hair. The hot harvest sun beat down on them as they padded through the sand. Chua could see beads of perspiration pop out on Ahote's back. They trickled down his dusty body, making little spider trails to his waist and into his loincloth. The anger knot inside Chua grew bigger again. "We'll rest in the shade of the rocks," Ahote said, pointing to the bluff ahead. He stumbled, but caught himself from falling. He straightened his dark body and walked ahead. As Chua looked at the bluff ahead, he could tell some of the darkness was not shade, but caves. Ahote's vision is becoming more blurred, thought Chua. As they climbed, the ground under their feet became rocky and steep. "Come Mother, I'll help you into the coolness of the cave." He was amazed at her skill in climbing the jagged rocks with the water jar on her head. Chua concentrated on keeping his shoulders even and steady to balance the com. The blueness of Chosovi's wings fluttered from Chua's head. She circled above him and called,t "Kwaaaa," in her shrill voice. Chua watched her light on a rock and pick up a small bug before flying upward into one of the dark spots on the cliff above. She will find a good place for us to stay, thought Chua. |