Cedar Woman (15 page)

“
C
o
m
e.
It will
b
e all
rig
h
t.”

Face
fre
s
hly
scrubbed, her dark,
s
h
ining hair
n
e
wly
bru
s
hed
and ha
n
g
in
g
lo
ose
t
o
her wa
i
s
t
,
a
sage
w
reat
h
,
w
ra
p
p
e
d
w
it
h
r
e
d
t
rade
clo
t
h, grac
e
d
her
sh
a
p
ely
he
a
d
.
Her
m
o
th
e
r’s
r
i
bbon
dress
r
e
placed
the
s
k
irt and
c
o
tt
o
n
sh
i
r
t
she
h
a
d
wo
rn on
t
h
e
b
u
s, and h
un
g
g
r
a
cefully
to
her ankle
s
.
Beaded
m
o
ccasins,
a
gift
from her
m
o
ther
for
her
s
i
xteen
t
h birthday,
e
n
ca
s
ed
her s
m
all, graceful feet.

Stand
i
ng
in
R
e
va’s
ti
n
y
b
e
d
ro
o
m and
clut
c
h
i
n
g
t
h
e
f
o
ot
b
o
a
rd
o
f
t
h
e rust
e
d
,
ti
n
,
b
e
d
fra
m
e,
M
ary
resol
v
e
d
to
r
un
if
she
had
t
o
.
She
w
ou
l
d walk
up
t
o
h
e
r
g
r
oo
m
.
She
w
o
uld
finally
l
o
o
k
i
n
t
o
his
ey
es,
and
i
f
she di
d
n
’t li
k
e
w
h
a
t she
saw,
s
h
e w
o
uld r
u
n.
Sh
e
w
o
uld r
u
n
a
n
d
r
un
an
d
r
u
n as
fast as she
c
ou
l
d.
I d
o
n
’
t c
a
re if I h
a
ve
t
o w
a
sh
d
is
h
es a
n
d sleep
i
n
t
h
e back
ro
om
of
a
d
i
ner.
If
I
d
on
’t
li
ke
h
i
m,
I
’
m
go
in
g
t
o
ru
n!
Ma
ry
t
ho
ug
h
t fra
n
tically
to
h
erse
l
f.
S
h
e
h
ad
b
a
rely
co
m
p
l
e
ted
h
e
r
th
o
ug
h
t
w
h
en
the d
oo
r
s
q
ue
a
k
ed
op
e
n,
c
a
usi
n
g
her
heart
to
g
ive
a
fr
a
ntic
j
u
m
p
.
Spinni
n
g

¹³
Chew-weed-k
o
o
–
Daughter

t
o
w
a
rd
t
h
e
s
ou
n
d
,
h
e
r
be
a
u
ti
f
ul
hair
fa
n
n
i
n
g
out
a
ro
u
n
d
h
e
r
slight b
o
d
y
,
M
ary dis
c
ov
er
ed
R
e
va,
a
r
m
s once
aga
i
n he
l
d out
t
o her
f
o
r co
m
fort.

“
Co
m
e,
Mary.
It
is
ti
m
e,”
Reva announ
c
ed,
enfo
l
d
ing
Mary
in
a warm e
m
brace,
and
placing
a
s
m
all
bundle
of
wild
flowers
in
h
e
r tre
m
bling
h
a
n
d
s.

Sl
o
wly,
slowly,
Mary
wal
k
ed
to
w
h
e
r
e
a
tight
k
n
ot
o
f
p
eo
p
le
were

g
ro
up
e
d
t
o
get
h
er
in what
w
ou
l
d
be
t
h
e
li
v
i
n
g
r
oo
m
,
b
u
t,
in
fact,
was
m
erely
part
o
f
o
n
e
ro
om wh
i
ch
s
e
rv
e
d
a
s
k
it
ch
e
n,
d
ini
ng
r
o
om and par
l
or.