helloOnce the midwife announced that the child was deaf, all their dreams were whisked into the fire and set ablaze... Their only daughter... was unfit to continue the traditions that followed the Abayla bloodline.
Winona's mother had to completely change her lifestyle to fit the needs of her daughter. Instead of teaching Winona sacred stories, her mother had to teach her how to read lips and speak Tawna. It started with pictographs and elaborate drawings, then pointing to her own lips to show the name of the drawing. If Winona decided to pay attention, she would mouth the words without the sound. Winona was the most stubborn child out of six rambunctious sons. She would look away or squeeze her eyes shut when she did not want to learn or read her mother's lips. For a good bit of Winona's life, Winona thought her name was actually "Chopre he randi." If her mother wanted Winona's attention, she would start with a gentle pat on the shoulder. However, if she did not acknowledge or face her mother, the gentle pat would turn into a painful pinch. It was a tremendous trial for her mother but eventually Winona was able to speak the language (even though she sounded like a caveman by how choppy her speech was.) Teaching Winona about the gods and goddesses was a whole different trial. Based on her mother's drawings, Winona imagined them as invisible floating people in the sky and nothing more.
As Winona progressed in age, the fiercer the physical training. However, her father was not satisfied with her physical training. What if something happened to her sight? Being blind and deaf would be a huge hindrance to her survival and would most likely get her killed. So Winona was forced to practice blind fighting. When they first attempted this practice, Winona would rip off the blind fold and run off to hide. So they started the practice at night. Winona was a different person when she couldn't see. She was paranoid, aggressive, and went into a frenzy whenever anything came too close to her. Her father took advantage of this and was able to turn the frenzy into focused, precise attacks.
Despite the extra training, Winona wasn't particularly strong or a good hunter and this worried her parents. How would Winona survive? It wasn't until she underwent training in tracking, when her family discovered her hidden talent. Since she is deaf, she can only rely on sight, smell, taste, and touch. This makes Winona an exceptional tracker since all her focus goes into feeling with the special pores in her fingers. Not only was she talented at tracking but she also enjoyed it. When she started this training, it bled over all her other practices as well, like blind fighting. Instead of attacking right away when she felt a presence, she would use her pores to pinpoint where they were. Winona was able to feel with her pores before, but she never really understood or paid attention to them until training in tracking began. And now, Winona actually felt safe in the dark...
When Winona turned thirteen, she was allowed to go tracking with her tribe deeper into the desert. It gave her a taste of what the desert was like before she would go on her "searching" when she would turn fifteen. Not only would she use her ability to track down game, but she also got to experience trading with other races she never seen before. Because of trading, she was able to learn a bit of Common tongue. It wasn't as difficult to teach to Winona since she was more open to it. She loved interacting with other races, especially the Benshira which had eyes that fascinated her. However, Winona was not allowed to speak too much to them. Her family didn't want her being too open and ultimately be taken advantage of. After all, not all Benshira were nice or fair. There's always corruption in the world and the Suli Tribe knew this all too well with the constant battle for water with the Eypharians.
When the deaf chaktawe became of age, "the searching" began. She was temporarily banished from her tribe, and her life was placed into the hands of the gods she never knew...
Winona was doing only fair the first four days. Pretty much surviving on whatever edible flora she could find, including the nasty-smelling hik fruit, and avoiding the more harmful flora. The pictures her mother made of the desert flora was etched in her mind. The longer she was out in the harsh sun or under the freezing moon, the more paranoid she was. Winona tried to sleep whenever she could, but the fear of running into the "red eyed" creatures or being snagged by a pack of tsana was enough to keep her awake. Around day five, Winona kept looking up at the sky waiting for invisible floating people, called gods, to come down and save her but they didn't. Winona was absolutely alone.
Until she felt the faint sensation of water run over her fingertips.
At first, Winona thought that perhaps the invisible floating people actually came down to save her but fear and paranoia told her different. Was it a pack of tsana? No, it was too faint for that. It was just one. Winona planned to run in the opposite direction, not taking any chances. However, a strange thought popped in her mind as she began to turn around.
"Follow it."
Winona was startled at the thought. Perhaps she was beginning to get dehydrated or ate too many vesper peas. But the thought came again.
"Follow it now."
As strange as the thought was, Winona gave into it. She kept low to the ground, crawling in the sand, and cautiously followed the direction where the sensation was coming from.
Upon further inspection, it was a Benshira, laying in the sand with a terrible sunburn. Her mouth was moving, repeating something in shiber multiple times. Winona had no way of knowing this at the time, but the girl was singing praises to her god, Yahal, despite the girl's predicament.
The girl's name was Rasha, from the Tents of Hapeth, of the sons of Jaben. And this girl was going to change Winona's life forever.
Rasha was with her two sisters in the desert when one of their goats had gone missing. Since Rasha was the oldest, she offered to go find it. However, while Rasha was trekking through the desert to find the missing goat, she came across a pack of tsana. She didn't get too close, but she was visible enough to catch the pack's attention. While running from the pack in a frenzy, Rasha ended up getting lost. She wandered throughout the desert for the full day with very low water and very little rations. Rasha tried to make the water last as long as possible but near the end of the day, she had ran out and slowly began to dehydrate. When Rasha couldn't walk any longer, she laid down in the sand and started praying and singing praises to Yahal. She knew that her god would save her, she just had to trust in him...
That was when Yahal led Winona to her.
When Winona came up to Rasha, Rasha began to beg for water in common tongue instead of shiber, in hopes that Winona would be able to understand. Winona didn't know much Common except for words to discuss trading. There was a few times when Benshira would ask if there was any bodies of water nearby before departing their seperate ways but that slipped Winona's mind.
When Rasha realized that Winona was deaf, Rasha weakly began to draw waves in the sand and pointed to her mouth. Finally, an understanding was made. Winona was able to last around five more days without drinking water and was willing to sacrifice some for the dehydrated Benshira. After all, she was a Benshira with pretty blue eyes and Winona loved blue eyes.
After sharing her water with Rasha and playing charades some more, Winona agreed to help Rasha get home to her family.
It was sunset before they discovered a nearby Oasis. When Winona led Rasha to the waters to drink and rest, they ran into more Benshira that actually knew Rasha's family. They knew a bit of tawna from trading with the kalanue tribe and thanked Winona for her kindness. Once the Benshira family took Rasha into their care, Winona planned to go back into the desert. After all, the gods didn't throw an animal out of the sky yet to protect her. However, before Winona could set forth another step, another thought intruded into her head.
"Go with them."
Winona ignored it at first, and continued to walk in the opposite direction.
Suddenly, a memory of what her mother had told her repeated over and over in her mind. "If the gods lead you, follow them."
"Go with them, Winona." The thought came again.
Winona finally understood. So she followed.
At first, Winona was just another rakva among the Benshira. They were kind to her, but ultimately confused on why she was among them. However, Rasha welcomed Winona into her home with arms open wide, eternally grateful for what Winona has done for her. If Winona was willing to sacrifice water for a stranger like Rasha, then Rasha was willing to sacrifice some room for Winona.
Rasha wasn't exactly sure why Winona decided to follow them back to the tents of the Benshira. After all, the young deaf girl didn't know anything about them other than the fact that they traded with her kind. It wasn't until Yahal approached her in a dream. It was then when Rasha promised Yahal to teach her and to help her grow.
It took several seasons to teach her the basics of shiber, but Rasha was a descendant of Jaben and would have made him proud with her abundant patience. Whenever she had Shepard duties, she would spend them with Winona, teaching her how to read lips and speak in shiber until it was time to lead the goats home. Rasha would also spend time teaching Winona how to read and write early in the morning before the sun would rise.
When Rasha first introduced writing, Winona was completely captivated with the swirling lines and enjoyed watching Rasha scribble words across the page. Sure, there were times when Winona would shut her eyes closed and bury herself in the sand whenever she got frustrated... But all Rasha had to do was pull out some paper and ink and wave them in front of Winona's face. She was attracted to it like moths to a flame.
There were times when Rasha questioned Yahal, wondering his purpose in her teaching Winona how to speak in shiber and common, however, she knew that she would just have to trust him. Just like how she trusted him in the desert.
After two years, Winona was fair at speaking in shiber, although she needed some more work on her common tongue. Rasha had planned to work on it with Winona the next morning but found herself getting woken up in the middle of the night instead.
"Floating people in sky... They talk to you lots?"
"Floating people? Wait- you mean the gods?" Rasha rubbed her sore eyes, and sat up to face Winona. Winona looked confused at the word "gods", and started mouthing it to herself. A sudden wave of realization crashed over her and caused her to become cold and clammy.
"You don't know what gods are, do you..." Winona shook her head in response. Rasha sucked in her cheeks, unsure of how to explain them to her and prayed that Yahal would give her the right words. "What... What do you know about the 'floating people in the sky' then, Winona?"
Winona told her about the thoughts that came into her head, the first time they ever tried to communicate with her through her thoughts. The first time Yahal ever tried to communicate with her, but Winona didn't know which god it was. She just knew that she had to follow.
"She is ready." Yahal's comforting voice rolled over Rasha, and she smiled at Winona with the love and compassion that Rasha felt when she first came to know Yahal.
"Let me tell you about the gods, Winona. Starting with the one that led you to me..." Winona immediately scooted closer, fidgeting excitedly. Winona was finally going to meet the one that brought her the greatest gift of all. Rasha. Not only a teacher, but a sister as well.
Winona lived with the Benshira for six years and counting. Her past life and her people were slowly drifting away into a memory. But it was worth it. She got to learn about who Yahal was and about the other gods that the Benshira worshipped. Winona would stay up late at night, underneath the stars just talking up at Yahal with ramblings and questions that she never really expected an answer to. After all, she couldn't hear, and Yahal was an invisible floating god. But it was alright with her, Winona just liked to talk to Yahal. However, something troubled her... Did Yahal love her as much as he loved the Benshira? Or was she just a rakva to him?
Winona talked to Rasha about her troubles but she always insisted that Winona was Yahal's child just as much as other Benshira were.
"If I am Yahal's child also... Then why am I not Benshira like you?"
Rasha just smiled and shook her head, "If you were a Benshira, you wouldn't have been able to find me the way you did with those magic fingers of yours. Everything happens for a reason. Be proud that you are a chaktawe... And that you have found favor in the eyes of Yahal."
Life was simple and sweet until 515 AV, when a persistent young man began to fancy Rasha and asked her parents permission for her hand in marriage. His name was Azeroteph, from the Tents of Eban, of the sons of Aysaw. There was nothing particularly wrong with the fellow, but her parents felt that Rasha was not ready to be wed and declined his offer. However, he kept persisting.
There was even a time when Azeroteph desire for her grew so strongly that he snuck into Rasha's tent one night and tried to force himself onto her. Fortunately, Winona was with Rasha and was able to defend her with the one thing she remembered learning from her tribe so long ago... The dreaded tiger claw, also known as the throat strike. It disabled him long enough for the two girls to run out and inform Rasha's parents of what had happened. From then on out, Azeroteph was punished for his crime and was banned from ever coming near Rasha. This angered him deeply and he refused to give up. Rasha had to be his.
"Goodnight, sister. I love you."
Those were the last words Winona read off Rasha's lips. The night that Rasha blessed her with such a beautiful gift of gold earrings and the piercing of her ears. Winona never pierced anything on her body before and earrings were a part of their culture. Winona was one of them now. She was not a rakva anymore, but was now Rasha's family. And they tore Rasha away from her...
It was discovered the next day that Azeroteph had paid slave drivers from Kenash to kidnap Rasha while she was on her shepherding duties early in the morning. Winona was still sleeping then... Rasha refused to wake her after Winona endured a long night of tossing and turning from nightmares.
Rasha was with a few other shepherds, all somewhat distant from each other as they watched over the herd of goats in the desert, searching for an oasis. The other four shepherds noticed little sand clouds in the distance, heading closest to Rasha, but it wasn't big enough to be a sandstorm. By the time the other shepherds realized it was a raid, it was too late. Many of the cattle were stolen and four out of five shepherds were taken. One lone Benshira was able to get away by burying himself in the sand and praying he wouldn't be seen or get trampled on. When the Kenashian slave drivers were long gone, the shepherd gathered what was left of the herd and hurried back to Yahebah to share the news. It was when a crowd had gathered to hear of the taken that Azeroteph stepped in and admitted to his crime.
It still baffles Winona to this day why he would do such a thing. Why would he commit this crime and admit to it? She believed that perhaps guilt smote his heart. However, in reality, he just wanted credit for it to hurt Rasha's parents personally. They didn't allow him to marry her, so if he couldn't have her, then no one could...
Winona vowed to find her. She would do anything for her sister. Rasha was everything to her. Rasha was the one that opened Winona's eyes and showed her Yahal...
"Yahal, please lead me to her like the day you led me to her in the desert..."
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