Weayaya: The Sunset Woman

Chapter 17

Yvonne
1868?

I sat in shock as Akecheta's lips moved along my own.
His hand moved to the top of the dress I wore. He yanked at the tassels that held it closed.

As they fell open, sense returned to me.

I yanked myself away from him and held the bodice of the dress closed.

He stared at me and again grabbed onto my ankle. He tried to pull me closer to him but I just shook him off.
Again he grabbed my ankle and pulled with a little more force.

I yanked it away with more force and cocooned myself with my knees up to my shoulders, holding the fabric down with my arms.

"No!" I cried.

He looked at me and cocked his head.

He grabbed my arm and pulled with all of his force. I flung forward and landed on my stomach, my body splayed out a bit. I gasped as he twisted my body around onto my back. He climbed on top of me and pulled at the tassels on the dress again.

The bodice fell open, and I was quick to yank it closed.

"No!" I shrieked again.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes as he stared down at me.

Other women would've just given it up to survive...I'd read about it before and seen it in movies...but I wouldn't. I wasn't ready. Despite my long relationship with my ex-boyfriend, we never did anything more than kiss, hug, or hold hands.

"Yes," Akecheta spoke up for the first time as he pinned my hands on the side and tried again to kiss me.

I moved my head out of the way, and yelped. "No!!" I could no longer hold back the tears as the began to stream down my face. He moved his hands from my wrists and with what strength I had left, I thrust them forward and shoved him off of me.

The moment our eyes met, he seemed to drop any sense of trying to touch me.

He rolled his eyes at me and then left the structure all together. He huffed and threw his hands up in the air. Within minutes of him leaving, there was a commotion outside.

I didn't dare move from my position as the sounds of cries and screams echoed in the night. The door flap opened again and I saw a person, a woman, being thrown inside the structure with me.

I prayed it wasn't Nellie as the woman laid on the ground.

As she pulled herself off of the ground, I could hear her sobbing. "Please..." she cried. "Please let me go..." She started to return to the door.

She didn't notice me as she started to go out the same way she came in...she wasn't even half way out before the woman who had beaten me was dragging her back inside.

She cried and screamed as the beating woman threw her down on the ground and kicked her on the back.

The beating woman left, but not before she spit at me.

It was only then that the woman whose back had been kicked noticed me.

"Oh my God," she cried as she crawled over to me. "You-Are you-?!" She began to fret.

As she sat up more, I could see her face in the firelight.
She wasn't a woman...she was more a girl, probably my age from the looks of her. She had dark hair and dark eyes, but her skin was lighter. "Oh my God!" She cried again, "Thank God!" I noticed a twang in her voice, "You're white..." she sobbed as she clutched onto me. I pulled her into my arms and held onto her as she cried. "Thank God you're white...." I felt strange hearing her words.

As I looked down at her, I could tell she probably had been through a similar ordeal that I had been. Her dress was ripped, she didn't have a bonnet, which seemed to be a staple of fashion, and she was covered in dirt and dust...not to mention she too smelled like a horse.

"It's alright," I patted her on her back and held her as tight as I thought she needed.

"I can't believe it..." she sobbed as she raised up a little.

I just smiled a bit at her.

"My-My names Clara..." she carefully wiped her eyes. "What's yours?" She sat up more.

"Yvonne." I continued to smile.

"Oh that's fancy," she laughed a little.

"Not really," I put my arm around her and she leaned into me.

There was a stiff silence between us as the fire in the middle crackled and groaned.

She held onto me and I held onto her as the sounds outside began to die off.

The old woman from before returned through the doorway.

Clara began to sob and she clutched onto me fighters

"No no," I cooed. "It's alright. I-I don't think she is gonna do anything..." I whispered to her, "I think this is her home."

Clara's sobs quelled as the old woman stared at us for a moment. She strode across the circular room and pulled out something from a makeshift chest.

She walked to us slowly, like one walks toward wild animals, and she held out what seemed to be blankets.

Clara wouldn't release me, so I held out one hand. The old woman carefully placed the blankets in my hand before she walked back to the door and tied it closed.

I sighed in relief...a tied door seemed like a locked door, meaning that Akecheta could not come back through...and neither could that woman who was prone to beating.

Go to sleep young ones. The old woman spoke for the first time, using her hands to display sleep. Tomorrow will be harder. She moved her hand up and down as if to say "calm," but it was hard. I could not understand her.

Clara was terrified, and I was spooked beyond words from my encounter with Akecheta. The old woman, however, didn't seem very scary. She seemed very caring, and motherly...yet she was alone in the teepee.

The old woman pulled a mat a little away from the fire and pulled a blanket over herself.

As she dozed off to sleep, Clara pulled a bit away from me. Her eyes seemed a light with ideas, and they moved from the old woman to the door.

"Clara, don't." I whispered. "You don't know what's out there."

"But-," she began.

"No," I said, "come and sleep. It's safe." I assured her, "she tied the door closed and I think it's like a lock."

"How can you be sure she's safe?" She gestured to the old woman.

"She just seems lonely," I shrugged, "I think that's why they put us here...so she wouldn't be alone."

Clara only narrowed her eyes and seemed apprehensive.

"We need to rest," I sighed and beckoned her to join me.

She looked around for a moment, but seemed to give up as she crashed onto the mat. I pulled the blanket over her and she quickly fell asleep.

I laid beside her and pulled a blanket on my body, but as I laid there, I couldn't sleep.

My mind was whirling...and the only thing I could think of was the image of Akecheta...burned into my brain...

He looked the same as in the picture...which only confirmed things for me.

I had traveled back in time...and I didn't know how to escape it.