Page 25 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
When he was young, his father would tell him that it was an honor to be able to understand people the way that he did. He always said it was a gift and that he should be thankful. Father would kneel and hold up the dirt for him to see and say that Unelanvhi spoke to him through Mother Earth.
He’d roll his eyes as he thought his father was crazy for saying such things. It was just one more thing that made him stand out and look like every stereotype about the Indigenous side of his family tree.
Kids were mean. They said shit that cut deeper than any blade, and it stuck with you. It wasn’t until after he’d joined the army that he accepted he was different, which was okay. That was until he met Maeve. He’d never had a vision before—it was new, and he wasn’t sure if the glimpse of a screaming child was even real.
Sitting on the ground with his back against the log, he held Maeve in his arms and smoothed her dark brown hair with the light purple ends away from her face. She was beautiful, he couldn’t deny it, and he almost broke down when she stripped in front of him, but he couldn’t do it. For so many reasons, this was not the time for them, and maybe it never would be.
Maeve murmured something in her sleep and curled into the warmth of his body. Her hair fell away from her face, and he gently ran his thumb across a hummingbird tattoo on her neck. It suited her because she had her own ‘wings’ that were always fluttering at high speed, and she could stay or take off at any second.
As he ran his finger over it again, his finger touched a thin raised line. Leaning over, he was able to see the scar that was perfectly hidden within the artwork. Lifting her arm, he inspected the tattooed sleeve, and when he turned her arm to see the underside, he spotted the scars that traveled from her wrist to the cruck of her elbow.
“Maeve, what happened to you,” he asked quietly and then wrapped her bare arm up inside the blanket. He’d seen this type of pain before, but his sister hadn’t been so lucky.
“Hey man,you wanna hang this weekend? I got that new video game I mentioned,” Jimmy asked as they made their way to the bus stop.
Thankfully, there was only a month left of school. He really wasn’t a fan. He wanted to learn, but the topics in high school sucked, and other than Jimmy, people treated him like dirt. It wasn’t a great way to go through school. That’s what happens when your Indigenous father and White mother fall in love and have him and his sister. They weren’t white, and they weren’t Indigenous, just different. Sadly, when most people see ‘different,’ they react horribly.
Wolf looked over at his friend and shrugged. He wasn’t much into video games, but Jimmy seemed to love the war games and would turn the volume up so loud that it hurt his ears.
“I don’t know, I have this family thing, and we have relatives traveling in for it.”
“Oh yeah, that’s the powwow, right?”
“Yeah, the whole tribe has been working hard at preparing for it since last year, and I’m supposed to take part. I don’t want to, though,” he complained and stuffed his hands in his jeans.
“Why not? It seems like a great time. I mean, you said it’s music and food, and there are games and girls.” Jimmy nudged his shoulder. “I bet they’re hot. Oh, now I want to come. Can I come?”
“Dude, I don’t even want to go, let alone bring my really white friend with me. I mean you kinda glow,” he teased and earned a punch to the arm.
“I would say that’s racist, but I totally get it.” Jimmy was quiet and looked down at his sneakers as they walked. “Actually, I don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“Why are people such assholes? I mean, you’re cool, and so is your family. I just don’t get it.”
“Well, if you figure out the mystery to solving all the prejudice in the world, you’re going to be rich.”
At sixteen, he’d heard his fair share of racist comments, and a lot of them were said without people even realizing they were degrading to him or his heritage. He never bothered to correct them. What good would it do? He’d seen his father argue in a grocery store line because the jerk behind them would say something like, ‘hurry up, chief.’
Oh, his father hated that so much. He understood, but all he wanted was to get the groceries and go. Why did it always have to turn into this huge deal?
His father would always tell him that you have to say something to those with a colonizer attitude or nothing would change, and it was only through change and understanding that there would be true unanimity.
“I’d love to be rich. I’d get this large house with a giant swimming pool and invite every hot girl I could find over.”
Wolf looked over at his friend and shook his head. He could tell Jimmy was already dreaming of sexy girls in bikinis.
“I can….” He started and then stopped as he listened and looked around.
“Just leave me alone,” his sister yelled and tried to grab her school bag from the bully holding it up in the air.
His hands balled into fists as he marched across the park toward the large group that had gathered to watch the show.
“What’s the matter, little Squaw? Squaw…Squaw…” Wolf recognized him as a student, but he was in an older grade. Now, he was taunting his sister as he flapped his arms like he was a bird. “Awe, is the itty bitty savage gonna cry? Not much of a savage now, are you?”
Wolf could tell his sister was near tears. She’d hate him interfering because she was the older sibling. She hated that even at sixteen, he towered over her and had come to her rescue from assholes like this more than once.
“I’m gonna fucking kill this guy,” Jimmy growled. Until that moment, Wolf hadn’t noticed his friend marching beside him, but his face looked how he felt.
