The Roar of the Falls: My Journey with Kaya

In the morning, we’re awakened by two scouts searching for us. They have good news. Raven has arrived back at camp with word that the herd is safe, along with all the Nimíipuu warriors. Kaya and I are both grateful, and I let out a long breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. And Little Girl is much better after a night’s rest. She is walking with less of a limp, and the scouts are sure she can make it back to camp.

Leading Little Girl slowly, we walk unhurriedly back to camp behind the scouts’ horses. The morning air is fresh and cool against my face, and I watch swallows dip and dive in the clear sky above us. Kaya says she’s going to ask Toe-ta if she can keep Little Girl. When her injury heals, Kaya will call her Steps High. Because that’s what she’ll do again one day.

I am filled with inspiration today, too, my mind already turning over ideas for tomorrow. I can’t wait to get home and tackle my garden group. I’ve survived a raid, taken care of an injured horse, and spent the night out in the open, sleeping under nothing but stars and buckskin. The garden project doesn’t seem nearly as difficult now, not compared to everything I’ve just lived through. I can stand up to the indifferent girls in my group and lead them.

I look over at Kaya, memorizing the shape of her smile before I have to go. Will she ever know how much she taught me? About courage and resourcefulness, about patience with a scared, injured horse? In my head, I whisper a grateful “Thank you.”