“What do you suggest we do?” Nani Humma asked.

  “If Naomi is ever to return to her family, I think her best chance lies with these young men, our new helper, Isaac, and his friend Joseph. We can lend a hand when needed. We can keep an eye out for the girl. But we must do these things in secret. We cannot endanger our people.”

  There were nods all around.

  Joseph and I stood a little straighter. Rescuing Naomi gave us all a purpose. I noticed it right away.

  The councilwomen walked faster than usual that morning, leaving our wagon behind. When we stopped for our noon meal, the women kept walking. They waved to the soldiers, saying, “We know there are berries in these woods. If we find any, we’ll make berry pudding. It’s an old Choctaw recipe. You will love it!”

  The soldiers smiled and waved back.

  “We’ll hold you to that promise!” the soldiers shouted.

  I knew better than to follow the women, not on my first full day with the council, but I listened and heard the friendly talk.

  These councilwomen are smart, I thought. They are gaining the soldiers’ trust.

  While I built the fire that evening, the women reported to the council.

  “We saw her,” said Stella. She was the eldest, a white-haired, thin woman. “We saw Naomi. When she heard us speaking to the soldiers, she peeked around the back of the wagon. She was curious, but I could tell she did not want us to see her.”

  “She is afraid for her family,” said Nani Humma. “The soldiers said they would harm her little sister if she caused any trouble.”

  “She was dressed like a boy,” Stella said, “just like we expected. But anyone who looked closely could see she is a strong young girl.”

  “A terrified young girl,” said another woman.

  “What do you think we should do now?” Nani Humma asked.

  “Let the boys do their job,” said Mister Tibbi.

  Chapter 17

  Good-bye to My Family

  WHEN I BROUGHT Joseph his supper that night, Nani Humma followed me. We sat in the shadows till Joseph finished eating. Nani Humma was waiting for the evening report.

  “Did you see Naomi today?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Joseph said. “She stayed close to the wagon. A soldier gathered firewood and lit the fire. Naomi cooked the meals.”

  “Does she ever go to the woods, maybe to the creek to wash the dishes?” Nani Humma asked.

  “No, never,” said Joseph. “They brought a bucket of water from the creek for dishwashing. During the day she stays inside the wagon. She never walks with the others. After supper, she climbed in the wagon to sleep. I saw a soldier climb in after her. He had a rope. I am sure she is tied up every night and released every morning.”

  “Is there a guard?” Nani Humma asked.

  “Yes,” Joseph said, “but he fell asleep sometime around midnight. The soldier that relieved him saw that he was sleeping. He kicked him awake and they laughed about it. They are not worried about us.”

  “And why should they worry?” Nani Humma said. “They have the guns.”

  “I can sneak past the guard,” Joseph said. “This will not be as hard or dangerous as we thought. I still have my sharp stone, good for cutting ropes.”

  Nani Humma did not reply. Finally, he leaned in my direction. “What do you say, young Isaac?”

  I knew what I thought, but I didn’t like disagreeing with my best friend.

  “Go on,” Nani Humma said. I knew we were thinking the same thing.

  “Well,” I stammered, “I am worried about Naomi. If we try to rescue her, she might not want to go.”

  “Why not?” Joseph asked.

  “She thinks Nita is alive,” I said. “She is afraid of hurting her. She could scream and fight and wake the soldiers up.”

  “Then I am one dead Choctaw,” Joseph said.

  Nani Humma laughed softly. “Between the two of you, I think Naomi will be fine. I am impressed. And let’s meet again tomorrow night. Be very careful tomorrow. Joseph, you stay away from the soldiers’ camp. We don’t want to risk you being seen. Isaac, why don’t you and Joseph walk backwards tomorrow?”

  We laughed for the first time in days!

  “Why would we want to do that?” I asked. “It’s a long enough walk without doing it backwards!”

  “I think he means we should visit your folks tomorrow,” said Joseph.

  “Good thinking,” Nani Humma said over his shoulder on his way back to camp. “It’s been a long day for everyone. Let’s get some sleep.”

  I liked Nani Humma. He was a powerful and important Choctaw, but he still had a sense of humor.

  Joseph snuck into camp long before sunrise.

  “Time to go,” he whispered. I rolled up my blanket and put it in the back of the wagon.

  “What about breakfast?” I asked. “I need to start the fire.”

  “Nani Humma will tell them where you are. Come on!”

  I followed him to the river. We walked in the trees so no one would spot us. With Joseph in the lead, walking backwards was faster than I thought. After only an hour, we saw my family.

  I was so happy to see them! My mother and father looked strong, and Luke looked very bored.

  That’s a good sign, I thought. That means there is no trouble.

  “There they are,” I told Joseph. “But where is Jumper?”

  “Right behind you,” Jumper said.

  I turned around and Jumper jumped in my arms.

  “What took you so long?” he said, licking my face with his sloppy wet tongue. I lifted Jumper over my head.

  “I missed you Jumper,” I said. “But I did not miss your tongue!”

  I set him to the ground and Jumper ran circles around us, barking.

  “Look at you,” my father said. Joseph stayed in the shadows while I hugged my family, even Luke.

  “I’m glad to see you’re safe,” Luke said.

  “Are you here to stay?” my mother asked.

  “No, only for a short visit,” I said. “I made friends with the Choctaw councilmen. I’m their helper.”

  I had no way of knowing how short this visit would be. This was the last time I would ever see my family. At least, the last time the living me would see them.

  We stopped at noon and Luke and I built a fire. We had pashofa, just like before. It was the best bowl of corn soup I’d ever had. I told my family about Joseph, and everything we’d seen and done.

  “Where is Joseph?” Luke asked.

  “He is waiting by the river. I should bring him a bowl of soup.”

  “Let me do it,” Luke said. “I want to see him.” Luke carried his blowgun in one hand and the bowl of pashofa in the other.

  I wished Joseph could join us, but I knew it wasn’t safe. When Luke returned, the bowl was empty.

  “I gave him my blowgun,” Luke said. “He’s already making darts. I told him to take care of you. Joseph is a good friend.”

  “Maybe he can live with us when we reach our new home,” my mother said. I held Jumper close to me and smiled. I knew my family would like Joseph. He was a strong Choctaw, one of us.

  The day went by too fast. Soon the sky streaked red and the sun dipped below the hills. I knew it was time to go. I knew I would soon say that word again, and hear my family say it.

  Chi pisa lachike.

  Choctaws never say “good-bye.” There is no word for it. We say “chi pisa lachike,” which means, “I will see you again, in the future.” Even though I was nearing the day when I would never see my family as a living person, I would never leave them. Choctaws never go away.

  Chapter 18

  Trail of Tears

  MY MOTHER HELD me for the longest time.

  “Chi pisa lachike,” she whispered. I think she knew. But I didn’t know. How could I? I had not seen a ghost for days, it seemed. I thought they would at least warn me. There was no warning.

  We were halfway to the council wagon when Joseph held up his hand. “Stop!” he said. “Did you hear that?”

  I shook my head.

  “There,” he said, pointing to a small deer on the other side of the river. He quietly slipped into the water, holding his blowgun high.

  “Don’t wait for me,” he said over his shoulder. “I’m going hunting.”

  I watched as Joseph climbed from the river and then disappeared into the woods. I took a few steps, circled a fat tree trunk, and froze in my tracks. I knew something was wrong. I heard leaves flutter above me, and when I looked up, the wolf pounced.

  He was so big. He knocked me to the ground and jumped on top of me. I tried to fight him off. I grabbed him and shook my head back and forth, so he couldn’t bite my face.

  I felt a sharp cutting pain. He sank his teeth into my neck. The wolf growled and threw his head back. His fangs dripped with blood.

  My blood.

  Soon the pain was gone. I closed my eyes. My body shivered and floated in a warm cloud. When I opened them, I was surrounded by so many Choctaws. Every Choctaw I had ever known who had died. They all were there.

  The men and women sang the Choctaw friendship song, a song to welcome me. Young Choctaws waved at me. Each one held something, a blowgun, a boat paddle, a stickball bat, a cane fishing pole.

  They wanted me to know that we were still Choctaws, always Choctaws, and that games and hunting and fishing still happen, even in the world of Choctaw ghosts.

  I felt no ground beneath my feet. I felt lighter than air. I took a step to join the young ones.

  “Noooo!” A scream pierced the cloud. I was alone again, back in the world of the living.

  Joseph threw the deer to the ground and ran to help me. It was too late, but he didn’t know. The wolf was carrying my body in his teeth. Joseph ran at him, left his feet, and sailed through the air. Before he struck the wolf, he was the panther.

  I stood in my ghost body and watched them fight. The panther tore into the wolf, slashing him with his claws. The wolf dropped my body and fled into the woods.

  The panther crouched beside me. He lowered his head and licked the blood from my face. As I watched, the black coat of the panther went away, like dark grass fading into the ground. I saw patches of skin, Joseph’s skin, until finally it was only him, staring at my blood-covered body.

  “No, no, no,” he cried, over and over. “Why did you have to go? Not now. We have so much to do. You are my friend, my only friend, and I need you.”

  I felt helpless. I hated seeing Joseph so sad. I closed my eyes and felt the warm shiver. When I opened them, Old Man stood before me.

  “You need to let him know,” he said. “Joseph needs to see you.”

  “How can I do that?” I asked.

  Old Man said nothing. He smiled and took me by the hand. Old Woman appeared beside him. They led me to Joseph.

  “Speak to him,” Old Man said, “and he will see you.”

  “Joseph,” I whispered. My voice sounded like it always did. “I am still here.”

  Joseph turned his face to me.

  “I am sorry,” he said. “I should never have left you. I wish I had never seen that deer.”

  “Joseph, we both knew this was going to happen,” I said. “Now that it’s over, we can get to work. Naomi needs us.”

  “Hoke,” he said. “But this will take some getting used to. I’ve never seen a ghost before.”

  “Just think of me like I think about you,” I said. “I know you’re there, even though I can’t always see you.”

  “I can do that,” Joseph said. “But promise me this. If you have to go away, let me know. I don’t want the soldiers to capture me, tie me to a tree, and I’m not worried because I know you’ll cut me loose, but you can’t because you’re off in the land of Choctaw ghosts! Can you promise me that won’t happen?”

  “I promise,” I said.

  Joseph was trying his best not to cry.

  “Isaac, I have to tell your parents that you are dead,” he said. “They have to take care of your body.”

  “This will not be easy.” I was thinking of my mother. I followed Joseph back to my family. The snow had melted and the sun shone bright overhead. My family walked in the lead, and right behind them came Gabe and Ruth. Gabe held Nita’s body, wrapped in her blanket.

  Joseph stepped ten feet in front of them. When my mother saw him, she grabbed my father’s arm and pulled him close.

  “What is it?” my father asked. “Where is Isaac?”

  Joseph hung his head. I could see he still blamed himself. My mother started crying, a soft muffled cry that turned the blue and sunny day into one of quiet mourning.

  “What happened?” Luke asked.

  “A wolf,” Joseph said. He raised his head and looked at my father. “I am sorry. I fought the wolf but I wasn’t quick enough. Isaac is gone.”

  My father pulled both families together and they sat beneath an old pine tree. He wrapped his arms around my mother and Luke and whispered a Choctaw prayer. They all cried, even Luke.

  The passing walkers heard my family’s sobs. They slowed down, bowed their heads, and said not a word, out of respect for the grieving family.

  My father finally stood and threw a blanket over his shoulder. “Joseph, take us to his body,” he said.

  For the first time I realized what a burden I would be for my family. They would never leave my body behind, for animals to fight over my bones. Choctaws never leave their family’s bones behind.

  “I am going, too,” said my mother.

  No, please, I thought. I did not want my mother to see what the wolf had done to me.

  As they neared the river, my father wrapped his arm around her and they walked so slowly, like a holy parade. Every step drew them closer to a sight they had hoped to never see.

  Joseph circled my body and stood facing my parents. He didn’t point or say a word. He bowed his head and looked at me, the face and chest and arms that used to be me. My eyes stared at the sky. The blood was dark red and covered the ground around me.

  I felt a strong urge to end this grieving sadness. I wanted to leap into my body, to smile at them, to wipe away the blood and lift my arms. I wanted to stand up and let them know I was hoke.

  Yes! I can do this, I thought. I can float into my body and be with them again. Then I remembered my father’s words:

  “You cannot keep your eyes on the bloody footprints you have left behind you. You must keep your eyes on where you are going.”

  I took a deep breath and watched.

  My mother took the blanket from my father and laid it on the ground, away from the puddle of blood. My father rolled my body inside the blanket, wrapped his arms around me, and lifted me over his shoulder.

  As Joseph waited in the woods, alone, they returned to the road and began their saddest day yet, carrying my body and walking on the Trail of Tears.

  Chapter 19

  Naomi Meets the Ghost

  MY FATHER IS a hunter. So is my brother, Luke. They know the tracks of every animal and beast in the woods and swamps. As they left the woods with my body, I saw Luke tap my father on the shoulder and point to the ground. My father nodded.

  They both saw the panther tracks, mixed with those of the wolf. Joseph’s secret was no longer a secret to my family. They knew Joseph was the panther.

  While my family began their slow walk, Joseph and I returned to the Choctaw Council wagon. At nightfall, while the others finished their meal, Nani Humma ambled to the river. He was looking for us.

  “I’m over here,” Joseph said, from his hiding spot in the bushes.

  “Where is our friend?” Nani Humma asked.

  “Isaac is dead,” Joseph said. “A wolf attacked him. His family is carrying his body.”

  “Oh, Joseph,” Nani Humma moaned. “Will the suffering ever be over?”

  “Before you tell the others, know this,” Joseph said. “Isaac always knew he would never reach our new home alive. He knew he would become a ghost. Now that it has happened, he is not afraid. His pain is over. He is with us now, and will stay with us till we rescue Naomi.”

  “You are a brave young man,” Nani Humma said.

  When we were alone again, Joseph lifted his palms, and asked, “Are you with me?”

  “Yes,” I assured him, and floated into view.

  “No reason to wait. Let’s go,” he said.

  The river curved way from the road. We left the riverbank and entered a thicket of oak trees. Joseph crept quietly, till we saw the flickering light of the soldiers’ campfire.

  “She’s in the middle wagon,” Joseph said.

  Easier to keep an eye on her there, I thought.

  “Isaac,” he said, “the soldiers would see me before I reached her wagon, or they’d catch me when she cried out. She doesn’t know me.”

  “She doesn’t know me either,” I said. But I knew what he was thinking.

  “No,” Joseph said, “but you can climb into the wagon without being seen. And you can whisper so soft, she’ll listen to you. No Choctaw would scream to drive a ghost away, you know that. This is a job for you.”

  I knew he was right. “Hoke,” I said. “But stay close!”

  “I’ll be right here, but what are you worried about?”

  He was right. What did I have to worry about? That’s when I realized, for the first time, that the soldiers couldn’t hurt me. I was already dead! Maybe being a ghost wasn’t so bad after all.

  With my newfound courage, I walked to the soldiers’ campfire. I sat down next to the man who had passed out the smallpox blankets. He could not see me, of course.

  A young man was scooping beef stew from a large kettle and filling their bowls. He was Luke’s age, more or less, but his arms were long and thin. His black hair was cut short, and I could see he was Choctaw.

  Where is Naomi? I asked myself. I thought she was their helper.

  Dumb me! Of course, this was Naomi, dressed like a teenage boy, with short-cut hair. I have to be smarter than this, I told myself.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10