Shaxoa's Gift Read Online Free Page A

of the incident as
if it were no big deal. Only a few hours after the attack, when I
had seen her, she was more concerned about me and Uriah than
herself.
    I suspected that her casual attitude was
mainly for Uriah’s sake. He had been across the ranch when the
deranged cat found and attacked Lina. He blamed himself for what
happened to her, and with the stress he was already under trying to
run the ranch without his father, Lina would do anything to lighten
her son’s burdens.
    “You know,” Sophia said, “most people around
here think that because I left the pueblo to become a nurse, I’ve
turned my back on my Tewa heritage, but they’re wrong.”
    I was embarrassed to admit that I had thought
of Sophia in exactly that way. The way she argued with every word
our tribal shaman, Quaile, said and turned her nose up at talk of
legends and myths, I would never have guessed that she cared at all
about her Native American heritage. In fact, I’d often wondered why
she even came back to the pueblo. She could make a much better
living in Albuquerque than in San Juan.
    “I have studied what little writings there
are left about our tribe. I love the stories and myths I grew up
hearing, and I believe in many of them, including Twin Souls,”
Sophia said.
    I couldn’t resist interrupting. “Then why do
you argue with Quaile so much and put down the legends people tell?
I thought you hated all of those things.”
    Sophia didn’t even flinch at the accusations.
She had probably faced the same questions many times before. “No, I
don’t hate any of it. I’m proud to be Tewa, but I guess I see
things a little differently than other people do. When I hear
stories about Twin Souls, I don’t hear a story about how love
conquers all, I hear a warning about letting your life be
controlled by what someone else has told you must be.”
    Sophia’s hands reached out for mine and I
immediately took them. “I believed that Twin Souls were real even
before this mess your father created, but I never believed that
finding your Twin Soul would bring you any greater happiness than
simply falling in love with the person you chose yourself. Love has
to be earned in either case, and I believe you and Uriah have
earned the right to be together regardless of what anyone else
might say.”
    “But these feelings are so strong, Sophia.
Half of me wants to run after Daniel and the other half is begging
for Uriah to walk back through the door. My head and heart feel
like they’re waging war with each other, and I don’t know which one
will win,” I said. “If I slip even for a second, I can feel Uriah
starting to fade from my mind. I don’t know how to fight against
something like that.”
    “Yes, you do, Claire. You've been fighting
since the poisoned tea touched your lips. Keep Uriah close to your
heart and he’ll never slip away,” she said. Releasing my hands,
Sophia stood and turned back to the stove. “Eat your food, Claire.
It will make you feel much better.”
    I watched Sophia walk away. I believed what
she said. Real love was earned. Turning back to the soup, I lifted
the spoon to my mouth. My tongue tasted nothing, but I emptied the
bowl, hoping to gain a little strength from it. I felt like I was
back at square one when it came to earning Uriah’s love. Even if I
had to begin from scratch, I would prove to myself and everyone
else that I still loved Uriah and would never turn my back on
him.
     
     
     
    3: Direction

     
    The desert landscape blurred around me. Scrub
brush melted into the sandstone bluffs beneath a perfect blue sky.
I wasn’t sure how long I had been driving, or even where I was
going, really. Hano, Arizona, held a remnant of Tewa Indians who
had fled New Mexico, seeking escape from the Spanish conquerors.
Hano was out in the middle of the Arizonan desert. I had stopped
for directions, but what I was riding toward was still a mystery to
me. I didn’t know who or what I was going to find there.
    The idea of