Gardens in the Dunes by Leslie Marmon Silko Read Free Book Online Page B

hopefully.
    â€œOh no.” Grandma Fleet shook her head vigorously. “It isn’t safe for young girls to travel. If the Indian policemen find us, who knows what they might do with you?” Grandma Fleet eased two big gourd canteens of springwater over her shoulder and took up her walking stick. Sister Salt carried Grandma’s gunnysack full of roots, seeds, and leaves—spices and medicines Mrs. Van Wagnen might need. After all that wonderful food she gave them, it was the least they could do.
    â€œNo one notices an old woman, but everyone sees a young girl,”Grandma Fleet said as she started off briskly; she allowed the girls to accompany her as far as the big boulder at the intersection of the little wash with the big wash. Indigo tried not to cry but the lump in her throat forced out the tears; she made no sound and kept walking at her sister’s side. At the big wash Sister Salt slipped the gunnysack from her back to Grandma Fleet’s back.
    They watched Grandma Fleet until she disappeared around the first turn in the big wash. Indigo sank to the ground and began to sob loudly. Sister Salt did not like the sound; it echoed off the sandstone on both sides of the canyon. Anyone—the Indian police or a miner or a cowboy—might hear that sound.
    â€œCrybaby!” Sister Salt hissed in her little sister’s face as she jerked Indigo to her feet by her arm and pulled her along behind her.
    â€œShut up before someone hears you! Grandma went to find out about Mama,” Sister Salt said, and she was crying now too.
    By the time they reached the house the sun was past midpoint in the sky and it was hot. After a drink and a bath at the spring, they crawled into the coolness of the dugout house and covered themselves with their wet canvas shawls they soaked in the pool. Indigo lay on her bed and stared up at the latticework of willow branches over mesquite poles. Why hadn’t Mama escaped by now?
    Indigo dreamed she was in Mama’s arms, hugged so close and so safe, her face pressed against Mama’s chest, breathing in Mama’s warm scent of sage and earth. Mama’s love surrounded her and rocked her gently. When Indigo woke, she looked around for Mama before she remembered, and some part of her deep inside broke open, and she cried so loud she woke Sister Salt. Indigo expected Sister to scold her for crying, but she put her arms around Indigo and rocked her, saying, “Don’t cry, sister, don’t cry. Mama will come back, she will.” Indigo felt something wet fall on her arm and realized Sister Salt was crying too. As Indigo began to feel more hopeful and stopped crying, Sister Salt cried harder. Indigo hugged her big sister as tightly as she could.
    â€œDon’t cry!” Indigo whispered, and patted her sister’s back. Sister nodded and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.
    Indigo excused herself to go pee. She was surprised at how much daylight remained as she walked to the latrine below the dunes. The hot days would arrive in no time.
    When Indigo returned, Sister Salt was far in the back corner where Grandma Fleet kept the big pottery storage jars. She heard the sounds ofSister Salt removing the stone lids, and the rustle of dried apples and strips of dried meat in muslin sacks.
    At first they were only going to sample the apples and the venison jerky. Indigo rolled the dry apple slice around on her tongue until it was moistened; she sucked on it for a long time until it was too soft and sweet to resist and she swallowed it. They took only the smallest flakes and slivers of jerky to chew and chew, and they had contests to see who could make the jerky last the longer. Indigo looked Sister Salt in the eye and took another piece of dried apple and another piece of jerky; before Sister Salt could stop her, Indigo stuffed both the apple and the jerky in her mouth. Sister Salt grabbed the jerky from her mouth and popped it into her mouth.