It was quick, blurry even. I couldn’t tell who it was that ambushed me, only what they did. Three boys—probably of the Shibuya tribe—were standing in front of me. If I had been paying attention, I might’ve been able to avoid them, just barely. I stopped in the middle of the path, my head down. What did they want from me? I knew that this was my time, my ambush. One of the boys, taller than me, older too, was holding a stick. It wasn’t your everyday twig, it was a big, thick, fresh stick. I winced. They approached me slowly, carefully. The tall boy sneered at me, “Ugh. Another Enyana.” I looked up, realizing that each of the three were wearing cloaks, the hoods pulled up over their heads, shadowing their faces. Presumably to hide their identities from me. I stared up at him, trying to conceal the fear in my face, “I could say the same about Shibuyas.” One of the two smaller boys snorted loudly, the other one glared at him. Tall boy was shocked, apparently, he didn’t expect me to talk back, “Well, what you think doesn’t matter. What does matter is that right now, your path-time has come.” I looked at him curiously, “Path-time isn’t what it’s called, is this your first time doing this? It’s called the path. That’s all you need to say, the rest is context.” “Argh!” Tall boy death-glared me, “Just shut up! Just because I haven’t done this before doesn’t mean I can’t do it!” I could tell that he was sweating, he was nervous. Just like me. I nodded to him, “Okay then.” My brain worked fast, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation, “What if you let me go? And, in return, I’ll give you...” I looked around, “Uhhh-” Tall boy cut me off, “We’re not going to let you go!” He was furious. The smaller boys stayed silent, staring at the ground. I shrugged, “Yeah, I figured that much. So, on a scale of one to ten, how much is this going to hurt? Tell me the truth.” I was hoping to get him so angry that he would leave on the spot. How unprepared I was for what happened next. He answered my question, lifting the heavy stick and hitting me across the face. My legs gave out and I slipped, falling on my side and hitting my hip. I tried to contain my tears; I really did. They came spilling out as the pain increased. The tall boy stared down at me, face frozen in surprise, as if he hadn’t meant to do that. Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he was here to threaten me. Maybe I had aggravated him too much and he got angry. Whatever had just happened, it hurt. The three boys ran away quickly, the tall boy throwing his stick behind him. I just lay there, hoping for someone, anyone, to come help me. It soon became clear that no one was coming, and I got up, wincing from the pain. My cheek hurt badly. I touched it gently, my finger coming away with blood. Ouch. I could feel a bruise forming. My hip was fine, just sore. I had stopped crying, but my face was still wet. I didn’t want the other Enyana’s to see me. There wasn’t a way to get across the clearing without someone seeing me. I would just have to risk it. I pulled my shawl over my head, shadowing my scar. The rest of the walk home felt like eternity, each sound making me jump, as if all the birds were Shibuyas. The glade was busier than usual today, Jane and Eriku sat by the tree chatting, my brothers and their friends were doing... something. I couldn’t see anyone else from where I stood, which was good for my current situation. I pulled the shawl tighter over my head and walked into the village, trying not to be noticed. I made it halfway to my house before I was. Jane looked up and saw me, pointing. “Is that Anya?” she asked, recognizing me. Eriku shielded his eyes to look at me, and I quickened my pace, “Yeah, I think it is.” He stood up. I began to run. “Anya!” he called out. I ignored him, continuing to run towards home. Of course, it wasn’t that easy for me. My brothers got in the way. Felipe and Azaire stood in front of me, blocking my way. I stared down at the ground, hoping they wouldn’t notice my bruise. “Why are you acting so weird, An?” Felipe asked, his voice laced with worry. I stayed silent. Azaire looked at me seriously, I could feel it through the hood, “Anya, are you okay?” My voice hardened and cracked, “You never cared before, why should you care now?” The tears slipped out again, letting out the little water my eyes had left.
“Anya,” Felipe said, “What happened?” Azaire’s voice hardened, “Come on, Felipe, she’s not just going to tell us!” He yanked down my hood. I heard Felipe gasp. “What happened?!” He repeated, more urgently. I shrugged, not wanting to remember the ambush. A hand landed on my shoulder; it was Eriku. “Did you get ambushed?” he asked, his words mirroring what I had been thinking. I nodded, still staring at the ground. The three boys had a million questions, bombarding me with them all at once. “Who did it?” “When did this happen?” “Does Lyna know?” I let out a choked sob, not being able to deal with it anymore, and ran to our two-room lodge. I just couldn’t.
