Each night just before sleep, Enonai stepped outside her family's lodge to see the night's shadow devouring more of the moon. She had several days to wait for her desperately desired proof and Akonha's return.

She worked diligently to pass the time. Arawan was glowingly proud of the painting and glazing Enonai accomplished. She was becoming skilled at firing the pots as well, which was not a simple task. If the kiln was not hot enough, the pots would not be tempered properly so they would be too fragile for common use. If the fire was too hot, the clay baked too quickly and burst into shards, destroying several hours of crafting.

Throwing herself into her work was a useful distraction, but it seemed Enonai's fears were never far away. She tried to work through the sultry afternoons, wanting to avoid the leisure time she'd have to spend alone, missing her companion. Arawan began to force Enonai to leave the potter's shed in the afternoons, saying she looked pale and near fainting. This settled her none at all. She did in fact feel ill some afternoons, but convinced herself it was the heat of the day and the firing and perhaps because she had not slept well since the party left for the Flats.

Amonee worried for her daughter too. She commented on it, but Enonai waved it off with all the same reasons she was using to convince herself that all was really fine. She also let her mother assume it was due to worry for her brother's return. It was that certainly, in small part.

Enonai's nightly watch of the skies eventually saw nothing but darkness where the moon should be. She took advantage of the cover of night and slipped unseen into Akonha's lodge. She sat there in the dark for as long as she dared, sometimes laying on his sleeping mat and wondering if he slept well, if he was thinking of her. She wondered too, more than a few times, if he meant what he had said. If she carried the child of the Coat, would Akonha truly leave behind his life here to take her away? These thoughts drove her back across the camp to her own bed and finally to sleep, though rarely restful.

At last the moon began to peep from behind the shadow again. Enonai had finished more pots than she could count. Arawan knew it was time for the girl to be away in the women's lodge. She had her own thoughts about the delay, recalling Akonha's attentions. They wouldn't be the first to have a misstep in timing? She thought Enonai's frantic pace might be working at odds with the moon as well and she could see the concern, likely for brother and Akonha. The entire camp was beginning to get anxious about the party's return.

After the night of seeing nearly half the waxing moon, Enonai took a walk in the heat of the day. She wandered through the thicket of trees where she had last spent a moment alone with Akonha. She began to shake and beads of perspiration stung her eyes. She felt flushed and panicked. Her worry tried to overtake her. In a burst of energy she ran through the mottled shade of the trees then along the stream to the flat rock where she usually washed the clay, where she'd sat with her love at night.

Enonai knelt and curled over to look at her reflection broken by the babbling stream. She dipped her hands into the cool water and splashed it up on her face. At last, something to calm her. She splashed again and began to feel the heat dissipate from without and within. She cupped a handful up to her throat and let it run down across her chest, soaking into her blouse. This felt so wonderful that she stretched her foot out then stepped from the rock into the knee-deep water.

Something within her suddenly let go of her worries. She felt a moment free of tension, free of the tangle of thoughts and concerns for the future. Enonai looked around her and toward the camp then smiled and danced in the water. She held her arms out and twirled in circles, barely mindful of her footing as she danced her way toward the deeper pool down stream.

She had felt it, a stirring. On other occasions it was almost disappointing, however, on this occasion, it was joyous! When she reached the pool, Enonai rubbed her hands over her tummy and listened to the voice of her body. Yes, she felt the quiet hints that it was time to go to the women's lodge, the soft ache in her belly, twinges at her lower back. Never had these feelings brought such a smile to her face. With a twist and a giggle, Enonai fell back into the pool then floated for a few moments in the sunshine.

Arawan blinked at the drenched Enonai as she sloshed into the potter's shed. Quite frankly the master potter was glad the other girls had not come back from noon rest as yet. She watched Enonai pick up a large brush, dip it in the white pigment then paint a broad stripe on her grinning cheek. Enonai's voice was practically singing when she informed the older woman, "I will be away." before stepping lightly out of the shed again.

The old potter woman chuckled after her. "Fooled the moon, did you?" She shook her head and went about preparing to work for a few days without the help of her best apprentice.

The other three women in the lodge with Enonai would have gladly taken extra days just to move her along. She was entirely too enthusiastic about the beading, weaving and featherwork they were doing to occupy their time. Fortunately one of the younger storytellers was in lodge too and managed to keep the group occupied and not squabbling, most of the time. The lodge was terribly warm, fueling already irritable spirits, but Enonai seemed oblivious to all of it. She not only finished her part of the designated work, but had time to make a special hair piece of two soft stark white feathers. The other women had to put aside their frustration with her and admire her intricate work.

Enonai had woven a spiraled column with twists of a narrow hide strip then braided it securely over the quills of the two feathers. She grinned and refused to tell more of it than to say it would be a gift. She set it aside and finished out the days. By the end, she was more than ready to get back to her pots. Now she only had to wait for the party's return, to once again gaze at her love's face and give him the good news.

On the night that she returned to her father's lodge, she paused to see that the edge of the moon had cleared the shadow. Surely the party would come home soon. None had expected them to be gone quite this long. There was much speculation around the fires in the camp, much wondering about how the People of the Flats had responded to the request. Yet, none could know if it was well met or... Enonai would not listen to other theories. The party would be well. They would come home safely. Akonha must come home to her.

( Continued Page 8 or back)