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The village was quiet, as I knew the other warriors had gone on a tapir hunt that would last a few days I didn't go with theood, and I didn't want to venture too far away Over the years, my skill as a hunter had surpassed radually started to beco, bonded friendships with some of the e of seventeen, and put my life on the line for our tribe, I was then fully accepted as a real member of the Caraicans by everyone, except for S'amair'a, who hated practically every person

"Paraila I'm back," I called out as I approached his hut There were no walls just a steepled roof of thick pal rain I had a ht beside his, so close that I could lay inon a conversation

I didn't see S'a to the crops Paraila lay in his ha at me in welcome

"What did you bring an old uese While the Caraicans had their own language, it was uese dialect alo Soht me many of theue

"Two sry? I'll prepare it"

"No, my cor'dairo we'll let S'amair'a cook our meal You rest as you have hunted all day"

My heart war he had calledme

I dropped the pal fire and sat on the dirt next to Paraila's ha so old that he spent a lot of time there, and it burdened my heart

Speaking softly in Portuguese, I asked, "How are you feeling today, Father? Can I get you so?"

His hand reached out and patted me onand you provide for me and S'amair'a well, even if she is too much of a shrew to admit it"

I laughed softly and he responded in kind, sharing in a private joke at her expense that ould not have dared to voice if she was standing here S'aifts to her, but she ue because of his love for me

"We need to talksoon, and there is soets here"

My heart leapt with excite e when I was fourteen on the verge of becohta man means--Paraila from the Caraican point of view, and Father Gaul froious view

For example, when I reached fifteen, I would be allowed to take a woht me all about how this was done within their custoht nancy, but I scoffed at him Paraila assured me that the women ere available for sex drank a vile brew of a certain tree bark that would prevent a baby fro Father Gaul scoffed at that and told me it was better to abstain

I laughed behind his back and, the first ti in the world I wasn't about to stop I never told Father Gaul that, though

"Father Gaul has been gone a long tihtly more open to the prospect of conversion to the Christian word, they still worshipped their own spirits and deities Father Gaul would come and spend a few months with us, and then he'd le-handedly keptskills, as he was the only one that spoke ht ht raphy of both the old and neorlds He told me I would probably need it one day, but I wasn't sure why I had everything I needed to know to live my peaceful but sometimes solitary life

"Yes he had to make a trip back to the United States on an important matter," Paraila said

"I'll ood for his arrival," I replied as I leaned back on the dirt ground and rested my head on my hands

"He's bringing some other people with him," Paraila said, and his voice sounded hesitant

Shrugging my shoulders, I responded, "No uests"