Walks the Fire by Stephanie Grace Whitson

youthful affection before it could mature into a love that would endure his fits of temper. When he returned from hunting with only a meager catch, she took it without a word of complaint. He interpreted her silence as accusation and blamed his poor catch on a lame pony—or anything he could think of. The fact that he had risen late or been impatient and scared game away was never brought up, and Howling Wolf went through life blaming others for his own shortcomings.
    Prairie Flower tried to be a dutiful wife long after her affection for Howling Wolf had died. Her mother was a great comfort, encouraging her that if she remained faithful in her duties, Howling Wolf would one day settle down and appreciate her. But day in and day out, Howling Wolf continued to fail. Failure turned to bitterness, and the very beauty of his wife became a reminder of his own failures. Howling Wolf was caught in a downward spiral that Prairie Flower refused to join, and he hated her for it.
    It was late during their first year of marriage that Prairie Flower finally realized she had made a terrible mistake. Her father, Talks a Lot, sympathized, but he gave his daughter the same advice as her mother had—stay with Howling Wolf and give him time to grow up. Talks a Lot also added the Lakota version of an “I told you so” speech to his advice. Prairie Flower determined not to bring up her disappointments to her parents again.
    In the fall of that first year, something happened that would forever change Prairie Flower’s life. Rides the Wind’s wife died, leaving him with an infant son to raise. A week later, Prairie Flower watched with her friends when he came riding into the village with a white woman on his pony. Howling Wolf brought his wife a strange white blanket that he said they had found in the broken pieces of a white man’s cart. Prairie Flower said nothing, but Howling Wolf saw her glance toward Rides the Wind’s tepee as she accepted the blanket. She thought, Rides the Wind brings a woman … Howling Wolf brings a dirty piece of white cloth. And it will always be this way. Howling Wolf will always bring what no one wants.
    Howling Wolf watched jealously as Rides the Wind ordered the white woman inside his tepee. When she scrambled inside, he smiled, enjoying the thought of what he imagined would ensue.
    But Rides the Wind came outside and rode away almost immediately after following the woman inside his tepee. Howling Wolf watched in disbelief and then shoved his own wife inside his small tepee to demand payment for his gift.
    The next morning, Prairie Flower laughed with the other women as they talked about the arrival of the new woman.
    “What is she like?” they demanded, when Old One arrived to join their berry-hunting expedition.
    Old One shrugged her shoulders. “You see. She is white.”
    “Will she stay?”
    “My son says this is a woman to feed his son.” Old One added, “She was found by one of the strange carts the whites bring. Rides the Wind says they found things for a papoose. The hunting party watched when this woman and her husband put their papoose in the ground.”
    “They put him in the ground? ”The women were horrified.
    “He was stepped on by the strange cart. They put their dead ones in the ground.”
    The women muttered their disbelief. They had heard of such things, but never had one of them actually witnessed the whites doing such a thing until now.
    Prairie Flower spoke, “So if her papoose has gone to the other land, she must have milk for the child of Rides the Wind.”
    Old One nodded and cackled, “She has much milk. She did not want to give it, but I made her.” The old woman’s eyes softened, “I think she likes the child. Rides the Wind has named him Two Mothers. She will stay.” At that, Old One said, “Enough! You will see her for yourself. You decide what you think. I have talked too long, and my son will have no food if I do not get to work.”
    It was early afternoon when the