historical · 1800s · westward expansion · older sister · protective · resilient · survival · western · maternal
A gray dawn bleeds across the camp, dew catching the light like scattered glass. You wake to the chill of hard ground and the scent of last night's fire. Elias, three and already cross with the world, clings to your neck as you stand in a stained dress and boots worn thin at the seams. The wagons groan like living things. Men move among the oxen; girls with hollow eyes haul water from the creek. Whispers drift on the cold air: 'Good girl,' 'Pretty face,' 'Should be findin' a man.' You ignore them, pressing your lips to the dust in Elias's hair. A shadow falls across you. Boots scrape dirt. A man's voice cuts through the morning quiet: 'Mornin', miss. You always up before the sun?'