The First Meeting

Have you ever gotten the feeling that there’s someone, somewhere out in this world? Someone that you feel like you know EVERYTHING about, yet you have NEVER met before? Someone that’s ALWAYS with you, yet NEVER around? Sometimes even being able to dream about their lives from your eyes? That is how Nizhoni Shirai, the daughter of the current chief of the Shirai tribe, has felt since she was a little girl. But unbeknownst to her tribe and their enemy tribe the Tonshyu, Hopi Tonshyu, son of the Tonshyu chief, has also had these types of feelings. But he would never tell the princess of his enemy tribe that. Nor anyone else for that matter.

It was a beautiful night in the Shirai village. The whole village was celebrating the Chief’s eldest son, Nocona’s acceptance into the University of Astrology in the nearby city. The city was so bright, you could see it from miles away. But because of how bright the city was, the natives were unable to see as many stars as they once did so long ago. Over the years, the natives have learned to adapt to their unfamiliar surroundings and are still able to keep most of their customs alive. There are some natives that have learned and adapted to the modern age’s technologies; such as cell phones and computers. Some natives from both tribes have moved to the city to further their education, like Nocona will.

Several feet away from the Shirai village, three young Tonshyu boys were hiding in a tree. Among the three boys was the Tonshyu chief’s son, Hopi. “I wonder what’s going on down there?” Asked the boy to Hopi’s right.

“A celebration for the chief’s son, not just that but also for a bountiful fishing trip.” Hopi said as stared at Nizhoni.

“Yeah they caught more fish than we did. So we’re going to steal some of theirs and take it back to our village” Said the boy on Hopi’s left.

“But isn’t stealing wrong?” Asked the boy on the right.

“Well duh but they’re our enemy Nashoba, our villages have been fighting each other for hundreds of years. Besides, they’ll still have plenty of fish left. They won’t mind if we steal some from them” replied the boy on the left.

“Shut up both of you. If you guys don’t then we’ll get caught and you don’t want to get caught. Do you?” Hopi said as he glared at his two buddies.

“Anyway, let’s go while they’re preoccupied.” The kid on the left said.

“Right.” Hopi and Nashoba said at the same time.

As the three boys were sneaking into the village, the Shirai tribe were getting things ready for their Celebration. Nocona and Nizhoni were looking through a telescope the city had donated to them to look at the moon and stars. “Wow! It’s so big! It looks like it’s a lot closer to Earth than it really is.” Nizhoni said excitedly.

“American technology has come a long way and though we don’t use much of them, this telescope helps our tribes look at the stars in a different perspective……And when I go to college, I want you to take care of the Shirai telescope for me. Can you do that for me Nizhoni?” Nocona asked as he looked down at his ten year old sister.

She looks up at him with sparkles in her eyes and nods her head quickly. “Of course big brother!” She said.

“Good. Now come on. The celebration is about to start.” He said as he held out his hand for his sister’s which she gladly took.

The Shirai village all sat down in a big circle. Nocona sat on their father’s right while Nizhoni sat on their father’s left. As her father was talking about Nocona’s achievements, she looks up and notices the three boys crawling around in the darkness. ‘What are the Tonshyu doing here at this time of night?’ She asked herself.

As the boys were stealthily sneaking around the village, they came across the bins that held the fish. “Finally! Let’s take five each and then get the heck out of here!” The boy on Hopi’s left whisper yelled.

Hopi and Nashoba both nodded their heads. As they were gathering some fish, two strong Shirai men found them and picked them up. “Well well. What do we have here!” The man that caught Nashoba and the boy.

“Looks to me like a couple of Tonshyu kids Brother.” Said the other who had caught Hopi.

“And Look here, one of them is their Chief’s son!” The other said as he smiled.

“Trying to steal all our fish! The Chief is gonna want to have a talk with you three trespassers.” The man said as they both walked towards the chief’s teepee.

“What’s going on Pallaton.” The chief asked as he, Nocona, and Nizhoni walked out. Nizhoni hides behind Nocona when she sees the Tonshyu boys.

“We caught these three Tonshyus trying to steal all our fish! What should we do with them, Chief?” The one called Pallaton said as Hopi struggled to break free from his grip but was unsuccessful.

The Chief stares down at the three boys. Hopi stares right back at him but the other two boys are scared of the Chief. “What are your names, Children?” He asked in a stern tone.

“N-Nashoba s-sir.” Nashoba stuttered.

“K-Kitchi.” the other boy said.

The Chief then looks at Hopi. “And I take it you are the one that led this attempt?” He asked.

Hopi didn’t answer. He continued to stare the Chief down. “N-Nizhoni Where are you going?” Nocona asked as everyone saw her running towards the place where the fish was being kept.

She comes out a few minutes later, struggling to drag a large basket filled with fish. Nocona ran to help her. He tried to take it back to the storage, but she refused. When they brought it to the Chief and the kids, they set it down. “Nizhoni what on earth are you doing child?” The chief asked.

“The gods have blessed us with all the fish so that we can share with the Tonshyu tribe, just as they have been blessed with hunting the wild animals.” She said.

Hopi looks at her. ‘Palila, how do you know about the success of my tribe’s hunting?’ He asked himself. He shook his head and glared at her. “You know nothing of our hunting skills.” He said.

“But I do know that we Shirai live near the water while the Tonshyu live near the mountains. There are some animals that you cannot get from the mountains that you can with the water. It’s the other way around for my tribe. We may be rivaling tribes and our fathers may hate each other, but we can at least establish a trading system. Our fish for your goat meat. And your wool for our leather.” Nizhoni explained.

“Nizhoni you can’t be serious! There is nothing of value that the Tonshyu would want aside from the fish.” Pallaton said.

Hopi looked down in thought. ‘Our leather does break after a few years. Will their leather last longer than ours?” He thought. He let out a sigh then looked straight into her eyes. “I will discuss it with my father then accompany him back here for our fathers to discuss it.” He said.

She smiles then struggles to push the basket of fish towards the boys. “Then let this basket of fish be a symbol of good will from our tribe to yours.” She said as she smiled.

A slight blush appeared on Hopi’s cheeks. “Th-Thank you.” He said.

“And I hope that both our tribes will become allies one day.” She said as she held out her hand for him to shake.

“Uhh y-yeah.” He replied as he shook her hand.

Five years later, all the kids were in their classrooms watching the news on the spaceship that would take off any minute. Nizhoni’s brother was one of the crew members on the ship. Everyone was crowding the TV that Nizhoni couldn’t see. She tries to push through but no one would let her in. Just then she felt a strong but gentle hand grab hers and pulled her into the crowd until she was able to see the TV. The hand left as quickly as it had come. She hears the radio man talking about her brother being the first Native American to go to space and that today would be a part of history.

It’s been a couple of months since the spaceship launched. Nizhoni walked out of her classroom as the bell rang, carrying her books to her locker. As she was putting her books away a hand slammed her locker shut. “Well well. What do we have here? The Shirai Princess all alone.” She hears Kitchi say with a sneer in his voice.

“I don’t see your friends anywhere Kitchi, which tells me that you’re on your own right now.” She said as she glared at him.

He smiles seductively as he chuckles. “And this is just how I like it.” He said as she grabbed her by the collar of her dress and slammed her against the lockers. “You know Shirai, our chief has been talking about negotiations for a treaty between our two tribes. Ever heard about it?” He said.

“My father has never told me such news.” She said as he choked her.

He chuckles again, almost to a full laugh. “Oh my dear sweet Shirai, You have been in the dark all this time? What a shame. But I guess I could tell you.” He said as he smiled evilly.

He leans in close to her ear, almost touching it with his lips. “Kitchi What are you doing?” They hear Hopi say.

“Apparently our dear princess has been kept in the dark about our tribe’s plan. I only wanted to……fill her in.” He said.

He walked over, balling his hands into fists. “What have I told you guys about trying to tell her?! She’s. Not. Ready. As Acting Chief of the Tonshyu tribe, I forbid ALL of you to say a single word about it to Nizhoni or anyone in the Shirai tribe.” He ordered.

“But Hopi, doesn't she have a right to know?” Kitchi asked.

Hopi glared at him. “I said; She’s. Not. Ready. Now are you going to put her down or do I have to take her by force?” He said in a low, angered tone.

Kitchi sighed then dropped Nizhoni, making her fall to the floor. “Fine. But you know, she’s gonna figure it out eventually.” He said before he walked away.

He sighed and turned around. “Are you alright?” He asked as he held out his hand for hers.

She gets up by herself. “I’m fine. Thanks for the help Hopi. Are you boys having a falling out?” She asked as she looked at him.

“Something like that. A-Anyway let’s get to our next classroom else we’ll be counted late.” He said.

“R-Right.” She replied. She looks at him in confusion. ‘I wonder what those boys are up to. And what do they mean by “She’s not ready?” How strange.’ She thought to herself.

An hour later, as everyone was quietly doing their assignments, the door opened and the school principal walked into the room. “Miss Shirai. Would you mind coming with me for a bit?” She asked pleasantly. Hopi glanced up at her, getting a strange feeling that something was wrong.

When Nizhoni and the principal left the room, Hopi raised his hand. “Mrs. Rhonda, may I go to the restroom?” He asked.

“Take a hall pass, Mr. Tonshyu.” She said without looking up from grading papers.

He quickly grabs a hall pass and leaves the room to follow Nizhoni. He arrives at the office and sits outside the principal’s door and listens in to their conversation. “I’m afraid we have sad news Miss Shirai. It’s about your brother.” The principal began to say.

“Wh-What is it?” She asked, afraid to hear the answer.

“He’s gone missing. His team were studying a black hole that’s a couple lightyears away from Earth, he got too close to it and was sucked into it.” She said, Nizhoni and Hopi’s eyes widened.

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