I will take Moonflower with me and Jake will come too if he wants. I will not go alone to a place where I was treated like garbage. Of course, Wise Eagle agreed immediately with evident relief in his trembling voice. Whatever you say, whatever you need.
And I want the entire tribe to hear from your own mouth that you banished us unjustly and that you were wrong. The elder hesitated for a moment, his pride fighting against his desperation, but finally nodded his head in defeat. I will do it in front of everyone. I promise solemnly.
Silent Wind looked at Moonflower, then at Jake. Both nodded with silent but clear support in their eyes. Then prepare the horses, she finally said with renewed determination in her voice. We're going to save your tribe.
The Apache camp was unrecognizable when they arrived at dusk the following day. Silent Wind remembered a place full of life, of children running between the tents, of women laughing as they worked together, of men telling stories around the fire. But what she found was a terrifying silence that weighed on everything like a damp dark blanket. The campfires were out or were smoking.
The tents remained closed with heavy fabrics, and floating in the air was that unmistakable smell she knew too well. The smell of serious illness taking over a place. "Where are the sick?" she asked, dismounting her horse with decisive, professional movements. Wise Eagle pointed to the largest tent in the camp, located in the exact center of the circle of dwellings.
"We put them together to care for them better. There are 14 people inside, six elders, five children, and three young women who fell ill last week while caring for the others." Silent Wind walked towards the tent with a firm, steady step, followed closely by Moonflower, who carried a bag full of herbs and medicinal preparations they had brought from the ranch. Jake stayed outside with the horses, watching everything with his blue eyes that missed no detail of the silent camp. Entering the tent, Silent Wind's heart shrank painfully.
The sick lay on blankets spread on the ground, some moaning softly, others completely still and pale as wax. A small child, no older than four, coughed that deep, wet sound indicating fluid in the lungs. An old woman whom Silent Wind recognized as the chief's mother, trembled violently despite the three blankets covering her. "I need clean water," Silent Wind ordered, taking off her shawl and rolling up her sleeves to her elbows.
"Lots of clean water and fire to boil it, and clean cloths, as many as you can find in the camp." The healthy women waiting outside looked at each other with obvious doubt on their faces. Some were the same ones who had whispered insults behind Silent Wind's back for years. Others had voted for her banishment without a second thought. Now, Silent Wind shouted with an authority that surprised even herself.
"Every minute you waste arguing is a minute bringing these sick people closer to death. Do you want to save them? Or do you want to keep looking at me as if I were a dangerous stranger?" The women ran to obey without further hesitation. Over the following hours, Silent Wind worked without any rest, examining each patient individually with the meticulous care her mother had taught her so many years ago.
She checked their reddened eyes, felt their swollen glands, listened to their labored breathing, studied the red spots covering their burning skin. Slowly, the symptoms began to form a recognizable pattern in her trained mind. "It's the water." she announced finally with absolute certainty after questioning several patients about their recent activities. "Where have you been getting your drinking water lately?" Wise Eagle frowned thoughtfully before answering, "From the northern stream.
The main stream dried up a month ago due to lack of rain. So, we started using the northern one that comes down from the mountains." "Take me to that stream right now." demanded Silent Wind. They walked for 15 minutes until they reached the mentioned stream. Silent Wind examined the water with a critical expert eye.
Then, she walked upstream, following the course of the water among the rocks. After several minutes of careful searching, she found exactly what she suspected, a dead animal in an advanced state of decomposition, partially submerged in the water, contaminating the entire flow coming down towards the camp. "Here is the cause of the illness." she said, pointing to the bloated carcass of a deer that had probably died weeks earlier. "The water contaminated by this animal is slowly poisoning everyone who drinks it.
It's no mysterious evil or angry spirit. It's just dirty water entering your bodies day after day." Wise Eagle visibly paled, understanding the implications of her words. "We've been drinking this contaminated water for weeks. That's why the elders and children got sick first." Silent Wind explained with professional patience.
"Their bodies are weaker and less able to resist the gradual poisoning. The strong adults are probably affected too, but they're not showing severe symptoms yet. They quickly returned to the camp and Silent Wind began giving clear, precise instructions to everyone present. She ordered them to immediately stop using water from the contaminated stream.
She sent several young men to fetch water from a clean spring she remembered from her childhood located an hour's walk to the east. She prepared a medicinal tea with the herbs she had brought from the ranch. Herbs her mother had taught her helped cleanse the body of harmful substances and strengthen natural defenses. Moonflower worked tirelessly at her side all night never complaining once preparing more medicinal tea, changing damp cloths on feverish foreheads, feeding spoonfuls of warm broth to the sick who could swallow.
Jake helped by carrying fresh water, bringing wood to keep the fires burning, and holding in his strong arms the elders who needed to sit up to drink their medicine. By dawn of the third day of intensive treatment, the small child who had coughed so severely opened his eyes and asked for food in a weak but clear voice. His mother, who hadn't slept in days, cried for joy, hugging Silent Wind not caring that she had once treated her with contempt. One by one, the sick began to gradually improve.
The fever slowly but steadily subsided. The red spots began to fade from the battered skin. The persistent cough became less frequent and less deep with each passing day. After a full week of constant care, all the patients were out of mortal danger and on the road to full recovery.
Wise Eagle kept his promise solemnly. He gathered the entire tribe in the center of the camp and spoke in a loud, clear voice that everyone could hear perfectly. "We made a terrible and unforgivable mistake," he declared before his gathered people. "We banished two innocent women because of cruel traditions and cold hearts.
We called them a worthless burden when in reality we were the ones who did not know how to value them. And when our tribe needed them most, they They to save us without seeking revenge or holding a grudge. They are better people than we were to them. He knelt before Silent Wind and Moonflower, his old knees touching the dusty ground of the camp.
I publicly ask your forgiveness, from you and your spirits. And I humbly ask you to return to live with us with all the honors you deserve and that we unjustly denied you. Silent Wind looked at Moonflower and both smiled gently with mutual understanding in their eyes. Then she looked at Jake who watched from a respectful distance with a small proud smile on his lips.
Thank you for your words and for acknowledging the injustice. Silent Wind answered in a serene, firm voice. We accept them sincerely, but our home is no longer here with you. Our home is now on a ranch in the desert with a good man who accepted us when you rejected us without mercy.