Walt Shuler - Winter 1855 - The Rogue River Valley in Oregon. A Tolowa girl, 8, is frightened and alone during the Rogue River Wars, between Native Americans and white settlers.
The Aurora Archives - Day 2
ARCHIVE ENTRY: 1855-DEC-24 LOCATION: Rogue River Valley, Oregon Territory SIGNAL RESONANCE: High / Conflict Zone OPERATIVE: Local Terra-Runner Unit (North American)
TRANSCRIPT OF RECOVERED CORRESPONDENCE:
To Saint Nicholas,
I hope this letter reaches you before the snow covers the pass. Uncle Joel says the roads are dangerous because of the volunteers with their rifles, so I worried you might not get my thank you, especially with all the fights.
I left a loaf of sourdough and a carrot on the rail of our porch for you, just in case.
Later that evening I stayed up late to watch through the window. Da told me to go to bed but I sneaked back up. I thought I saw you, there was a movement, but it was just a rabbit, white as the drifts. I thought it was strange because it had a bit of red fabric around its neck.
It did not eat the carrot like I thought it would. It did something instead that made my eyes hurt to look at. It grabbed the bread in its mouth and rose in the air with it, hovering above the snow like a cloud. The rabbit did not touch the powder. It slid over the top, smooth as oil on water. No one would have believed me because there was no tracks so I followed it so I could have evidence. I thought it was stealing your gift, but instead it went behind the woodstore. It was taking stuff, but it was giving.
There was a little girl there. I think she was one of the Indyuns. The ones that all the volunteers want to hurt. She was shaking so hard against the tree nearby that the snow fell off the pine branches above her. The rabbit dropped the bread in her lap. She looked as shocked as I did at the Rabbit. When she saw me she was more afraid again. I remembered what the militia men said about enemies, that I should report to them if I saw one, but she did not look like an enemy. She looked like my sister, the one that died a few years ago from pnumonya due to the cold.
I did not have any toys to give. But I gave her my wool mittens and my coat because I did not want her to catch pnumonya too. I wanted to say more to her, but then the rabbit thumped its foot, and then the snow kicked up in a swirl, and the rabbit was gone.
In the billowing powder, she disappeared too. But she must have been glad to see me though, because she drew a happy face in the snow before she left.
And then that was that. I was on my own in the snow, so I went back inside.
Anyway, I don’t need anything in my stocking this year. My ma got cross for me losing my coat, but I dont mind. I think the rabbit helped me take care of the important part of Christmas this year. My family are okay, but… perhaps you can visit her instead? Even if she isn’t a christian girl. I think she would like the help.
Your friend, Thomas
ARCHIVIST’S NOTE:
The ‘hovering’ suggests the operative was utilizing a highly stable gravitational hold to carry a heavy load while skimming the snow surface. The interaction between the settler and the displaced child represents a successful ‘String Resonance’ event, temporarily bridging the conflict zone.
Oh, that was wonderful!