Home Is Where My Heart Is

As the haze of the living receded, Katrina eased into the welcome deep of oblivious slumber. Alas, tonight, she would not sleep as the dead remembering nothing.

Into the dark she pried, alas memories surfaced in a hazy pattern of dew. As Katrina focused upon the mist of what once was in her days, she saw in her dream the glint of gold far off. As she willed toward the shine, she saw upon a swaying old door, a familiar object shining upon a chain glimmering bright. Katrina would find herself in the astral now of her deep dreams, reaching toward what she felt was home. A heart shaped gold locket pure and simple as the woman who gave it to her so long ago. Upon touching this gold heart locket, Katrina would awake.

And as her eyes opened, Katrina knew what she had to do. All that was her in the twinkling of an eye, Katrina suddenly knew in a instant her new purpose. It was time to go find her locket.

“What’s wrong, my love?”, her man Ben asked. “You seemed troubled in your sleep. Was it a nightmare?”

Katrina turned into the comfort of Ben’s arms. She nestled her head into his solid, strong chest. “Worse than a nightmare, my beloved. God sent me a dream of conviction. I must leave you. And return home.”

Ben held Katrina closer in their simple bed, his form shadowed by the coal lantern. “Why must you leave me to go home? Why can’t I go with you?”

“The way home is not safe for me. I need someone I can trust to watch over our people. I would fare better knowing you were here watching over our families and herds.” Katrina snuggled even closer to Ben’s chest, gently kissing his massive chest.

Ben sighed. “ You would take my heart when you left me. I would be beside myself wondering if you were alive or dead. I’m going with you, or I follow behind. Let our Lord help us pick another until we return”. Ben gently kisses Katrina’s forehead.

With that Katrina set up in the bed. She looked out the far door of their simple dirt floor hut. Beyond the door, there were several distant campfires. Katrina furrowed her brow, with her dark brunette braid flipping along her neck. She looked out the door as she spoke.

“You know the only reason the clans are united under me, is because God blessed me to beat every one of those bastards in ringed combat. The second I leave, all of them would try to jockey for my position. Just to get a chance to enter the compound. “

Ben upon hearing that gently raises up behind Katrina. His dark beard gently brushes against the left side of her neck. He whispers in Katrina’s ear. “Why don’t you let them? If they are stupid enough to kill each other over a PlayStation, it’s not your fault”. And with that, Ben gently kisses her ear.

“If you go with me, don’t leave my side,” Katrina says. “ I’m tired of burying people I love.”

“Then let us both live, or die together so you don’t have to,” Ben says. Katrina then turns and kisses Ben. “Tomorrow then,”Katrina says, “we will tell them”.

So the lovers fall into each other’s slow embrace, the coal oil lamp sputters and fades. Into the night, they make tender love, knowing it may well be one of the last times.

The dawn arrives oh too soon. Katrina is awake before Ben. She has decked herself for battle. Katrina has dressed herself in boots, tight green camouflage jeans, a light tan t shirt, and a darker orange jacket. As Ben awakes, and reaches to where Katrina was, he sees his lady love is decking herself with a gun belt, with sword, bow, and arrows carefully fitted across her back. Reaching down to the left of the doorway, Ben sees Katrina picking up a big green backpack. In her right hand, she carries a huge walking stick.

Ben groans, “Hey don’t leave yet!”

Katrina looks toward him from the doorway. “Hurry up then”. And smiles. Ben gently picks up his light green shirt from the bed, and throws it at her brown boots. The memories of the night before carried him into an easy smile.

With that, Katrina fully decked for battle, and adventure, steps thru the door of the dirt floor hut. The hut itself is on a crude platform, overlooking a multitude of people. She steps to the right, and rings a medium size gong.

The clamor of the multitude of people ceases. Everyone below the hut is silent. All eyes there look upon Katrina. It is in this moment, Katrina feels the slight twinge of anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She knows what she must do.

“My people! For months I have done my best to honor my pledge of being the good shepherd to you! I have made sure you are fed, and your families tended! Now I must go! And in my place, another shepherd must be selected! Those of you who wish to tend this Remanent, please come forward to the battle ring!”

The crowd of people below began to exclaim and mutter across the land below the hut. Katrina looked across the group of people she cared for. Several minutes passed, and no one entered the battle ring.

With that, Katrina sighed. It was going to be a long day. Already, before the adventure even begins, nothing was going the way she thought it would.

Katrina found herself dreading to speak again. She had honestly thought on of the family patriarchs, or young ambitious go getters would appear. Instead, as the dawn slowly turned into day, one person entered into the battle ring. It was a young teenage boy, wearing a bandana, a red checkered shirt, and jeans. He had no shoes. He looked up quietly from the ring to Katrina’s gaze.

“I’ll do it,” the boy says. “I’ll watch over everything until you come back!”

The crowd started muttering mixed with laughter. After a few uncomfortable minutes, an older man, who looked to be in his upper thirties, entered the ring, sniggering. The man was tall, and saucy in his movements. The older man had dirty thick greasy hair, and a scruffy stubble from not shaving a few days. He wore only a blue Jean jacket, with black slack pants, and army boots. The older man walked up to the boy, and spit chewing tobacco on his left foot.

“So, yew gonna watch over everything son? What you gonna do bout what I just did? “

The young boy proceeded to kick the man in his privates. Then while the man was down, took his head bandana, and proceeded to choke the older man. The older man managed to tuck his chin, and roll the boy off his shoulders.

The young boy would proceed to grab the older mans arm while he was rolled off the mans neck. Gathering position, the young boy would triangle the older man in an arm bar. The older man would begin tapping, begging the boy to stop. The young boy looked up expectedly at Katrina from the ring.

As they locked gazes, the young boy broke the mans arm. “That’s for spitting on my foot!”

“Enough! You’re in! Go to the challenge box!” Katrina would hit the big stick on the ground. The young boy smiled, and happily raced to a squared area to the right of the ring. The older man would spit the boys way, cursing him as he nursed his broken arm. A woman with silver hair and a long brown dress would appear and lead the older man away.

As Katrina watched all this, she sighed deeply. All this crap, just to get a chance to go home. Over a heart shaped locket that may not be where she left it. Definitely a very long day already.