When Haalie was born, the earth was on fire and death was all around us.
If you read my last book, you know Nokosee and I were fighting for our lives deep in the Everglades as Army Rangers on a moonless night snuck up on our New Seminole campsite. I had just turned 18 and I was pregnant and barefoot and on the run through the swamp when Nokosee hoisted me over his shoulder so I could fire an AK-47 back at the soldiers trying to kill us. (I know, not very PC, but at the moment it seemed the right thing to do).
Oh, and I had caught a bullet, too. Talk about insane. I was in pain and scared shitless. Of course, that's when Haalie decides it's time to be born.
You're going to have to read the book to find out everything that happened but needless to say it was also a magical experience. As Nokosee pushed us further away from the sounds of war through the burning Everglades and I laid in the bithlo holding our new baby girl shivering from the cold and still covered in the sweet smelly stuff that comes with birth, I glanced at the black water and saw it come alive, swirling with Van Gogh stars. So beautiful, so reassuring. I think I may have even offered up a weak smile, too.
All of this came rushing back to me when I happened to come across an article on bioluminescence on a FB post. It only happens when plankton in saltwater are disturbed; which tells you how close our final camp was to the Gulf of Mexico.
Hopefully soon I will be able to share that magic again with Haalie and Nokosee. Hopefully.
If you read my last book, you know Nokosee and I were fighting for our lives deep in the Everglades as Army Rangers on a moonless night snuck up on our New Seminole campsite. I had just turned 18 and I was pregnant and barefoot and on the run through the swamp when Nokosee hoisted me over his shoulder so I could fire an AK-47 back at the soldiers trying to kill us. (I know, not very PC, but at the moment it seemed the right thing to do).
Oh, and I had caught a bullet, too. Talk about insane. I was in pain and scared shitless. Of course, that's when Haalie decides it's time to be born.
You're going to have to read the book to find out everything that happened but needless to say it was also a magical experience. As Nokosee pushed us further away from the sounds of war through the burning Everglades and I laid in the bithlo holding our new baby girl shivering from the cold and still covered in the sweet smelly stuff that comes with birth, I glanced at the black water and saw it come alive, swirling with Van Gogh stars. So beautiful, so reassuring. I think I may have even offered up a weak smile, too.
All of this came rushing back to me when I happened to come across an article on bioluminescence on a FB post. It only happens when plankton in saltwater are disturbed; which tells you how close our final camp was to the Gulf of Mexico.
Hopefully soon I will be able to share that magic again with Haalie and Nokosee. Hopefully.
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