First Try, Bad Luck By: Brooklyn

First Try, Bad Luck

By: Brooklyn

Don’t do it. Puma thought to herself as she glared at the corn and knelt down on one knee to husk the corn. Don’t you dare do it. Ozcollo told you that if you do it again, you will be banned from coming here for as long as she lived. She thought once more as she placed the fresh corn into the basket her mother weaved. Her mother was Ozcollo. Her great aunt named her Ozcollo after she saw a ocelot in the mountains.

But… How old is she anyway!? She thought. Puma knew she would never be able to ask her, because her mother would probably take it very rudely. Ozcollo’s basket was on her llamas back. Her llama, Inti, stretched his long neck down to the ground and ate some grass. Puma mumbled something under her breath and Inti looked up. He hummed at her and stomped on the grass, making the corn fly out of the baskets. “Ugh!” Puma said, stomping over to pick up the corn that fell on the ground. Puma gasped and dove for the corn, but it was to late. The corn went tumbling down the steep, Andes Mountain. Puma’s eyes widened as she looked over the platform, watching her corn tumble down.

Puma stood up and turned around. She shot Inti a look of disgust. Her llama hummed again but in a higher voice. Puma whipped her head around and glared at Inti, pointing at her. “Don’t you dare say anything! Nothing! Do nothing! You know what you did! It’s Winter! Ozcollo is going to kill me because I’m going to come home with four husks of corn and... and… a… a stupid broken llama!”

The llama just stared at her with a blank expression. “I know you can't understand me, but.... Still!” No reaction from Inti. Puma cursed herself for talking to a llama, then she looked up, and gasped! All of the corn was gone! The corn that tumbled off the Mountain was the last of it! “Oh no, Ozcollo is going to kill me!” She said, shoving her fingers onto her skull as her long black hair draped behind her.

What will my family do to me? Puma thought. Puma only knew to do one thing. She took a deep breath and stepped forward toward the edge of the platform, grabbed a piece of rock that would support her weight, and then grabbed another one.

Puma hiked down the mountain. It seemed like eternity to hit a flat piece of ground, so she stopped for a second, then noticed that rocks surrounded the edge, but the rocks where to big for her to climb over.

Her heart filled with joy and a big smile spread across her face when she saw all of her corn laying there. A few dents, but otherwise they were okay. Puma gathered the corn in her shirt, which was all torn up from the hike down.

Suddenly, she heard a loud humming noise coming from above. “Oh no,” Puma said. She slowly looked up to find Inti looking down from the cliff eating grass as the dawn light made his tan fur almost glow. Puma groaned as she prepared herself to hike all the way back up the mountain before she decided to ditch Inti.

* * * * * *

The sun was in the middle of the sky by the time Puma and Inti got back to her hut. Her mother, Ozcollo, was next to the hut weaving a basket.

When Ozcollo looked at Puma, her her eyes grew wide. “I know I expected for you to get dirty,” She said. “But I never expected for… this!” Her mother rushed over and checked Puma for any injuries.

“Mother! Im fi - OW!” Puma yelped as her mother touched a gash on her waist. “Puma! What in the names did you do!” Her mother asked. “How did you get a gash! Leave Inchi here while I clean your gash inside the hut.”

“It’s Inti, Mom.” Puma said, rolling her eyes. They walked into the hut and sat down on the hard ground. Ozcollo grabbed a pot of water that was sitting beside the fire and placed leather that was made of animal skin inside it. Ozcollo took the leather out and pressed it against the gash on Puma’s side and Puma flinched. After a couple of seconds, her mother spoke, breaking the silence. “So,” Her mother said. “How was your first day?” Puma hesitated. “Well-”

“It was a rhetorical question!” Her mother spat. “It obviously didn't go well! What happened!” Puma hesitated. Maybe if I don’t answer and just look down she will forget about asking me… Puma thought, but that didn’t work. Ozcollo’s green eyes were burning with fire. “Well!” Puma took a deep breath and told her about how Inti knocked the corn off the mountain and how she had to climb all the way down to get the corn and all the way back up, But the corn kept dropping out of her shirt so she had to keep going up and down. At one point, she slipped when she wasn't paying attention and that is how she got the gash.. Her mother listened in shocked silence. As soon as Puma finished, her mother said, “You do realize there is a path to get up and down, don’t you?”

Puma stared in shock. “Path!?” Puma exclaimed. Ozcollo blinked in surprise. “Pinch me.” Puma said as she fell on her back and closed her eyes. This whole thing HAD to be a dream. She waited in silence. “OW!” Puma said. “Not THAT hard!”

Puma looked up and saw her brother standing there in front of her. “So?” Her Big brother said, his blue eyes locking into her violet ones. “Hard day?” Puma nodded and reached up to hug her brother, Kon. “Don’t worry,” He whispered into her ear, hugging her back. “You’ll get used to it.”