The complexion of the Carolina Indians is black, not much different from that of Ethiopians. Source: Verrazano's Voyage Along the Atlantic Coast of North America, 1524.  New York State Local History Source Leaflets.

Yuika placed her hand on Inina's forehead. She was burning up.

"Is she doing well?" Otex parted the cotton curtain sewn by his wife. She loved to sew. Making beautiful fabric was something that she enjoyed. As a bonus, it helped her through times of stress and boredom.

He locked his vision on his daughter resting on the hammock. Otex hoped that she'll get better.

"Inina isn't doing too well. She needs some shadon beni to recover."

"How much do I need to get?"

"As much as possible. Make sure to pull it from the roots. I need it to make tea. The shadon beni in the village got used up weeks ago."

He took out all the chenette from the basket, gathered them in a nice pile and went about procuring the medicine. Otex embedded the message in his mind. His job required excellent memory. Yuika crafted a small fire and rested a clay bowl filled with water in preparation for the medicine.

Otex trekked deep in the neighbouring forest. He scanned the large patches of greenery, making sure he doesn't miss any ripe for picking. It didn't take long for him to find. They literally sprouted like weeds, but the one that saves lives. If the forest wasn't so lush, he would've found them sooner.

He noticed a large grouping near some exposed roots. Otex made sure to be careful when gathering, but prickles and grunts showed he wasn't careful enough.

SNAP!

A twig perked him up, his senses were curious as to what it was. He checked his surroundings to find nothing. Only parrots hanging from branches, lizards scaling tree trunks and red howler monkeys' creepy chants. It made them seem monstrous.

Noticing no danger present, he went back to picking shadon beni. Once finished, he began to walk back to Talami - the name of his village.

He made brisk strides, wanting to get back as soon as possible. However, something stopped him: animal poop. It covered most of his sole with its wet and creamy consistency. His toes fared no better; getting between them. He was displeased. Otex wiped his sullied foot on some wild grass when an ocelot footprint caught his eye.

He grabbed the basket and doubled his pace, having no weapons or people to assist in killing it. The dangerous side seemed to be encroaching into the safe side, which made up the majority of the surrounding forest. Otex made it out safely, handing Yuika the basket and passed her, sprinting to the river where he bent his knees and pushed them in his chest, making a cannonball with his arms around his legs, he made a tremendous splash. Luckily, no one was in the river to experience water crashing into them and ruining their mood. He had to report this to the Cacique, but his daughter came first. He had to wait.

Yuika had her clay bowl with boiling water. Her hands moved fast to stuff it with as much shadon beni as it could hold, the bowl almost overflowing with the amount she put in, and to enhance the potency, she sprinkled some ground allspice. Yuika picked up her cooking stick and put major elbow grease into each churn. She moved the curtain to the side for her to keep watch until her husband came from his impromptu bath. Otex cut his swim short, knowing his daughter's condition. He rushed back with his loincloth letting droplets fall. He hovered over her, his face wrought with emotion.

"Oh, Inina. Daddy is here. Your mother is making some herbal tea for you to drink. I really hope you do get better. I know you want to go to the survival course." Her eyelids peeled back a good bit to see her father.

Inina's conscience crept up on her. She was genuinely sick but lacked the desire to go to the course. Having fun and hanging out with friends was more critical to her. Her childhood wasn't going to last forever, but the despair and sadness of her father made her concede. She'll do what makes him happy. At that moment, the bad force that lingered within her dissipated.

"Daddy." She stared at him.

"Yes?"

"I'm starting to feel better now."

He dried his hands with a cloth and tested her temperature. It had gone down.

"Yuika! Ini-"

"I'm here with the medicine. No need to shout. Is she any better?"

"Yes, mommy. I'm feeling a bit better."

Yuika smiled. She handed Inina the cup of tea and gulped it down. The taste of bush tea wasn't something she fancied but the various healing properties made her bear it.

"Make sure to get some rest, Inina. In five days, you have to leave for your course. And judging from your recent improvements, you'll be able to go." Her mother folded her arms. "Good thing we didn't need the medicine man."

Inina felt glad they were no longer worried, but her smile turned to a frown.

"Why so sad? Your head still hurts?"

She nodded gently without realizing it. Inina was deep in her thoughts. 

"I'll get some more tea." She grabbed the cup to scoop up more from the bowl.

Inina knew the significance of her six-month course. It meant adulthood. It meant assuming more serious tasks. And, of course, inheriting the role of envoy from her father to maintain their status and privilege.

The medicine man sensed that someone was feeling unwell. He directed himself to where they were located.

"What are you doing here?" Otex didn't call for Bront, but he barged in anyway. 

"To help, clearly." He had baggy pants that went just past his knees with large ends that snugly fit around his legs and a sleeveless robe that lacked a hood. A space remained for his flabby abdomen to peek out. He had a shrivelled stick next to him, and while he didn't need it, he moved with it nonetheless.

"We don't need your help." Otex knew he was a hack. The quality of his service was lacking as the head medicine man of Talami. The medicine practitioners were effectively under his whim. 

"You have to reward me for your services."

"What service? My wife and I did all the work.

"That doesn't matter." They had to give him something of his choosing. He folded his arms behind his back and walked slowly throughout the hut. He then eyed something. "Can I have this?" He wanted his reward from the Cacique: four baskets of soursop, green fruit with tiny, soft spikes, and an inside with a creamy consistency. 

Someone also caught his attention. They were very........nice today. He ensured that he maintained composure while there, but within him was emotions he hadn't felt in years. 

Otex shouted against such greed. However, Bront was unfazed. He could easily come with the threat of taking his wife. He married into the chiefly class, making him above them despite being originally in the spiritual class.

He was sceptical if the chief - who had multiple wives - would allow it. Bront had to take into account his own wife as well. She wouldn't be a fan of the new competition. He just took the baskets, making several trips. They could do nothing but watch him.

Inina hated this. She wanted to explode into anger but she didn't want to risk it. She decided to reluctantly hold back after her recent beating.

Bront left feeling cockier than ever. He liked how sexy Otex's wife looked. Her hips. Her ass. Her breasts. Her lips. He fell in love. He needed her. Next time, he had to get Yuika. But he had to put some stuff in place before he made his move. 

Nice chapter, isn't it? Bront is a big time creep. lmao. 

Now you're probably asking what is allspice, chenette and shadon beni. I'll give you a brief breakdown of each that were used by the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean.

1) Chenette is a fruit with a thin outer shell and fleshy exterior with a large seed below. Alternative names for chenette are melicoccus bijugatus, genip, guinep, genipe, ginepa, kenèp, quenepa, quenepe, quenette, chenet, talpa jocote, mamón, limoncillo, skinip, kinnip, huaya, or mamoncillo. It's a popular fruit that is eaten raw or used to create chow,  which is seasoned fruit (nearly any fruit cane be used). It is native to the Northern part of South America. 

2) Allspice is the end product of the ground up, dried unripe berry of the tree of the same name. Alternative names include Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento. It is native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Greater Antilles. The substance is used to preserve meat, as a remedy to promote digestion, toothache relief, the alleviation of muscle pain, bruises and joints, relief for colds, menstrual cramps, upset stomach, indigestion, flatulence, diabetes, and can be drunk as a refreshing tonic. Aromatic allspice berries have a long history in Caribbean "folk healing".

3) Shadon beni, also known as cilantro, recao, shadow beni, Mexican coriander, bhandhania, long coriander, sawtooth coriander, and ngò gai, is native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America. Today, the herb is cultivated worldwide, sometimes being grown in temperate climates. It is most famed for its role in seasoning, especially in territories like Guyana, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. 

In addition, it was used to treat fevers and chills, vomiting, diarrhoea, and colds and convulsions in children. The leaves and roots of culantro are boiled and ingested to treat pneumonia, flu, diabetes, constipation, and malaria fever.

Other crops grown by the indigenous peoples include the silk cotton tree and cotton in general, wild sage, soursop, cassava (the most important crop for the Natives of the region), okra/ochro/ochre, squash, corn, potatoes (sweet and white/Irish), papaya, tobacco and much more.  

Consumption of wild animals was very common as well. Turtles, iguanas, agoutis and armadillos were just some that were eaten. 

Hopefully, you've enjoyed this chapter. I feel very excited for you to be reading this out of the millions of works on Wattpad. 😁😁😁