Eskimo Girl Finds Friends

The hide passed from hand to hand. The children’s boots made a soft crunch in the snow. Kayla watched their fingers. Some held the edge with both hands. Some bent their knees. Some leaned back before they pulled.

She tried the motion in the air with her mitt.

Pull. Let go. Watch the marker jump.

“Come on,” Niko called to the next child. “Your turn.”

Kayla stepped closer.

A girl named Sila noticed her. “Do you want to play?”

Kayla’s face warmed beneath her hood. “Yes, please.”

Sila moved aside. Kayla slipped into the circle. The seal skin felt smooth and cool under her mitt. She stood between Sila and Niko, trying not to bump either one.

“Hold here,” Sila said, pointing to the edge. “When Niko says pull, pull hard.”

Kayla nodded.

The children took turns. The hide stretched between them like a small brown lake. Kayla kept her eyes on the marker. It looked easy. She only needed to wait.

“Kayla, you’re next,” said Sila.

Kayla’s fingers tightened around the hide.

The child before her pulled. The marker sprang up and landed near Kayla’s boot. Everyone laughed happily. Then the hide came to her.

Kayla reached for it.

“Not there,” Niko said. “Over here.”

Kayla moved her hands. At that moment, the hide slipped. One corner folded beneath her mitten.

“Pull!” called Sila.

Kayla pulled, but she pulled up instead of back. The seal skin rose like a blanket. The marker rolled a short way across the snow and stopped.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then two children giggled.

“You held it like a pillow,” one said.

Kayla looked down at the hide. Her mitten had made a little wrinkle in it.

“I thought I was supposed to lift it,” she said quietly.

Niko laughed. “That was not a very big jump.”

The words were small, but they landed heavily. Kayla felt them in her chest. She wanted to explain that she had never played before. She wanted to try again. Instead, she let go of the hide.

Sila reached for it. “It’s okay. We can keep going.”

Kayla stepped out of the circle.

The game began again without her. The marker bounced. The children called out. The fire popped behind her, and a warm smell of fish soup drifted from the cooking pot.

Kayla walked to the edge of the fire pit and sat on a flat piece of packed snow. She tucked her hands beneath her arms. Her caribou mitt rested in her lap.

Grandmother had told her that a good mitt took time. The hide had to be softened. The thread had to be pulled tight. A small stitch could hold a whole seam together.

Kayla turned the mitt over. The blue star looked bright against the brown hide.

She watched the game again. This time, she studied Sila. Sila bent her knees and held the hide low. Niko leaned back and pulled toward his boots. Neither of them lifted the skin.

Kayla stood.

She walked to the circle, but she did not step in. “Sila,” she said, “may I watch your hands?”

Sila looked up. “Sure.”

Sila took her turn. She held the edge with both hands, bent her knees, and pulled back. The marker hopped.

“Like that?” Kayla asked.

“Like that,” Sila said.

Kayla tried the motion beside the circle. She bent her knees and pulled an invisible hide toward her boots.

One of the children noticed. “Are you practicing the pillow pull?”

A few children laughed again.

Kayla’s cheeks grew hot. She almost turned away. The fire crackled, and a puff of warm air touched her face. She remembered how the grown-ups at camp worked together. When someone cut fish, another person held the bowl. When someone fixed a boot, another person passed the thread.

No one learned alone.

Kayla looked at Sila. “Could you show me once more?”

Sila did not laugh. She moved closer and placed her hands on the edge of the seal skin. “Keep your hands low. Bend your knees. Pull back, not up.”

Kayla nodded.

Niko held the other side. “We can give her another turn.”

Kayla looked at him. His smile was smaller now.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really,” he said. “The marker is still waiting.”

The children made a little space. Kayla stepped back into the circle. Her boots pressed into the cold snow. Sila stood beside her.

“Hands low,” Sila whispered.

Kayla placed her mitt on the hide. It was smooth beneath her fingers. She bent her knees.

“Ready?” Niko asked.

Kayla took a breath. “Ready.”

“Pull!”

Kayla pulled back.

The seal skin tightened. The marker jumped a little and landed near the center.

“It moved!” Kayla cried.

Sila clapped. “You did it!”

Kayla smiled, but the smile felt shy. She had wanted the marker to leap high. It had only hopped. Still, it had moved because of her.

“Try again,” said Niko.

Kayla held on as the hide passed around the circle. This time, she stayed inside. She watched the others and listened for their voices. The game no longer seemed like a closed door. It was more like a path, and she had found one small place to step.

When the hide came back to her, Kayla gripped it with both hands. She bent her knees carefully.

One of the children leaned over. “Don’t do the pillow pull!”

The giggle that followed made Kayla’s fingers stiffen. She looked at the hide. Her hands had slipped too high again.

Sila touched Kayla’s elbow. “Low,” she reminded her.

Kayla lowered her hands.

“Pull back,” said Niko.

Kayla pulled.

The marker hopped once. Then it hopped again.

The children cheered, but the first giggle still sat like a pebble in Kayla’s shoe. She had made it into the circle. She had thrown the marker. Yet she did not feel fully welcome.

Sila squeezed the edge of the hide. “You can stand by me next turn.”

Kayla looked at her. “Thank you.”

The fire sent a warm wave across the camp. Behind them, the igloo door flap lifted, and a grown-up called everyone inside for hot tea. The children began folding the seal skin with care, smoothing it before setting it beside the igloo.

Kayla helped fold one corner. Her fingers were cold, but her mitt kept them warm.

Niko picked up the wooden marker. “Tomorrow, you can try again.”

Kayla held the blue-star mitt close to her heart. She had wanted to play, and she had played. But she had also learned that getting into a circle was only the beginning.

When friends make room and show kindness, a new child can find a place to belong.

End of chapter one. 4 more chapters and about 7,441 words in the full book.