Excerpt from Making the Leaves Talk by Elaine Marie Alphin

Inside Ahyoka's house Mama stood with her hands on her hips. She looked worried. "Women will not speak to me, Sequoya," she told Ahyoka's father. "And the men laugh at you! Or they whisper that you are evil, and say that the marks you draw come from the devil. Remember the fire? Next time they may try to do more than burn a cabin in order to stop you!"

Father sat down on a woven grass mat and held out a sheet of writing. "It is too late to stop me," he said. "It is finally done. I have a symbol for every sound. Now they will understand how these symbols make words."

Ahyoka clapped her hands. "Now you can write down our stories of how the Great Spirit gave us fire and how the deer got his horns!"

But Mama said, "It is a waste of time to write down our tales. Everyone knows our history.

Father shook his head. "People put on cloth clothing and read the white man's English writing," he said. "A time will come when they will forget what it means to be Cherokee."

"I will never forget," said Ahyoka, and Father flashed her a quick smile.

"And how will people ever learn to read your marks?" asked Mama.

"They will learn," Father said. "Already children like Ahyoka and her friend, Kamama, know them."

Mama said, "But it is the adults of the villages you must convince, not the children."

Ahyoka thought of Kamama's father. He listened to no one but the chiefs. "You must convince the chiefs," she said. "Show them the symbols!"

Finally Mama smiled and nodded. "Our daughter has a good idea," she said. She rose to prepare the evening meal. "Show the chiefs your writing, Sequoya. You have worked so long on it. Maybe it will speak to them."

Father picked up the page of writing. "Yes," he said slowly. "I will show the symbols to the great chiefs at the national council house. And I will do more - I will show them someone who can read them. Ahyoka, you will come with me!"

Copyright ©2007 by Elaine Marie Alphin