Talya Yilmaz

My name means “awakening of nature, good news or the joyful tidings of spring”, my family name means “dauntless, never gives up.”
For as long as I can remember my family has been small.  At fist it was me, mom, and dad.  On occasions we would join other family villages around us when mom was called over for her healing.  

During my younger childhood my brother became a part of our small family.  At first I was scared to have a younger sibling, it was hard enough for us to sustain three people.
It wasn’t as bad as I had feared, for by the time he was born I was able to help gather food for the family.

My brother and I would admire the icy mountains in the distance.  We would play a game and race towards the mountains to see who could reach them first.  Being small however we would not get close at all, the mountains barely looked any closer.  We would also see who could catch the largest animal or even the most. During this time in our lives I got into making things with bones and even molding clay.  Made my brother a doll one day which our dad tossed away and we were unable to ever find it.  I plan to make him another doll, one that is better, some day.

I never fully realized how lonely life was before my brother came into the picture.  At times I even forget what I did before him.  Each time we visited other families, I wouldn’t talk to the other kids, I would always hang around were mom was.  She would try to involve me with the other children, but I was never able to connect with them.  Was more interested in hearing the stories of what it was like out of the desert.

At home I would play with little animals around the house. When people came by for my mom’s healing I always enjoyed watching her.  It always amazed me to watch as someone came in torn up and walk out as if what ever caused the injuries never happened.

When I recently turned 16, I started having horrible nightmares.  I would wake up screaming, gasping for air, and on occasions even wet my bed.  I was really embarrassed for the trouble i kept causing early in the morning for everyone.  One of the worst was when I woke up and could not move. I was terrified and took me what felt like a hour to be able to open my mouth to yell out for help.

Mom came running in, like she did each time, but with a more worried look since it was not my normal calling out for help.  She inspected me, I could not feel her on me.  When I was rolled over she found that the back of my neck has been injured, not enough to kill me, but enough to make my body useless.  She left in a hurry to get her equipment.

While she was out to get what she needed, I heard her and father harshly talking back and forth, unable to make out what they were saying.  She came back in murmuring something about how she could believe my father.  I was fully healed and able to move again a week later.

I was enjoying the day being able to move again in full health with my brother hunting for a small meal to bring home. When we got home we found mother in our home in a pool of blood, no sign of struggle, but was definitely a cause of an attack that caused her to perm.  

She was a lovely healer, helped numerous people get back on their feet when they felt all hope was lost, including myself.

Our father was devastated when he found us cleaning up the bloody mess.  He accused us for the crime very quickly.  He left in a fuss and he never returned.

My brother and I lived in the home caring for each other for a few years.  Occasionally we would see a lone figure near our home, dressed in a long dark cloak with the hood hiding facial features, but before we could ask them if they were ok we could not find them.

We would travel to the near by families to ask if any lone travelers passed through their village as well, but no one has seen any one walking around alone.

To this day I am still unsure how our family fell so small while other villages have at least ten members of the family living together.  Rumors have it that our family has been dying off as stories have told, but no one knows any further details, after all it is not their family.  

While hunting, my brother and i normally end up momentarily separated, but on this day while I was stalking an animal, I heard him call out my name in terror.  I looked around were i thought i heard him, yelling for him.  All I found was a trail of drag marks in the sand that eventually stopped.  Devastated and in a panic I continued to follow in that direction.

Growing up I have never wandered very far from home.  I had no idea what the land was like outside of the desert.  My family hasn’t even left the desert themselves as far as I knew, only stories came from the injured clients that mom healed, I was in awe with the descriptions of the different animals and creatures out there.  Some of the stories made me fear to venture outside of the desert, some made me curious.

I had no idea where I was headed or how far off it would be, all I knew was that I could not go back home without my brother.  I hope that I am going in the right direction, and that faith will lead me to people that may be able to help me find out who took him from me.  I do not wish to get revenge, nor do I wish to murder anyone, I simply want to life at home with my brother again.