We could see the candle flicker from my living room window.

Exhausted, we couldn’t sit by the fire and wait any longer. 

Paugua wouldn’t come into the house. She insisted she’d keep her traditions and live in her tepee until she died. 

Ravaged from the malaria it was just a matter of time. It had taken her beloved Eduvije months earlier. 

The Taino people slowly diminished from diseases after the arrival of European settlers.They had no natural-bodily defenses against them.

Perhaps this small piece, left of her life, would bring her comfort.

At midnight, the flickering flame dimmed. 

2019©Isadora DeLaVega

 

Genre: Historical

Word Count: 100

Photo Prompt:©Renee Heath

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***** Paugua – Taino Indian name for Paula. My great grandmothers name.

*****Eduvije – Taino Indian name for Vincent. My great grandfathers name.

*****Taino Indians – The original inhabitants of Puerto Rico are the Taíno Indians, who called the island Borikén; however, as in other parts of the Americas, the native people soon diminished in number after the arrival of European settlers. It was estimated that the majority of all the Taino Indian inhabitants of the New World perished due to contact and contamination with Old World diseases, while those that survived were killed by warfare with each other and with Europeans.