Friends, don’t forget to subscribe to the channel. We love knowing what country you’re watching from. Leave a comment. It makes us very happy and motivates us to bring you more stories. Now let’s continue. Three days later, as dawn painted the horizon orange and purple, Naya said goodbye to her tribe. She wore a dress of coarse fabric, worn smooth by time.
Her feet were shod in simple sandals, quite unlike the ornate boots she usually wore. Her hair, typically adorned with feathers and precious beads, now fell loose and unadorned over her shoulders. Her mother, with tears in her eyes, handed her a small leather bag. “Here’s some food for the journey.”
Come back when you find what you’re looking for, or when your heart calls you back home. Naya hugged her mother tightly, memorizing her scent, her warmth. I’ll come back, Mother, I promise. The road to the village of Río Seco was long and dusty. Naya walked for hours under the relentless sun.
Her feet, accustomed to the soft furs covering the floor of her tent, now felt every stone, every thorn on the path. But she didn’t complain. This was her choice, her test. When she finally spotted the first buildings of Río Seco, the sun was already beginning its descent. The town was small, barely a dozen wooden buildings weathered by wind and time.
On the main street, some men were moving boxes while women chatted on the corners. Naya took a deep breath and entered the village with a determined but humble stride. Immediately, all eyes turned to her. They weren’t welcoming glances, but rather looks of distrust, judgment, and contempt. “Look, another wandering Apache,” muttered a man in a tattered hat, spitting on the ground.
“She’s probably here to beg,” added a woman with a sour face, adjusting her shawl disdainfully. Naya felt the words strike her like stones, but she held her head high. This was exactly what she needed to experience. Now she would understand how they treated those who had nothing. She headed toward what appeared to be a small general store.
As she entered, the owner, a man with a thick mustache and a cold gaze, looked her up and down. “We don’t give anything away for free here,” he said sharply before Naya could speak. “If you don’t have any money, you’d better leave.” “I have money,” Naya replied calmly, showing him some coins her mother had put in the bag.
The man grunted, unconvinced, but allowed her to buy some stale bread and a few basic supplies. As she left the store with her small purchase, Naya noticed an empty space at the edge of the village. An abandoned lot with some rubble and weeds. It would be her temporary home. That night, while building a small shelter from branches and old cloth she had found, Naya gazed at the stars.
They were the same stars she saw from her luxurious tent at the Apache camp, but somehow they felt different, closer, more real. “Here begins my true quest,” she whispered to the night wind. “Here I will find out if true love exists.” And as the full moon rose in the dark sky, illuminating her humble shelter with its silvery light, Naya closed her eyes, unaware that her life was about to change forever, without imagining that the next day she would meet a man who also had nothing.
Except for a heart of gold. The sun had barely risen when Naya awoke in her makeshift shelter. Her body ached from sleeping on the hard ground, so different from the soft fur blankets she knew. But she didn’t complain. She got up, brushed the dust off her worn dress, and decided to explore the town. Río Seco was slowly coming to life.
Merchants were opening their shops, women were sweeping their porches, and men were preparing their horses for the day. Naya walked down the main street, feeling disapproving stares pierce her back like thorns. “They should run her out of town,” she heard an older woman mutter to her neighbor.
“We don’t need poor people wandering around here, especially penniless Paches,” the other woman replied scornfully. Naya clenched her fists but kept walking. She had come to experience the truth, and the truth hurt. She headed toward the small market where a few vendors were selling vegetables, bread, and meat.
Her stomach growled with hunger. She approached a fruit stand where a burly man was selling apples. “Good morning,” Naya greeted him respectfully. “How much are the apples?” The vendor looked her up and down, noticing her shabby clothes and humble appearance. “Double for you,” he said with a cruel smile. “Three coins per apple.”
Naya knew it was an unfair price, but she needed to eat. She took out her few coins and was about to pay when a deep voice sounded behind her. “That price is highway robbery, Martinez. Apples cost one coin, as always.” Naya turned and saw a tall man with broad shoulders and a sun-weathered face. He wore clothes as worn as hers, a tattered hat, and boots with holes in them.
His eyes, however, shone with an honesty that Naya immediately recognized. “This is none of your business, Cole,” the vendor growled. “Go bother someone else.” “It’s everyone’s business when someone tries to rip people off,” Cole replied calmly but firmly. “Give him the apples at a fair price, or everyone in town will know you’re a thief.”
The vendor, furious but cornered, threw two apples at Naya. “Here, and get lost, both of you bums.” Cole picked up the apples from the ground, wiped them on his shirt, and handed them to Naya with a kind smile. “Don’t let guys like him make you feel bad,” he said. “Poverty doesn’t define who you are.” Naya looked at the stranger with curiosity.
She was the first person in Rio Seco to show her kindness. “Thank you,” she replied softly. “Why did you help me?” Cole shrugged. “Because I know what it’s like to be treated like garbage just because you don’t have money. I’ve lived that my whole life.” They walked away from the market together. Naya bit into one of the apples, savoring the sweetness that seemed even more delicious after the bitterness of rejection.
“My name is Naya,” she finally said. “Cole,” he replied, touching the brim of his hat in a polite gesture. “Welcome to Rio Seco, though it’s not exactly a welcoming place.” “I can see that.” Naya smiled sadly. “I tried to buy a few things at the store yesterday, and the owner practically kicked me out. Old Gordon. Yeah, he’s a grouch. Most people here are.”
