First Voices
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Fire
Nights were icy and the gods had taken away fire. The cold cut away at the meat and at the words of men. Shivering, they begged in broken voices, and the gods made them deaf.
Then, they gave the fire back. The men danced with happiness and raised up hymns of gratitude. But the gods quickly sent down rain and hail, and doused the flames.
The gods spoke and made demands: in order to be deserving of fire, the men must open their chests with obsidian knives and deliver up their hearts.
The Quiché Indigenous offered the blood of their prisoners and were saved from the cold.
The Cakchiqueles did not agree to the price. The Cakchiqueles, cousins of the Quichés and also heirs of the Mayas, slipped in with feet of feathers through the smoke, stole the fire, and hid it in their mountain caves.
Translation ©2023. Terence Clarke. All rights reserved.
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