Every Woman a Mother

Andrev led the reindeer to his chosen spot along the edge of the riverbank. He wouldn’t have to tether them; they listened to him and would obediently graze nearby while he pitched his tent.

He made quick work of his lean-to, a patchwork of furs and skins. His bed was another pallet of furs he’d collected over the years, more from his own hunting and scavenging than Savva knew; the women had never wanted to give him clothes or blankets despite the shaman’s insistence that every woman was mother to the boy who was a gift from the gods.