"Seeking Ayita" by Lin Stepp

In this rich, new Smoky Mountains story, a young woman, travels all the way from Hawaii to Cherokee to bring her mother's ashes home, but soon faces trials, joys and a problematic romance amid a people and culture little known to her before.

With misgivings, Annalise Silva packed her things and those of her young daughter Leila for the long trip from Hawaii to Cherokee, North Carolina. She'd promised her mother on her deathbed she'd take her ashes to be buried with her people. At her mother's urging, not imagining that her mother would actually die, she'd also promised to stay for a season to comfort her grandmother and to learn more about her Cherokee heritage. As her father had said, it was a small favor to ask after all her mother's love and care. Still, Annalise hadn't been to Cherokee since she was a child. What if she ran into an uncomfortable situation for herself or Leila? What if the long trip proved to be the beginning of an unhappy time? Annalise supposed only time would tell, and at least by summer's end she'd be back home where she belonged.

Solomon Wolfe had heard his grandmother repeat that dream of hers one too many times, about a woman destined for him with blue eyes coming up out of the water. His people were Cherokee and blue eyes were a rarity and the very idea of a woman rising out of the water really tested his patience. As he walked his dog, after being reminded of that vision once again, Kona barked to see someone near the bridge at the creek. People often came to fish there, never realizing they were trespassing. As a woman stood, wet from the creek and looking up to see him with surprised blue eyes, Solomon almost felt his heart stop. After learning the girl was also Inola Youngtree's granddaughter no less, here to visit for a season, he wondered how in the world he would get through the months to come, especially when his attraction to her all but sizzled in the air.

Local Interest/ Local Fiction