一笑解千愁 (yī xiào jiě qiānchou) — A smile dispels many (a thousand) worries

Dawa woke to the sound of the buffalo, braying like the day it was born. She’d rather stay asleep than trudge out and face the desert winds head-on but if no one would shut the thing up, who would? And especially on this day.

She slowly got up from the tartan mat she was just sleeping on and as quietly as she could, walked over her two younger sisters, lifted the heavy flap of the tent, and slipped outside. The sun was just peaking over the horizon; bright oranges and blues intermingled, making a beautiful impression in the sky. Dawa took a few moments to admire the view. After today, would she be able to see such a sight?

She walked over to the noisy buffalo and noticed its nose had gotten tangled and was close to strangling it. No wonder it was loud.

“You must be feeling the apprehension too…” Dawa mused with a wry smile, soothing the buffalo with her soft voice.

She untangled the tough rope and repositioned the buffalo in a less windy area, all the while in deep thought.

The winds have shifted westward. Looks like this month’s trade isn’t gonna yield much.

As if it was responding to her statement, a slight breeze fluttered over to Dawa’s side, ruffling her hair and clothes, providing a much-needing cooling in contrast to the burning heat of the sand.

Well, not like I’ll be here to help out with the numbers once I leave for Li…

After securing the buffalo properly to the tent pole, Dawa dusted her ankle-length skirt and walked back to the tent. As soon as she lifted the flap, a shrill voice pierced her ears.

“Heavenly ancestors! Where have you been?!”

Dawa’s aunt Bora barreled into her, grasping her hands as if they were a treasure about to be taken away.

“What if you got injured? Then I’ll have to use extra bandages to cover the wound so you’ll be presentable to the Emperor. Goodness! Even when you’re about to be given away, you still want to make me worry…you haven’t changed at all since you were a child.”

Dawa smiled softly at her worrywart aunt. Even on the day when she was going to be presented as a ‘bride’ will aunt Bora find something to keep up the sense of normalcy that is about to be broken.

“Well, that’s great!” Dawa exaggerated, suddenly mischievous, “If the Emperor will toss me aside because of a few scars then I’ll go outside right now and roll in the sand.”

“Don’t you dare, Dawa!” Bora shrieked. “You know what will happen to us if you are not delivered to the Emperor, we—

“I know, I know, aunt Bora. Don’t worry. I will always be loyal to the tribe and our ways.” Dawa placated, rubbing her aunt’s tattooed hands.

Bora reciprocated the action, rubbing her niece’s similarly intricately tattooed hands and holding back tears. She was about to reply when the sound of bells filled the room.

“The elders are here. It’s time.”