The following morning, Mariana and Richard took the young one to the chief.
The chief the elders were against their request of adopting her.
" We don't allow outsiders in our village, we accepted Mariana just because if she got married to you then our tribe will be forming an alliance with their tribe.
We cannot let in any other outsider...." Vincent Michigan said.
All the other elders agreed with him ,the chief at one side was pitiful to the younger one.
But as a chief, he has to follow the tribe's rules .
" It's right , outsiders are not welcomed , you know that ,Richard .
We cannot take that little one in, find somewhere to take her by tomorrow...." The chief says in a gentle and humble voice.
Richard stood up holding the little one , he put her infront of the elders and stood aside.
" Look carefully , are you all willing to follow those cruel tribe rules and send this little angel away."
She is young , she does not know anything.
Her parents died in the attack.....
If it was your child being sent away like this...." Richard said with a calm and angry voice.
He lifted the young one and walked away...
Before going so far, the chief called out his name.
He made his last step and stopped right away .
"The girl should stay, it's heartless to leave her alone in the forest...
But promise you'll teach her the Mavanga etiquettes..." The chief said, all the other elders started murmuring.
Vincent Michigan stood up and raised his complaint but the chief was not ready to repeat his words.
All the elders left the court hall unsatisfied.
The girl got raised up in the hands of the people outside her tribe , she never at once had felt isolation inside her parents' mansion.
In Richard and Mariana's hearts, she was an angel , a life that was sent to them by the gods.
But people outside the mansion never considered her as one of them.
With Hagan's influence ,the villagers fueled more and more in taking her as an outsider.
They never at once missed a chance to blame her for any bad lucky in the community.
Cossie's days blended together in a haze of loneliness and rejection.
Despite living among them , she was constantly reminded that she was never one of them .
The tribe's whispers and glares followed her everywhere.
Time had passed , the little Cossie had now become a cute teenage girl .
At this time, a severe drought hit the land ,the tribe's crops began to wither .
Accept Antony Michigan,other elders blamed Cossie her " outsider's curse " was the cause of this misfortune.
The tribe's animosity towards her intensified ,and she became the scapegoat for all their problem.
The tribe was not only against Cossie Antony Michigan but to all the Antony Michigan family as well.
They were blamed for all the mischief that the village may come across.
Cossie's isolation deepened ,and she began to wonder if she will ever find a place to call home.
Despite the village isolation, she always knew that there is a comfortable place to run to,there is arms to lie in.
Her father and her mother never missed a chance to prove their love towards her, to make her understand she was one of them.
Mariana always planted stories to cover for what the villagers could talk about her.
" Those people are just afraid of your beauty, they think that you're a fairy.
You're not like them.... Heavens had send you to us." Mariana says in a sweet motherly voice .
Her face would light up whenever her mother told her those words.
She'd feel warmth in her heart,a sense of belonging , that the cruel words couldn't pierce more in her heart.
Richard and Mariana's love was her shield and her haven.
As she would snuggle into bed at night,her mother would whisper ," you're a blessing ,a precious gift.
Don't let anyone make you feel otherwise ".
Her father's gentle hands would stroke her hair ,and she'd feel safe ,loved and cherished .
As much as the time passed,the whispers persisted .
The villagers' words may have been veiled , but their distrust and suspicion was palpable.
Cossie begun to wonder if she was truly fit in,if she'd ever be accepted for who she was.
One autum evening, a group of teenagers taunted her,calling her " outsider and stranger".
Her eyes welled up with tears , as their words and her mother's words echoed in her ears.
" You're a fairy, a heaven- sent gift."
" Outsider, stranger ."
She stood tall, her head held high,and walked away, determined to prove to herself and the rest of the villagers that she is worthy of love and acceptance.
She ran to her usual spot ,the big tree with white seasonal flowers.
The tree was believed to have given life to all the living creatures in Mavanga....
It also choose the human gods.
With void ,she could ask herself and pass the questions to the 'mother tree'.
" Am I really a child from you ?, am I among them ?"
But disappointments were the only answers she could receive.
Her answers could never be answered by the by the mother tree.
The neglect had gone so much in her heart and she never got any happiness in her heart.
Cossie's solitary vigils beneath the ancient tree became a ritual , a desperate attempt to find solace in nature's silence .
She would sit among the white blossoms ,their fragrance a fleeting comfort ,and pour her heart out to the mother tree.
" Why do I feel so alone?" She would whisper ,her voice carried away by the wind.
" Am I truly one of them ,or am I a stranger in this land?"
The tree's silence was a mirror to her own unanswered questions .
It's branches swayed gently ,offering no solace,no answers.
Her eyes would well up with tears ,and she'd feel the weight of her isolation.
As the seasons passed, her visits to the tree became less frequent,her heart was now contented that there was no answers to be offered to her.
She stopped seeking answers, resigned to the fact that some questions were to remain unanswered .
The tree ,once a symbol of hope and comfort, now stood as a reminder of her loneliness."