Tuksook's Story, 35,000 BC

by Bonnye Matthews

  Fully seven days passed. Midgenemo realized that the women were unlikely to return. He was losing the following of the men. He feared they were plotting against him and Rimut. Council came together, and it was clear that the men were angered. The gray troubled clouds that had lingered since the women left reflected the mood of the hunters.

  “Why do you continue to protect Rimut and your decision made without the guidance of Wisdom?” Ottu asked. “You will bring Wisdom’s displeasure on us all. Your pride may cause us all to be killed. You’re on the wrong side of Wisdom.”

  “Wisdom wouldn’t do that,” Midgenemo replied trying to convince them and himself.

  “You’ve forgotten the stories. You’re no leader. Maybe you should be boated off along with Rimut.” Ottu was furious. “My wife is old, and this is hard on her. She will continue until she dies there, if you continue this insanity. Before I let that happen, I’ll kill you and Rimut myself.”

  Numbers of other seasoned hunters voiced loud offers to help.

  Midgenemo realized he’d alienated the best hunters. Younger ones were confused, but the older hunters were fully able to carry out their threat. He secretly wondered whether his own mind web was failing.

  “Call on Wisdom and vow, now,” Ottu spat out the words.

  Midgenemo realized the time had come. He knelt in the center of the meadow and called on Wisdom before them all. “I vow that the judgment I made in Rimut’s favor is overturned now and forever,” he shouted. “Wisdom, hear me. I vow that the judgment I made in Rimut’s favor is overturned. I will ban Rimut from living here by taking him by boat far away and leaving him there. I vow before you to kill him, if he returns.”

  Rimut started to run. A bolt of lightning flashed down and felled a tree on Midgenemo’s lean-to, crushing it where he slept. Rimut stopped and the hunters caught him and tied his arms and legs so he could not free himself. Another bolt of lightning hit the ground just in front of Midgenemo. He could hear Wisdom say, “Turn away from this vow, and your line of life ends immediately. You will return to me and kill your pride, or I will kill you. You’ve been given much. You have abused it.” The men heard only what sounded like thunder. Midgenemo knew that he had to change immediately, and he returned to Wisdom. Lightning could definitely vanquish pride. He thought others heard Wisdom’s words, but it didn’t really matter. Wisdom was not constrained by the People. Wisdom would end his life, if he turned back to his evil pride. Of that he had no doubt.

  “How many of you are willing to take the boat to ban Rimut?” Midgenemo asked.

  Moki, Remui, Pago, Hai, Togomoo, Hamaklob, Hawk, Vole, and Gumui stepped forward.

  Midgenemo looked at them. “Gumui, you’re too young.” He pointed to him to leave the group.

  “To make this quicker, I’ll also step forward,” Vel said.

  “I, too,” Tern, and Coo added.

  “We go now,” Moki said. Vel and Hai took the ends of a bamboo pole and carried it to Rimut. They stuck it through his tied arms and legs like an animal carcass they wanted to move. They shouldered the ends of the pole, and started downhill with the man without ever looking back. The other men hurried to the boat. Moki, Vel, Hawk, and Togomoo hastily gathered containers of water and jerky.

  The men had stripped most of the upper deck of the boat, thinking they had no need of it. The sail was still functioning but the huts were all gone. It would be a wet ride. They took off, rowing out into the river’s central channel. They decided to go to the east on reaching salt water, because that would put ice between Rimut and them. The men were convinced Wisdom was with them. They wanted to leave Rimut and return home as fast as possible.

  Midgenemo went to Ottu. “I’ve been a fool,” he admitted.

  “Yes, you have,” Ottu agreed. “Now’s your chance to make amends. Don’t fail.”

  “Well, you heard Wisdom with the flash of lightning,” he replied, thinking all heard the thunder in the way he had. “I’ll be killed, if I fail to keep my vows. I’m Wisdom’s now.”

  “I will watch,” Ottu said. “I will no longer remain silent.”

  “Will the hunters go now to return the women and children?”

  “Ask them,” Ottu replied.

  “Hunters,” Midgenemo called out.

  The hunters gathered.

  “I have made a fool of myself. I ask the forgiveness of you all. Will those of you, who know where the women and children are, go to them and ask them to return. Their demands have been met.”

  Loraz and Unmo agreed to go, stating that it was unnecessary for all to go. Before they left, they touched the northernmost pole of their equinox/solstice measuring device. It was a physical manifestation of the spiritual request for help on their quest. Those who remained began to work on the bent-tree home, grateful for the work that provided something constructive and different on which to focus. Gumui loved building it, envisioning the People living there.

  Unmo and Loraz arrived at the cave in the afternoon. They hadn’t bothered to be quiet on this trek. It went much faster. Unmo called up to the cave, “Item!”

  Item leaned over the edge.

  “What is it?”

  “The Wise One has returned to himself. We stood up to him. He made the vow you demanded and Rimut is on the boat moving to a far distant place. Will you return now?”

  Item called back, “Are the days still lengthening?”

  Unmo replied, “Yes.” He was slightly surprised by her question.

  Item said, “Unmo, when the boat returns, only you, Unmo, and Gumui come to let us know. Assure us all is well, and we will return. Be careful to speak truth to us. That is all.”

  Loraz and Unmo returned to the meadow with heaviness. They had hoped to have the women and children with them. When they returned, the People gathered and they told what the women had said.

  “I don’t blame them,” Ottu said. “What fascinates me is why they chose Gumui.”

  “I guess they trust him,” Midgenemo said.

  Gumui stood there while they talked about him. He knew why. Tuksook trusted him. He would keep that secret for a lifetime.

  The men worked diligently on the bent-tree structure. It would have been a lot easier to build if they’d had the bamboo poles from the boat they were dismantling. Without them they cut down trees to make the cross members of the bent-tree home for the sides and roof.

  Ottu had taken responsibility to feed the dogs. It was rewarding work, he realized, for the dogs looked forward to his appearance. They calmed in his presence. That in turn calmed him. Now that Midgenemo had returned to himself, the dog, Tictip, would come to him and follow him about. Midgenemo appreciated the companionship of the dog, something he hadn’t experienced since they arrived at the meadow. Ottu looked on it as a good sign.

  Gumui spent time working hard to finish their bent-tree home, but he kept his senses tuned to the water. He was eager for the boat to return so the women and children could come home. He worried about Tuksook.

  He needn’t have worried. Tuksook was a good hunter. She went out and speared a young giant deer, having no idea what it was. The young boys bled it, removed the skin, which they kept, and cut the meat up for eating. They carried it to the cave and the women cooked some of the meat. The flavor was great. During the time in the cave, women would remove the hair and work the skins. Other women proved that they could also hunt, so the women and children ate well. No other humans were in the area. They were well protected in the cave. They had a nearby waterfall. They had almost achieved their goal. Some women were more than ready to return, but Item made it clear that they had to abide by what she’d said. Return of any one of them would cause their plan to fail, and they were succeeding. The women obeyed her.

  Ten days of gray skies and continued lack of women since the boat left had the men irritable.

  “What if the boat went down in the sea?” Anvel asked Kew. “Will the women never return?”

  “They’ll be back,” Kew said with confidence.
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  “I begin to worry since it’s been so long. Do you think we should take food to the women and children?”

  “Ask Unmo, but I am certain the women have no desire to see any but Unmo and Gumui, since that’s what they said. They have been gone long enough that they must be hunting successfully. I don’t want rocks thrown downhill at me.” Kew turned and walked away. Anvel’s question was in every hunter’s mind web, but only time would clarify what happened.

  Eight days later, the men noticed dogs growling quietly. Kew shouted out, “The boat returns!”

  Every hunter raced to the path to the lower river level. Sure enough, the boat was coming upstream. They could just make it out at the bend in the river. The hunters breathed sighs of relief, looking at each other with smiles.

  The women and children would return!

  The men anchored the boat and came ashore.

  “I’m starving!” Togomoo shouted, chorused by the rest of the crew.

  “Let’s find these men something to eat,” Ottu boomed out.

  With excitement to hear from them, the hunters followed the men from the boat up the path and made a fish meal with greens available. The hunters ate and some stretched out on the ground, happy to be back on land. Finally, when all were finished and the bowls cleaned and put back in the container, the council began.

  “We left here and the ocean was fierce and wave tossed. We had to lower the sail for fear it might be broken. Even without the sail we moved very quickly east. We passed the ice and the sea calmed somewhat. Sometimes we rowed until our arms were almost numb when wind calmed. Gigantic chunks of ice floated in the sea. Finally, we saw land that wasn’t ice covered,” Hamaklob said, stopping to catch his breath.

  Togomoo picked up the story, “We kept Rimut tied up and swam with him to shore. On shore we untied his hands. We returned to the boat and came home, not looking back. The winds were calm so we made good progress rowing with great strength to return with speed to our new home.”

  “We are glad you had a successful sailing,” Midgenemo said. “We must all vow now never to remain silent in the face of wrong. Say it with me,” he shouted out, and they joined him saying the vow with meaning. Then Midgenemo looked at Unmo. “It’s time for you and Gumui to leave.”

  “What wrong did they do?” Hawk asked, concerned.

  “Nothing! They go to tell the women their demands have been met, and they can return,” Midgenemo said with a smile. He felt less agitated than he had in a long time.

  “Why those two?” Hawk asked.

  “The women specified them. Who knows? We just want our People back together.”

  Hawk looked askance at the man, but asked nothing else. He felt uneasy that the Wise One seemed all too frequently to grasp quick, unreasoned answers.

  Unmo and Gumui arrived at the path below the cave. Unmo called up, “Item. I bring information.”

  Item leaned over the barrier. “What is it?”

  “We’ve come to escort you home. All your demands are met.”

  “Do you agree, Gumui?” Item asked.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “We need no escort. You return, and we will come back tomorrow. Do not meet us. Tell the men this—we want to be treated no differently than before the false judgment, and if this occurs again, we will leave permanently.”

  “I will take your message to them,” Unmo said. “We’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “You will,” Item agreed.

  The two men left. They were not well pleased to return without the women and children. Gumui suggested that they had a reason for what they did. Unmo grumbled that he’d never understand a woman. The men partly ran back to the meadow.

  When they arrived, the council met.

  Midgenemo asked, “Where are the women?”

  “They wanted no escort. They will arrive tomorrow. Another demand is that we treat them as we did before the bad judgment. They don’t want to be met. And, they assure us that if this occurs again, they’ll leave permanently.”

  The men were stunned. Some felt the women’s demands were becoming tiresome. Others, who did not want a recurrence, stifled their irritation. The women, they reminded themselves, were entitled to their demands. They showed the men as either poor in judgment or cowardly or both. The men would not forget that soon, knowing the women spoke truth.

  Late in the evening the women and children returned quietly to the meadow, bearing heavy burdens. No one spoke of their absence. What startled the men was the amount of meat they brought with them. The meat could feed the People for at least twenty days. The men were acutely aware that the women could survive without them. They had respect for and a slight fear of the women.

  Sutorlo and Lurch showed the others where to bring the meat. The two, almost men, saw to the submerging of the meat in the catch pool, choosing heavy rocks to hold the meat below the water.

  Item went to Midgenemo and said, “We have returned. Either Eagle’s Grasp will become a wonderful home for all the People, or we will depart permanently. I understand that you have returned to your senses.”

  He stifled a cutting answer and said, “I was wrong to use my own judgment rather than depend on Wisdom. For that I’m well chastened, Item. I have vowed to Wisdom to turn back from my independent ways. I ask you, as my wife, for forgiveness.”

  “You won’t have it immediately, Husband,” she replied. “I’ll watch to satisfy myself that you have changed. You were ready to make a hurtful reply to my first words to you. I don’t trust your change. I also remember you slapped me. Do that again and you will have seen me for the last time.”

  “Then, I’ll have to earn your trust back.”

  “That you will,” she said, turned, and carried a large grass bag of bowls to the container for storage until the next meal.

  Gumui found Tuksook. “Did you keep your vow?” he asked. “I kept mine.”

  “You doubt me?” she asked.

  “No, not really. I just wanted to see you and know you’re doing well.”

  “I’m well, thank you. This has been a hard time, but in some ways we enjoyed discovering what we could do as the weaker People. We did very well. Did you see the meat we brought?”

  “I saw. The hunters saw also. We are all aware that you women with children are very able to live in this land without us. That’s a frightening thought for a man,” he admitted.

  “Men should be aware of how to treat their wives. Then, there will not be a problem. The stories tell how men should treat women and women should treat men. It’s all there. Everyone hears it every year.”

  “I know, Tuksook.”

  “Is that Ubassu trying to attract your attention over there?” Tuksook asked. “She was following me around before you left. She wants me to join with her.”

  “She what?” Tuksook asked horrified.

  “You heard me.”

  “But there’s never been anything between you two.”

  “I agree and want to keep it that way.”

  Tuksook felt strange feelings that she did not recognize as jealousy. Somehow Gumui had always been there. He guarded her when she slipped into solitude. She wasn’t yet certain she wanted to join with anyone when she became a woman, but if she did, she could think of none other than Gumui. She was a child and he was a man at present, but that would soon change. She would have to reason in her mind web. She craved solitude. Lack of it was killing her, she thought. To talk to Wisdom could clear her mind web to focus on what was important.

  “What’s the matter?” Gumui asked.

  “I need to reason before I can answer,” she replied.

  “Tuksook, answer me,” he demanded. She was a child and he was man, his eyes said.

  Tears slipped from her eyes. “Gumui, I don’t know whether I’ll ever want to join with a man, but if I do, I want it to be you. It frightens me that another girl will appeal to you for a wife. There, are you satisfied? You’re pulling out of my depths any sense of privacy I have left.”

/>   Gumui had not thought of Tuksook as a wife. He really hadn’t thought of anyone as a wife. However, her words had a profound effect on him. They made him feel wanted, needed, and, yes, loved. He felt special. Those were new feelings for him. Without a word, he reached out, hugged her, and lifted her off the ground, as he’d done several times in the past. He held her up by her rib cage. She was of the old People, but her body was thin. He kissed her forehead, as he lowered her to the ground. His thumbs slid over well-formed breast buds. Gumui was jolted, not unlike the feeling when the lightning struck the meadow, but for a different reason.

  “My dear, adorable Tuksook. Whatever must I do with you?”

  Tuksook shrugged. She didn’t know anything had just happened.

  Chapter Two

  Desperate for solitude, Tuksook walked to the south end of the meadow. She had never felt a close fit with those near her age, but she felt close to Wisdom. She sought Wisdom at every opportunity. Large leafed, tall plants with thick stems and tiny flowers at the top were growing there. She passed between them to hide behind the big leaves. Tuksook looked for snakes or spiders and seeing none, she settled to the ground. The big leafed plants gave her a bit of solitude while she obediently remained in the meadow. Tuksook had been there yesterday, but Togomoo called her to carry some bamboo from the boat to the bent tree house construction, and she had once again missed her opportunity for solitude. Her skin began to tingle and there were red places appearing on her legs and arms. One place on the left side of her face began to tingle where the sun warmed it, but she couldn’t see it. Clusters of tiny white flowers formed what looked to be a large, flat flower atop the giant plants. The flowers towered over her. They had a delicate, pleasing fragrance. Tuksook savored the scent. Sun rays warmed her skin as she sat amid the plants. Despite the tingling, she calmed, opening her mind web as usual. Before Tuksook reached that spiritual place where she would be with Wisdom, her arms and legs began to burn. Blisters formed on her skin. It grew worse.