Tuksook's Story, 35,000 BC

by Bonnye Matthews

  He entered the bent tree house quietly, though Loraz heard him and checked to see who was walking through the house. Midgenemo waved to the night watch. He continued on to his sleeping place. He removed the skin cover he’d used and hung it back on the peg. He removed his boots. With utmost care Midgenemo eased into his sleeping place. He covered himself.

  Item turned and wrapped her arm around him.

  “What took you so long?” she asked.

  “I spent time with Wisdom. Wisdom healed me.”

  She tightened her arm as if it were a half hug. She remained silent. She was filled with joy. She believed for the first time since the sea crossing that Midgenemo had come back to her.

  Chapter Seven

  Tuksook sat with Gumui on the rock overlooking the meadow. Plants were new green and the meadow seemed to pulse with life.

  “Do you remember when we realized that volcanic ash fed some of the growing things? At first, we considered it an irritant because it burned our skin, and now we know it makes plants grow healthy. Look how green our meadow is. It’s life—our life,” Tuksook said leaning on Gumui. She loved sharing the rock with him briefly when either of them had a free moment.

  “Yes, I do remember. I remember also the first of the sun tracking rocks we moved here. That was such a challenge. Look at them! When the elders suggested we move the other rocks here for better sighting, we already knew how to move them. What a wonder our meadow is.”

  “I just wish my father had lived to see what we see now. He would have been so pleased.”

  “He was a good man. He loved the People.”

  “You’re right, Gumui. He did. It still bothers me a little when I think how I misjudged him, but he taught me to turn loose of things that Wisdom and the People had forgiven. He taught me to turn loose of it without ever knowing that the thing I needed to turn loose of had everything to do with him. He was considerate that way. Gumui, do you think we’ll ever have a child?”

  “You know I don’t speculate. You have some eighteen cold times now. There is plenty of time. As often as you talk to Wisdom, I’d have thought you’d have asked him. Wisdom knows.”

  “And that’s probably why I don’t ask. Wisdom does know. If the answer is that I’ll never have any, I don’t think I’m ready to know that yet.” Tuksook stretched and braced back, resting on her forearms as she looked into the sunny sky.

  Gumui put his hand on her shoulder. “Tuksook, you have been successful at living life knowing what is—is. We just have to know that all things will be as they should be in our lives. Don’t wish away the present for something that’s unknown.”

  “I know, and I don’t ever forget the shower of roses. Sometimes life seems so short. Below us in the ground with my father lies Hapunta, just a child when the illness took her, and then Ottu. He was so old! And Lupo. Poor Lupo. That cat killed her while she was berry picking. It was awful.”

  They gazed out at the white topped mountains across the river. It was a clear day when everything was in sharp detail. An eagle flew by, chased by a raven.

  There was a noise on the path that led to the rock where they sat. They both turned their heads to see what the commotion would bring.

  “Wise One, will you come? Something terrible has happened.” It was Twim, Moki and Heek’s twelve-year-old son. He was breathless.

  “What’s happened, Twim?” Tuksook asked already on her feet.

  “My grandmother is having trouble. She can’t walk or talk. She looks scared.” He was twisting his hands.

  “Is anyone with her?” Tuksook asked, feeling as if she’d been hit in the belly. Twim’s great-great-grandmother, Bruilimi, was so special to Tuksook.

  “No, she was walking beside the house on the southeast side when she fell. I saw her fall. I asked Remui where you were and he told me.”

  “Gumui, please ask Mother to meet us there,” she said as she carefully walked down the path to the meadow level. “Twim, lead me to the place where she fell,” she asked.

  Twim walked quickly to the place where he’d left his great-great-grandmother. She was not there.

  “I don’t know where she went,” he said obviously confused and deeply concerned. “I didn’t think she could walk at all.”

  “Let’s go inside. Maybe someone brought her inside,” Tuksook suggested.

  They went inside through the east entryway. Sure enough, Remui stood beside Bruilimi’s bench/sleeping place, talking to Item. Bruilimi lay on her bench/sleeping place, her face oddly contorted as she tried desperately to talk. Item sat beside her and put her hand gently on Bruilimi’s head.

  “Aunt,” Item said, “Rest. Don’t try to speak. You had a spell. It will take much time to heal. You must lie here and rest. We know what happened, and we will look out for you. Are you frightened?”

  Bruilimi made the hand signal with her right hand to indicate “yes.”

  Item reached out and took Bruilimi’s hand in both of hers. It was cold. She looked into Bruilimi’s eyes and said, “I understand. You know, though, that this happens to some people. It takes time. You’ve cared for so many people over the years. It’s time now that we take care of you. Just rest your body and know we are here. We love you Aunt.” Item stood up to cover Bruilimi lightly with a skin.

  Bruilimi lay there. Slowly tears came from her eyes. Yes, she’d seen this. She remembered. Her mother had experienced the same thing not long before she died. Bruilimi rested. Soon, she thought, she’d be together with Ottu again. She missed him so much. She tried to smile but felt it didn’t quite work.

  “There you are, Tuksook,” Item said.

  “It seems I arrived with all things well done,” Tuksook replied. “Twim came to call me as fast as he could.”

  Remui touched Twim’s shoulder. “You did a good thing to bring the Wise One. As soon as you told me about Bruilimi, I hunted for her and found her. I brought her and found Item. She’s had a spell that some old people have. It makes it so they cannot talk or walk well. Time will tell how well she’ll recover. But you acted fast. That is a good thing for one of the People.”

  Twim tried to feel better, but his great-great-grandmother’s face had him frightened. He didn’t want to see her hurt, and he didn’t want her not able to talk or walk.

  Suddenly, a little child ran past the people standing by Bruilimi’s sleeping place. Bruilimi had gone to sleep. Very quickly Hustep followed behind.

  “I’m sorry,” Hustep made her habitual apology for the little one and herself. Her son, Toagrurt, was an unruly child. He wanted his way always. He was too old to be behaving so badly. Fortunately, his younger brother and sister were well behaved as most of the children of the People were. Tuksook made a decision to talk to Hustep later. She and others had talked to her about this child, but there had been no positive change in his behavior. What the parents were doing didn’t seem to bring about the desired result. Hustep chased after the boy.

  Hustep slowed quickly. Loraz had grabbed Toagrurt by the arm. He dragged him to the east entryway and literally threw him by the arm from the house.

  The boy was hurt and he cried, but his cries were cries of outrage more than from pain.

  Loraz shouted to him, “Don’t come back in here unless you are ready to act like a good child of the People. I’m tired of your willful disrespect and disobedience. Stay out there.”

  The boy decided to push back into the house, rebelling at the words of his great-uncle.

  Loraz grabbed the boy by his leg and arm and threw him more forcefully from the house.

  The boy tried yet again to run past Loraz.

  Loraz grabbed the boy to Hustep’s horror and threw him over his head out of the house.

  This time the boy cried from real pain, not rebellion. He had broken his leg. Hustep was aching to go to the boy to ease his pain. She knew better than to counter Loraz. She had no idea what to do. She went back to Item.

  Item and all the others had listened to all that they could hear from Bruilimi�
��s bench/sleeping place.

  “Hustep, this has gone on too long with Toagrurt. Loraz is teaching him the hard way, because he has refused to learn the easy way. Leave him to Loraz,” Item said. “With Loraz he is safe.”

  “Item, you can tell Toagrurt’s leg is broken.” Hustep believed Loraz was too violent.

  “Sometimes, it takes something like that to deal with an evil-spirited child,” Item replied.

  “You see Toagrurt as an evil-spirited child?” Hustep was dumbfounded at the term.

  “I have for a long time. He wants what he wants when he wants it. Everyone may want the same thing, but everyone except Toagrurt knows that is out of the question and they are peaceable. Toagrurt has to learn this or he’ll become another Rimut. We have Wisdom’s way and we have the People’s way. Wisdom’s way is perfection. None of us can reach it, but it’s something to strive toward. The People’s way knows that in each of us there is a tendency to evil and to good. We balance. When that balance is thrown off into the evil area, there is a problem. That’s what happened with Toagrurt. He is way off balance. Rarely do we find someone whose balance is toward perfection. Usually that person doesn’t fit well among the People. It is the evil-spirited ones that we have to guard against, because they can destroy the good functioning of the People. Rimut was evil-spirited and nobody stopped him, until he became adult. We learned from that.”

  Hustep was horribly upset to discover that not only did the People have a bad view of Toagrurt but also they compared his future to Rimut’s, if he failed to change.

  Hustep sat on the edge of Bruilimi’s sleeping place while her son howled outside.

  “I’ve been a terrible parent,” she said.

  “Not exactly so. This is not your problem any longer. You didn’t stop him earlier, but now, the problem is Toagrurt’s. He has no choice but to change. He cannot be permitted to live here among us as he is. Loraz has made that very clear by his action. Broken leg or no broken leg, Loraz is finished with the boy’s evil-spiritedness. Toagrurt will be forced to stay outside the house until his spirit changes. Don’t go to him to offer sympathy, unless you want Loraz to throw you out there with him,” Item said calmly.

  “Surely, you’re exaggerating about his throwing me out there also.”

  Item said, “If you interfere, no, I’m not exaggerating. Many have waited patiently for Toagrurt to change, but he becomes worse. This is a lesson he’ll remember for the remainder of his days. It is not a bad thing, Hustep—if it can change his evil-spirited ways.”

  “But Item, Loraz doesn’t seem to care what his actions do to Toagrurt.”

  Item looked at Toagrurt. “He doesn’t care? You think Loraz doesn’t care? He’s seen this evil-spirited, spoiled brat do things that other children would be severely beaten for doing. He has concluded that the end of it is here. You do realize that the time has come? It’s because he does care that Loraz has decided to act. He cares about Toagrurt and the People.”

  “I realize that Loraz has decided the time has come. What about the rest of us?”

  “Oh, Hustep. You are so kind-hearted, forgiving. Your strength is your weakness! If you were to go to each of the People and ask, how many would recommend you go to your son and coddle him now? I can tell you—not one. Most would tell you, it’s past time for this to occur. They’re sick of him. So am I. He is totally disrespectful of you and Orad. If Loraz hadn’t stepped in, someone else would have sooner or later. Loraz will try not to kill him. Some others might not be so careful.”

  “I understand. I also understand that Toagrurt is only five years old and he keeps being injured more and more severely.”

  “That’s his making. As long as he fights to have his own way, as he seems determined to rebel against authority, he will be hurt worse. He has to learn right now to change. He has to learn that when an adult tells him to do something, he will do it right away. He will do it well. He will respect the person who tells him to do it. Or, he can learn though pain. Or, he can die. He is making the choices. It’s just not time for you to step in. This cannot go on any longer. You’ve had a chance to change it. Now, it’s out of your hands.” Item felt for Hustep, but she knew her words carried truth and that Hustep knew it.

  Loraz came into the house while Toagrurt screamed in pain outside. He walked straight to Hustep. He cupped her face in his hands.

  “It had to stop, Hustep. Stay away from him. Tend to your other children. Go about your daily routine. I will stay with this until the boy changes or dies. Occasionally a child starts behaving in an evil-spirited manner. I don’t mean a spirit lives in him that doesn’t belong there. What I mean is that the boy has decided that he can coerce others to let him do as he chooses. He manipulates, acts in ways that are unacceptable, is disrespectful. You cannot like what he does.”

  “No,” she admitted, “I don’t like what he does.”

  “Well, it is better for him to break a leg or an arm or lose teeth than to end up like Rimut, taken to a far off place and left there alone.”

  “I understand,” she admitted.

  “Now, girl, it will do you no good to remain here watching this. You have other children and other things to do. By now Remui will have already explained to Orad what’s happening and why. Ask Wisdom to lead the boy to see the truth, if you want to help.”

  Hustep left and returned to what she was doing before Toagrurt decided to run away. She was torn in her belly but it was the way of the People. She had to accept that.

  Item, Renwen, Tuksook, and Ghopi tended to Bruilimi. She was not doing well. In her mind web she was far from the trouble that was taking place near her sleeping place, so it didn’t affect her. She was experiencing a number of different internal changes and she wondered at them, but she could make no sense of them. Bruilimi began to shake and shake. Something was very wrong. She foamed at the mouth, had trouble breathing, and finally sighed. Her last breath left her body with ease. Bruilimi would be with Ottu and Wisdom. She no longer lived among the People.

  Tuksook ran her hand over her leg to dry it off from wiping her tears. She remembered it was Bruilimi who had made the lovely tunic for her from the cat skin. It fit her perfectly now. Some of the fur was wearing thin, but the tunic was wonderful. Tuksook treasured it. Bruilimi gone? Tuksook loved her. Emotions flowed through Tuksook like a river made of many contributing streams.

  Gumui came to her after high sun. “It seems this morning sparked a day filled with many conflicting emotions, Tuksook.”

  “Yes,” she replied taking a moment to listen to the area east of the house. “It sounds as if Toagrurt has become quiet.”

  “Leave it to Loraz,” Gumui said, noticing where she was looking. “Now, Tuksook, if we would have children like that, I’m glad we don’t have any.”

  Tuksook looked at him as if his remarks made no sense and she was far away. She really wanted to have children, but she certainly didn’t want one like Toagrurt. Admitting that to herself opened up a place in her mind web and belly that had never been explored. Tuksook ached for the child outside in some ways, knowing that as a child, she’d had to change with no desire to make that change or understanding that she needed to make it. She wondered whether all children went through this same self-centeredness or whether it was limited to just a few.

  Gumui touched her. “Tuksook, are you in your mind web?”

  She looked at him and clearly saw him. “Of course. I’m sorry. There has been so much to think about. This day feels like ten.”

  “Ten days?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can understand that, Tuksook. Why don’t you grab your spears and you and I will take a short walk.”

  “Gumui, that would be helpful.” She turned and went to pull out her spears from the spear storing place.

  Gumui and Tuksook left by the west entryway. Gumui steered her to the south. They followed the trail that led to the place where they’d taken the rocks to track the sun’s travel. The two went to a hilltop in the mount
ains to the east. Gumui, followed by Tuksook, climbed rapidly until Tuksook had to call for a rest. The muscles in her lower legs were burning. They snacked briefly looking up into the mountain tops. It was a day of sunshine with a temperature perfect for taking long walks. There was a cool edge to the air, but it wasn’t cold.

  “Look, Gumui, what’s that?” Tuksook asked. High on the mountain, there were tiny white dots that were moving.

  Gumui studied the white dots for a short time. “I believe they’re sheep. When I hunted our first year here, I saw them. That must be the place where they have their young,” he said. “They are animals that have horns that grow wide and curl to the front, and they may be good to eat, but I don’t want to hunt females who have just given birth to young.”

  “Sometime, let’s climb to a place where we can see them better.” she suggested curious about the animals.

  “We’d have to leave early in the day. Sheep are hard to find. It might take you from your duties for too long, but we should be able to make a trek just to see them where they are giving birth. That hill might be a good viewpoint and it’s not far from here.” He pointed to the hill and watched to be sure that Tuksook knew which one he meant. “Right now, we need to start our return home, so we arrive there before time to lay Bruilimi in the ground.” He gave her a hand to help her stand.

  “Thanks, my Gumui.”

  They began their walk back to the meadow.

  The way back seemed so much faster than the walk to the hilltop. Gumui observed that the heavy weight of emotion that Tuksook had been carrying seemed to have lifted during the walk. He hoped that the walk would make it easier for her to continue through the remainder of the day. She still had Bruilimi’s burial to face and council to lead.

  “I wonder how Toagrurt is doing,” Tuksook said as they entered the meadow from where they’d taken the rocks.

  “I hope he’s come to his senses,” Gumui said flatly.

  “I wonder whether Item has set his leg yet.”

  “We’ll know soon.”