Anaay looked solemnly into her eyes and said, “If the goat made his way down then so can your Father. Wait and see little one.”
Kii blushed at his quiet words and nodded her acknowledgment. Roark was still hugging his wife and patting Taikiuu on the back in happiness. Taikiuu laughed and moved away knowing that Roark did not know his own strength, but she was at once thankful that her new brother and his wife had forgotten for once that she was the Ada’na.
In the village neither one of them would have dared to touch her but now Star Feather upon seeing Jon’lan was safe had embraced her in joy and kissed her cheek. Roark was overcome with emotion and he clung to his wife and had thought nothing of patting Taikiuu proudly on the back as he would have done with a sister. Mar-ee called to her mother not wanting to be left out of the celebration, but she was ever obedient and had not left the rock since her uncle had bid her to stay.
Yaa and Giad were the first to call up to Jon’lan with instructions and he heard them clearly. “Below you Uncle, there is another rock!”
Jon’lan lay on his belly and peered down and he could just make out the protrusion of a rock although the ledge was very narrow. It was about fifteen feet below him and it would take a mighty jump to reach it, but it was not impossible. Jon’lan crouched low and imagined the jump in his mind several times over before making an attempt. Just as he was about to spring forward he heard Anaay call, “Wait!”
Jon’lan caught himself and held fast to the ledge waiting and as if from a distance he heard Anaay call up, “There is a better place behind you, look!”
Jon’lan turned and sure enough there was a safer place and it was a broader space giving him room to land easily. Jon’lan calmed his spirit and after making the jump first in his mind he allowed his body to spring into the air and land firmly on the ledge. Now he was only fifteen feet up in the air and Roark called to him. “If you jump I will break your fall.”
Jon’lan trusted the big man with the life of his wife and children and now he showed absolute trust in Roark as he signaled that he would jump. Roark and Anaay stood facing each other with hands clasped and Roark instructed Anaay to bend as Jon’lan fell so that they could brace his fall. Jon’lan knew that if the men caught him in the wrong way any of them could be seriously injured. He wished that there was another way and as he thought if it he wondered again how the goat had managed without anyone below him to help or break his fall.
Looking down he could see no other rock or protrusion but he could just make out small indentations in the wall and he noticed that the cliff now went straight down instead of at an angle. He wondered if it was possible to climb down using his hands and feet to hold on to the cliff face. Jon’lan threw his pack down to Roark and Anaay and they caught it easily. He then reached out and with his hand found a hold and then followed with his feet. He kept close to the rock wall with his weight balanced equally. It was a painfully slow process and everyone below seemed to hold their breath until Jon’lan made it to the next toehold.
Finally he was low enough to be reached by Roark and Anaay who lifted him up upon their shoulders as everyone cheered. Taikiuu reached her husband as he was set upon the ground and he held her to him whispering something that made her laugh out loud. Everyone hugged and laughed in relief that they had all made it safely and as they looked up they realized how very far they had come. The women made camp while the men gathered wood and made quick work of finding two rabbits for the evening meal.
Kii asked “Mother, what did father say to make you laugh?” she would have never dreamed of asking such a thing only a few months ago. But she had truly begun to see Taikiuu as her mother and Jon’lan as her father. Her curiosity could not be quelled and Star Feather smiled as Kii echoed her own question.
Taikiuu looked up from her preparations at the hearth fire and thought about the sound of each word before speaking, “He thinks that someone should have built stairs.” All of them laughed and Kii rejoiced at her mother’s words. For the first time they had come out smoothly and seemingly without effort.
Jon’lan and the men looked up as the women’s laughter caught their attention. Roark was the first to say, “Ah, the laughter of my woman, it eases my heart.” And each man nodded as though he could discern his woman’s laugh from the others. Jon’lan and Roark glanced at Anaay and saw him nodding as well. Both men let out boisterous laughs much to the young man’s chagrin.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Yaa led Mar-ee by the hand as they followed behind Giad. Mar-ee was a little confused about whether or not Yaa and Giad were her sister and brother or not. She did not want to ask because she had recently decided that if they were not then she would marry Giad one day.
If he was her brother then he could still tell her stories and play games with her and perhaps she would find someone else to marry. But she did not think that anyone else could be as brave or as wonderful as Giad. Yaa adored her older brother and he seemed more at ease than she had ever seen him before.
The weight of the world had once rested on his shoulders but now that they had been taken in by Star Feather and Roark so much worry was lifted from him. For the first time he experienced the world as a boy rather than as a man and protector of his little sister. Mar-ee laughed as Giad did a cartwheel to keep the girls entertained and Yaa clapped her hands for him. It seemed that everything Yaa did Mar-ee imitated.
Giad wondered if Yaa had done the same to him and he smiled to himself realizing that she had. How else could he explain her ability to run like the wind? In Yaa’s mind Giad was the wind. The thought alone sent Giad’s shoulder’s back and his chest puffed out in pride. Then he changed before their eyes and made an ugly face as he chased after the girls. Both girls screamed in glee as they raced back to their mothers waiting arms with Giad in close pursuit.
Anaay watched as the children raced past him and he laughed at their antics. He was glad to see Giad acting like a young boy and as he glanced at Roark he could see by the smile in the man’s eyes that he thought the same. It was a great thing indeed that they had become a family and joined together as one band. So many good things had come to him since he had met these people.
Anaay could barely remember the time when he had spent endless days as one of the forest creatures on a small island. Now he was a man, Jon’lan had even asked him if he would like to have a becoming a man ceremony. Anaay had been humbled and unable to speak and Jon’lan had rightfully taken that as a yes. Secretly, he wondered again when Kii would have her becoming a woman ceremony. He could not help but notice that she had changed from the thin girl that he had first known into a young woman with gentle curves and warm smiles that filled his heart with sunshine.
“There is the problem of water.” Jon’lan spoke the words softly although they fell upon Roark’s ears like a drum beating. Roark waited so long to respond that Jon’lan wondered if the man had heard him. Still they had grown close through adversity and Jon’lan was patient until finally Roark spoke. “Water will come…until then we will be careful.” Roark did not speak the words that both men knew where true. They could not go back. Behind them lay only death. It was better to face the unknown land before them than to turn back to certain death.
The days began to take on a rhythm and pattern that eased the frayed nerves and strained muscles of every member of the band. Each morning they arose as one and quenched their thirst of the night before. Star Feather was always offered a double portion of water because she was still nursing her son, by the third day she no longer refused the offer. Though the prospered emotionally after the strain of their flight they were desperate for water.
Thirst was evident on the faces of the band, even Anaay who was always the last to show emotion had begun to lick at his lips by late afternoon as if tasting that first drop of water from his carrying flask. Mar-ee wondered why everyone was so careful with their water portions, even father who had never spoken sternly to her before did so when she had upset the waterskin and caused
some to spill. Mother had giving him a reproving look and father had been quick to ruffle Mar-ee’s hair in silent apology.
But it was only then that Mar-ee realized that water was a worry. She could not understand why they did not just find more water, but she imagined that was why they walked until the sun set each day before resting. Perhaps Father led them to water and another valley like the one that they had left behind. Mar-ee tugged at her mother’s tunic and Taikiuu looked down at her daughter with a patient smile.
She signed to her often instead of speaking which she knew Mar-ee enjoyed, though Kii preferred to hear her mother speak and practice her words. “Yes little one?” Taikiuu signed and Mar-ee replied moving her hands into the sign for “Why?” asking her mother why they searched for water. Taikiuu laughed at the innocence of children and even Star Feather smiled when Taikiuu repeated the question aloud.
“Mar-ee, your father leads us to water, he does not know for sure if it is ahead, however, we hope that we will find it soon so that we can fill our bellies and quench our thirst.” Star Feather spoke as she slid her arm around Taikiuu’s shoulders in a brief comforting hug. The two women had grown as close as sisters in their time together.
“But Aunt, if father wants water, why does he not stop and drink?” Mar-ee looked up at the woman who had become Aunt to her and waited patiently for her answer.
Star Feather smiled gently down at the child and said, “If only it were that simple.”
Mar-ee recognized the tone of voice that adults used when they were done speaking to children and she sighed restlessly. Yaa looked over at her and she gently took her hand pulling her farther behind the adults.
As the day wore on Yaa took it upon herself to ask, “Mar-ee, do you understand that we don’t know where water is?” Yaa asked patiently, not wishing to hurt the little girl’s tender feelings.
Mar-ee shook her head and looked at Yaa with worshipful eyes. The little girl pointed at Yaa as if to say, “You can find water for us can’t you? Yaa answered her unspoken question, “My first mother said that her people followed the mammoths and they led them to water often. I remember her stories. It is too bad that we can’t follow the mammoth.”
Mar-ee stopped in her tracks and turned to Yaa pulling on her hand to get her attention. “Water?” the little girl spoke hopefully.
Yaa felt her breathe rush from her lungs, it was as if suddenly all the memories that she had pushed from her mind came rushing back. She was able to remember both the good and the bad. In her mind’s eye she thought of the many nights her first mother had soothed her with a story of her people. Yaa remembered stories of a land far from the island village of Aztlan. Somewhere was a land with valleys, trees and mammoth.
Her mother’s people had followed the mammoth as an ever constant source of food and water. She well remembered her first mother, a different woman than Giad’s mother. Many people had speculated over her mother’s ancestry because of her olive skin and wooly hair, which Yaa had inherited. Yaa and Giad shared a look and Yaa noticed Giad’s obvious surprise when she related her memories to him. Giad hadn’t been certain that his sister still remembered her own mother with such clarity, for many moons she had not mentioned her and she seemed too young to remember things so well.
Without hearing all the details Giad was able to tell that Yaa had remembered something of her old life. Instead of seeing pain etched on his sister’s face, he was surprised to see her eyes alight with hope. He wanted Yaa to forget their first family and all the unhappy times that had come before now. But even as the thought occurred to him his mind flashed back to his own first family, the one that he had been born to. He well remembered the beatings from his father and the hunger that fed his belly each day.
Surely Yaa also had knowledge of such things, but somehow she was able to see past it.
Suddenly, Yaa pulled Mar-ee to her and hugged the child quickly before saying to both of them, “Come, we must find Father and tell him what I have remembered, he will know what to do.”
Giad’s eyes opened wide in surprise and then he did the only thing left to him and ran after his sister.
For days now Giad had been listening to the sounds of the mammoth calling to each other. He had not spotted one yet, but their calls sounded in the early morning and sometimes they were mournful wails and other times boisterous trumpeting that brought a smile to his lips. Giad had never seen a mammoth but he had heard stories of fierce beasts that stood taller than the tallest Haik of their old village. They were said to have shaggy coats with hair that hung to the ground and long snouts that they used as nimbly as a hand. No one knew exactly what they ate or how they survived but everyone viewed them as a sacred animal.
Some of the children of his village had screamed in terror at the thought of such a massive beast stalking the land, but Giad had been fascinated and riveted by each account. What would it be like to see such an animal walking the land? He could almost hear the thunderous sound their footsteps would make upon the ground. Giad slowed Yaa by tugging on her arm and he set Mar-ee on her feet, he had offered her a ride on his back when she could not keep up with their pace. Yaa frowned at him for slowing them down but waited patiently for him to speak.
Giad spoke with soft words, “Yaa, I do not think they would listen.”
Yaa looked around as if searching for an answer and said simply, “We must try.”
Giad looked at Yaa’s face, which was a mask of determination and nodded, “You’re right. We must try.”
Roark sat around the fire circle and listened to Giad explain his tale. Though he did not interrupt or speak to his son he scratched his nose occasionally and in this way Giad knew that his father listened. The girls had decided that perhaps if Giad spoke on Yaa’s behalf, the adults would be more likely to listen.
“Father,” Giad sighed patiently, “What do you think?” Both Yaa and Mar-ee sat off to the side weaving small baskets for carrying. Roark noticed that they were trying very hard to pretend that they were not listening. He also noticed that Giad’s eyes were filled with trust and hope. For the first time his son was acting like a young boy and not as a protector of his little sister.
After waiting an interminable amount of time Roark finally said, “I will speak to Jon’lan.”
Giad let out a whoop and the little girls faces lit with excitement. Roark allowed the girls to kiss him soundly on the cheeks before ruffling Giad’s hair affectionately and stalking off to find his band brother.
“I have listened to your words brother. Is it your wish that we should follow the mammoth in hopes that they will lead us to water?” Jon’lan spoke softly with his wife tucked against his side as he looked intently upon Roark’s face.
“I have heard of worse things.” Roark said speaking plainly. Even as Star Feather stiffened beside him perhaps afraid that he would offend Jon’lan and Taikiuu. Roark could say nothing to his wife of the bond that had grown between him and Jon’lan. How could he explain that this man that he had never known before the past few moons had become as close to him as a brother? How could he explain with words that there was nothing that he could ask or that could be asked of him that would not be done for the other?
“You ask that I lead this band into the unknown brother.” It was not a question, just a simple statement of the truth. Knowing that Roark was a man of few words Jon’lan did not expect him to confirm the statement. He could read in Roark’s eyes that the man felt they were already walking into the unknown every day. Jon’lan closed his eyes and held still as he thought of all that they stood to lose if they failed in this attempt to escape their pursuers. He thought of Taikiuu and his children, Kii and Mar-ee. He thought of his band son, Anaay and then he thought of his band brother, Roark and his own wife and children.
The weight of the world seemed to lean heavily upon his shoulders and he wished not for the first time that the responsibility for the life or death of this band was not his to carry. He waited to open his eyes, less Roark see the d
oubt and fear that consumed him. Finally when his thoughts were once again in control Jon’lan blinked and nodded at his brother. Surely, Roark knew the risks involved. The thought was confirmed as Jon’lan watched Roark stroke Star Feather’s hair. Such a gentle touch for a man with hands two sizes larger than his own.
Jon’lan grabbed hold of his own wife’s hand and made to rise, Taikiuu rose beside him and even through the cloud of worry that hung around him Jon’lan noticed how readily his wife came to his side. How easily she sensed his moods and needs. He could not help but see how comely his wife was, how graceful and caring.
Taikiuu walked with her husband thankful that for once she did not have to speak. Jon’lan wished nothing from her other than her presence and the comfort from her touch. Taikiuu laid her head upon his shoulder as they walked, relying completely upon Jon’lan to guide their footsteps in the dark. The moon hung full in the sky and shed its light eagerly upon the ground. Jon’lan stopped walking once they were away from the soft noises of their camp and gently took Taikiuu into his arms.
Only then did he hang his head and hold her tightly to him, asking without words for that which Taikiuu willingly offered. She lifted her arms in a warm embrace and held tight vowing not to let go until he was ready. Within his wife’s arms Jon’lan felt such peace, such comfort that he could not trust himself to speak. He thanked his Creator that such a blessing had come to him, even with all the troubles that they faced now as a small family, he knew that what they shared was special and rare.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Keeper of the People (Book One) Page 30