Ki'ti's Story, 75,000 BC

by Bonnye Matthews

  Some of the women, hungry for greens, had gone to hunt for what the place might have available. They found a good variety including plantains and dandelion greens, and they put them in baskets to carry back to the cave for the night’s meal.

  Little children were cautioned to remain near the cave and the adults there and the older ones were charged with gathering wood and kindling for the fire from the treed valley that paralleled the caves. Ghanya and Manak had been asked to stay at the cave as guards. They quickly scoured the area to be sure no snakes were visible. Then they kept an eye on Frakja and Ketra, who were both three, and Seenaha, age four. The two-year-old children and Tita were with their mothers at the cave. Ghanya noticed something very dark in the ground across the stream from where they were walking. He stepped across the stream and discovered that they had some coal placed right across from the cave. That would be very convenient, he thought. In the caves, they had good fires using a mixture of wood, some coal, and some bones. Sometimes, they’d have more than one fire in the caves, depending on the smoke hole. The mixture lasted longer than wood alone.

  Wamumur and Emaea walked along the rock sheltered walk. Caves led back inside the rock walls, some to a great depth. They were exploring the caves and letting the walls speak to them. Ki’ti followed along wondering what the adults were doing, and knowing she was to stay with them. Behind her trotted Ahriku.

  “There was much fire there,” Emaea said quietly. “The People must have been here for a few years,” she said, having pointed to a place near the entrance.

  Ki’ti was not sure what Emaea meant so she walked to the cave wall and touched the rock and there on her fingers was the trace of soot. She looked quizzically at Emaea. “How did you know there was smoke there? I could not tell since the rock wall is dark already.”

  “Come stand here, Little Girl. See how the light on the rock is shiny and then gets dull?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s how I knew. The wall does disguise the smoke well, but if you have seen smoke on walls for a long time, you start to know the signs that tell it’s there and for how long.”

  “So that’s a thing of knowledge, not a thing of Wisdom.”

  Wamumur reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. “Good, Little Girl. You are using your mind web well.”

  “Little Girl,” Wamumur said, “I give you permission to go to Manak to ask him to watch over you until I call you. Do not go beyond where he can see you at all times. Ki’ti, keep your mind alert for vipers. We have not been here long and must be very careful.”

  “Yes, Wise One,” she said with a grin on her face. She fairly flew to Manak with Ahriku hot on her heels. Manak caught her in his arms and hugged her. She told him what permission she’d been given and Manak now watched little children and the future Wise One. He showed her a little place in the stream where she could play in the water. She went to the place and found she could stand in it to her knees. She pulled off her tunic, shook it out, and laid it on the bushes by the stream. She stepped into the stream and sat in the deeper water. She could bathe. She cupped handfuls of water and threw it at her face. She bent over and immersed her head in the water and grabbed some sand and rubbed it through her hair. Ahriku ran through the water, swimming when it got too deep. The dog seemed to enjoy the experience as much as Ki’ti. She rinsed the sand from her hair and then sat back down in the water, luxuriating in it and staring into the sky. It was still a darker than normal sky even though they were in grassland away from the ash. She wondered if the ash blew around in the sky for a long time and glided in the sky over places where no ash lay on the ground. Ahriku sat on the bank and watched her.

  Seenaha noticed her splashing in the water and she came to her. Ki’ti removed Seenaha’s tunic and washed her in the stream. Ketra could not be left out so she arrived and suddenly the little stream was alive with children. Frakja would not be left out. Manak decided to join the children. The water was barely deep enough for him to bathe, but he did his best. Clean skin felt wonderful. After the long trekking, it was delightful to laugh and relax in the stream. The laughter did not go unnoticed by the adults or other older children.

  Wamumur and Emaea looked at each other. “When was the last time we really heard laughter like that?” Emaea asked.

  “It must have been before we started running from Baambas. It is good, Emaea,” Wamumur said. “It is good.” He bounced a playful double palm strike with a grin. Emaea laughed and mimicked the gesture.

  Soon, mothers brought the little ones to the stream where they enjoyed the water as much as those who were already there. Minagle and Domur left their chores to join the water laughter. Lamk and Sum and Keptu ran to the fun along with Meeka and Liho. Manak and Ghanya laughed that one of the first tasks would be to widen the bathing area. It might be enjoyable to be able to come down on a hot night and get into the water, if there would ever be a hot night again. Manak had never known a season of new leaves this cool. He wondered whether it was the move north or the cloudy sky they’d had since Baambas blew. It was warm enough to bathe, but not to stay overlong in the water.

  Wamumur and Emaea walked over to see what was causing the laughter. They looked down on the young ones splashing and bathing in the water, and they smiled contentedly as Wamumur put his arms around Emaea. “It is good,” he said. “It is good!” she responded. They shared a prolonged smile. There was a joy that immersed the both of them. Later, they would bathe there themselves, their smiling eyes communicated.

  Ghanya had been sitting on the bank watching the People bathe and play in the water. He was troubled to see Meeka, Liho, and Ey naked.

  “Come on in!” Manak called to his friend.

  “I cannot. You are naked!”

  “What?” Manak shouted back. “Do you bathe in your clothes?”

  “No. But we have, or at least had, separate places for males and females to bathe. I am not accustomed to seeing females naked.”

  “Look, my friend,” Manak called again, teasing. “Did Wisdom make you different?”

  “Manak!” Ey interjected slightly acerbic, “Among the Others, it is not custom to look upon nakedness. He is doing what he has been taught to do.”

  Manak lowered his head to Ey first and then to Ghanya. Then he said, “Ghanya, I am sorry for teasing you. I shouldn’t have done that. But you are one of us now. We bathe and enjoy the water together. We think nothing of how we are made, because Wisdom made us. We didn’t. He made you, too. So please, reconsider and join us. This water is wonderful and it is great to be clean!”

  Ghanya struggled with the very ideas of being naked and bathing with unclothed females. It seemed all wrong. But he had no argument for why it was wrong. All his life he had been very serious and careful to do what he’d been told. For the first time in his life, he pulled off his tunic and stepped into the water with females. Within minutes, he found himself laughing at the antics of the little ones forgetting briefly that he wore no clothing. From time to time, he would become self conscious, but then, he kept telling himself, he was part of this group now. And a small voice inside would say he should question that. For now, he would be part of it, even if that meant bathing with females.

  People were coming back from their trips out to collect plants or look for grazing spots where hunting might be good, and for presence of other humans. The women at the water gathered the little ones and all of them headed toward the cave. The evening meal needed to be prepared.

  That night, they would feast on dried meat and grains boiled with plants. Some plants would be put in their bowls washed but uncooked. Those who hadn’t bathed were looking enviously at those who had. They wanted to know where the bathing place was.

  Finally, when things calmed down and everyone had bathed, the entire group gathered near the fire to hear of the day’s findings. The dogs seemed restless by the entry. Ki’ti sat in Emaea’s ample lap and relaxed. Liho leaned against the side of her father, Arkan-na. Manak and Domur were sitting toge
ther touching shoulders. To the surprise of everyone, Ghanya and Minagle were seated side by side. When she noticed, Likichi elbowed Grypchon-na. They smiled at each other, content. Both of them thought Ghanya was a very nice young man. Most of the young ones were either asleep on their sleeping mats or they were sitting with their parents dozing in the semi-darkness.

  Suddenly, Ahriku began to growl louder than was permitted. His neck arched and he stared down at Manak’s sleeping mat. The hair on his neck stood on end and every hunter in the cave became alert. Ahriku began to bark, which was definitely not permitted, but in this case was allowed. Rather than discipline the dog, Manak, Slamika, and Minagle went to see what was bothering the dog. Nanichak-na went to the tools and picked up a sharpedged rock. Hahami-na went to the place where spears were stored. He pulled out a snake stick, one with a forked tip, just in case. Manak carefully moved the mats until he uncovered a large brownish viper. It had beautiful markings—square shapes laid tip to tip along its back. On its sides were triangles with two eye-like dots within the triangles. Ahriku was behind the snake’s head when Hahami-na placed the forked spear just behind the snake’s head in one thrust. Nanichak-na then cut the snake’s neck, killing it. He left a bit of skin that kept the head attached to the snake body. He carried it outside and hung it in a tree where it continued writhing. When Wisdom returned color to the land, he would see to the burying of the head a good distance from where they lived and the snake body would be displayed over bushes as a lesson to other snakes.

  Ahriku ran to Ki’ti and shivered. She hugged him and put him on her lap. Slowly, the people in the cave regathered to hear the day’s news.

  Nanichak-na started by telling about the two grazing lands they had found to the north and northeast. The meadows were huge and there were numbers of animals out there ready for taking. Gruid-na mentioned that they had the same experience going due east and south east. There were mountains to the west and southwest. They wondered about the need to go back to get additional provisions from Cave Kwa and Sumbrel, but the group discussed it and decided that one or two trips back there would suffice, if they were in what appeared to be good safety.

  Arkan-na spoke to the security. Those who checked the security had gone north, east, west, and south. They had searched somewhat in between those directions. They had found no trace of living humans anywhere. Occasionally, they’d find a firepit, but they seemed to have been used long ago since the wind had blown dirt over it, almost covering the rocks. Ghanya mentioned finding coal just outside the cave. Grypchon-na said that some day he would have to take Wamumur and Emaea and Ki’ti for a little over a day’s journey to see something which he would not describe, but said he had found a place of the spirits or giants and they should see it. The women did not mention the plants they had found, assuming that too mundane a topic for the group.

  It was decided that Guy-na, Lai, Ghanya, Kai, Ermi, and Manak would return to transport what meat or other supplies they could. They would leave the poles and skin stretchers since they had ample material to make them where they were going. The People wanted them to wait until they had rested, but the young men chose to leave in the morning. They would carry little food and water, because the caches had been left over half full.

  All agreed that the choice of place to live was good. In small numbers, people broke up the gathering and went to their sleeping mats, unafraid that vipers would be a problem with Ahriku in the cave. Ki’ti was sound asleep so Wamumur bent down to pick her up with assistance from Emaea. He placed her on her sleeping mat where she was immediately joined by Ahriku. Emaea put the covering over both of them. Then they stretched out on their sleeping mats. “It feels so wonderful to be clean,” Emaea said. Wamumur smiled and touched her clean skin. All over. They joined and then slept well.

  Olintak jerked and sat up. Slamika rose on an elbow and asked if she was well.

  “I don’t know. I must have been sleeping. It felt like someone kicked my ribs.”

  “Are you carrying a child?” Slamika asked, partly excited about the idea and partly afraid.

  “I don’t know. Ow! There it goes again. Put your hand here.”

  Slamika put his hand on her belly. She really didn’t look as if she were carrying a baby yet.

  “Ow! Did you feel that?”

  “Yes, my wife. I think you have a baby in your belly. Ask the older women tomorrow.”

  “Do you really think that’s what this is?” she asked naïvely.

  “I really think that it is. Ask tomorrow.” Slamika was in awe that they might have a baby. He was delighted and at the same time he was concerned that Olintak would do well in childbirth. He didn’t want to lose her. He treasured her.

  “I will.” Olintak lay back down and tried to get accustomed to the kicking.

  When Wisdom caused the sun to fade the darkness, the hunters were preparing to take the stretchers on their trek back to their former caves to bring back all the meat and skins they could carry. The men were in their prime and were eager to make this contribution. They knew the route now and expected to be able to travel a lot faster than they did on the trip to the new place without older and younger People to slow them down. They chose the largest of the stretchers to make the trip worthwhile. They ate and said their farewells and left. Their wives were not nearly as excited about their leaving as they were.

  Lamul asked Hahami-na if he might have the honor of burying the snake head. He would be accompanied by Gruid-na. He was given an affirmative nod. They chose a location in the forest to the southeast. They were experiencing showers off and on, but hunters never were slowed by rain. Lamul severed the head from the remaining skin and put the venomous head in a leather wrap for protection while carrying it. He and Gruid-na left the area for the forest.

  Olintak sought out Totamu. When Totamu recognized her, Olintak said, “Please can you help me? I have a lot of discomfort in my belly. I feel that it is kicking my ribs.”

  “Are you pregnant?” Totamu asked.

  “That’s what Slamika thinks. I do not know. He said to ask.”

  “You don’t look pregnant. When was your last flow?”

  “I don’t remember,” Olintak said, surprised that she hadn’t thought about that.

  “Is it kicking now?” Totamu asked.

  “No.”

  “Well, I think Slamika is probably right.” Totamu hugged her.

  Olintak was beaming as she returned to roll up the sleeping mats. A baby. She smiled at Slamika across the cave. They shared a silent understanding.

  Totamu also smiled. For some reason, it had not been easy for the People to become pregnant, to hold the baby to term, and to raise children to adulthood. When around the Others, it never ceased to amaze her how large their families were. Not so with the People. It wasn’t just her group of the People, she mused. The People just seemed to have small success in reaching adulthood. Mootmu-na and Amey had the most success of any of the People she’d known with seven offspring. That was almost unheard of among the People at that time. And Ekuktu the father of twins. Now, Olintak pregnant. Yes, Mootmu-na and Amey had raised a lot of children and were grandparents of three with another on the way. It was good, she thought. It was good. She did a palm strike.

  Wamumur and Emaea told Ki’ti that they planned to explore the area to learn of any messages that Wisdom had for them in this place. She was to pay close attention and watch what they did because some day she would have to do the same thing. People never stayed too long in one place.

  Olintak found Blanagah and went to her side. “My sister, I have good news.”

  “What is it, Olintak?” Blanagah wondered.

  “I am pregnant.”

  Blanagah looked at her wide eyed. “Are you really? That is wonderful news. Are you excited?”

  “I can’t believe it. Yes, I’m so excited I could burst!” Olintak hugged herself.

  “Don’t burst! I want to see my niece or nephew,” Blanagah teased them to laughter.

 
“Last night, I thought I must have eaten something awful. It was kicking me in the ribs.”

  “Well, you don’t look like you have anything in your belly.” Her sister eyed her critically.

  “If you’d been my ribs, you’d have no doubt.” Olintak smiled.

  “I am happy for you. What good news. Does Slamika know?”

  “He’s the one who told me to check it out today. Yes, he knows. He too is very happy.”

  “Would you like to come with Inst and me today to gather dandelion greens? She’s missing Lai already, and he just left to bring food and skins from the cave.”

  “I would like to accompany you two. That would be good.” The women each took a piece of leather for a covering if it rained. Each carried a basket.

  Nearby, Pechki put her arm around Minagle. “I noticed you and Ghanya sitting close at the gathering last night. Is there something between you?”

  “I think so, Izumo,” she answered her grandmother, looking into Pechki’s dark blue eyes with her brown ones. “I like his seriousness and his responsibility. He is like Manak, mature. He is so thoughtful. Sometimes when I’ve struggled with something, I find him there with a helpful hand. Also, when he puts his hand on my shoulder, well, I get all mushy inside.”

  “It sounds like the two of you are attracted. I don’t suppose you’ve talked of joining?”

  “Oh, but we have! One of the things I like about him is that he doesn’t want to copulate until he joins. He said problems can come from that. He thinks about things. I like that.”

  “What kind of problems?” Pechki asked intrigued.