Ki'ti's Story, 75,000 BC

by Bonnye Matthews

  The men were weary. They embraced their wives and some went directly to the bathing area. Domur approached Manak at a run. He caught her in his arms and swung her in a circle.

  “What is different about you, Domur?” he asked.

  “Does it show?” she asked

  “What?” he asked.

  “I am woman,” she said gleefully.

  “Tonight?” he asked with a smile for her alone.

  “You’ll have to check. Blanagah is joining with Hahami-na tonight. There is no reason for us not to join tonight. Let me know and I will sweep a cave for our First Night.”

  “What about the meat offering?” he asked.

  “That has been waived for the present, but were you not moments ago loaded with meat?” she teased.

  He went off to check with Wamumur about joining, and Domur found Blanagah and asked whether she would be sweeping a cave, and if so, which one. Blanagah said she hadn’t chosen yet but would take a quick look and they could both check the caves and decide. Each got a broom and found caves that were nearby but not close to each other. Both women swept carefully. Before the evening meal, their caves were ready. The men had brought the sleeping mats and covers to their caves after preparing the hearth and stacking wood, and all was set. They all hoped that the pronouncement would be made just after the evening meal so they could have a long night.

  “How is Little Girl?” Manak asked Domur. “I haven’t seen her. Normally when I arrive from a trip somewhere, she flies to meet me on the return.”

  “Come, walk with me,” Domur said. She led him in a north direction on the pathway along the rock wall. As they walked she told the story to him of Ki’ti’s running to carry a bag to a cave, directed by a dead man she thought wanted to get a bag of herbs to his family. Only the man had died long before Wamumur had even been born. Somehow, she’d gotten mixed up in an ancient mind web. Hunters had been dispatched to find her and bring her back. Sure enough, she’d found a cave and there were dead people there, an adult and two children. It was in the mountains where there was white rain on the ground. She told of the punishment meted out to the girl, and of Wamumur’s threat if she ever did that again.

  “Ah, that little one. What on earth possessed her to do that?”

  “Wamumur said that sometimes it’s possible to get caught in the mind web of another outside our own time. He said that most people would be so afraid that they would leave it alone and run the other way. Not so with Ki’ti, who believed it and lived it.”

  “How awful,” he said. “I am glad Wisdom made us as we are.”

  She smiled at him and they embraced. “I cherish you, my dear,” Manak said to her. “Will you please not bless me with a Ki’ti?”

  “I’ll do my best.” She smiled at him with a huge smile that drank his soul.

  When they returned to the home cave, Manak went to find Ki’ti. “There you are,” he said.

  Ki’ti hung her head. “I have shamed you and my family,” she admitted.

  He put his hand under her chin and pulled her head up so he could look in her eyes, “Little Girl, what you did was not good, but I love you. I will always love you.” He stood her up and turned her around. He lifted her tunic and examined her back. “Ah! You really got punished, didn’t you?” He dropped the tunic horrified at the bruises and switch marks. He’d never known anyone to have had that much punishment. Of course, he didn’t know about Reemast’s death and he’d forgotten Reemast was punished severely for killing baby birds.

  “It still hurts,” Ki’ti replied.

  “Will that make you remember to obey Wamumur and Emaea?”

  She looked into his eyes, “I will do my best.”

  He stood there leaning in her direction with his hands on his hips. “That isn’t good enough!” His words were caustic. From a distance, Emaea was listening.

  “What do you mean?” Ki’ti asked, drawing away from him.

  “It means obey Wamumur and Emaea. There isn’t any doing your best. You simply obey. I know you understand me.” Manak was fierce looking.

  “I understand.” She spoke quietly. She was hurt that even Manak was irritated.

  “No, that isn’t good enough.” He was sterner than she had ever seen him.

  “What do you want from me?” she asked twisting her hands and furrowing her brow.

  “I want a promise. I want a promise that you will obey Wamumur and Emaea. No equivocation. Simply promise me.”

  Some of the mothers began to pick up the little ones to take a stroll outside. Some adults went outside just to provide privacy if that might help.

  “But if I promise you and fail, then you have a right to punish me. I don’t want to do it.”

  “Little Girl, promise me. Now!” he insisted. In the cave where normally People spoke quietly, Manak’s voice was rising and drawing attention. A few more People went outside.

  She started looking about.

  “There is no place to run, Little Girl. Promise me. You have to promise me so that you have no little crack to crawl into to avoid obedience to your parents. That part of your pride you can kill. I know you well, Little Girl. Or should I call you Baby? You must promise me or you put the People at risk. I have not lived with you for so many years not to know how your mind web works. I want the cracks sealed up. No more rebellion. Now, promise me.”

  Ki’ti looked down at the floor. Nobody knew her as well as Manak. At first, he’d found her willfulness amusing and a diversion, but now he was making it clear that he wanted from her the one thing she didn’t want to give. Worse, she thought, he was telling everyone in the cave how her mind web worked. The part of her mind that was not good.

  “Now,” his voice thundered, and she jumped, startled by the sound. Grypchon-na and Likichi were fascinated. They knew there was a strong bond between Manak and his little sister, but neither had any knowledge that it was so strong. Only Manak would have known about some kind of crack she might use to avoid obedience.

  Ki’ti was shivering. She did not want to promise. Finally she said, “Okay.”

  “That’s not good enough,” he thundered.

  “What do you want?” she asked, trembling.

  “You say out loud so everyone can hear you: I promise Manak that I will obey my parents unequivocally. That’s all.”

  “I promise,” she whispered.

  “That’s not good enough. The whole thing and loud.”

  Tears were streaming down the girl’s face. After what seemed a terribly long time, she said loud enough for all in the cave to hear, “I promise Manak that I will obey my parents unequivocally.”

  Then he went to her and picked her up in his arms and hugged her. Wamumur felt that of all the People there, he had just learned the most. Who would have thought that Ki’ti kept little cracks that she could dive into to avoid obedience. How did her mind web work? What was the source of the rebellion? Sometime he would have to talk to Manak. And thank him.

  What Manak didn’t really grasp is that he changed the life of Ki’ti that evening. He gave the People an obedient storyteller. Ki’ti had bundled up all the changes wrought by the Winds of Change and though she loved the People, her life had changed so much and so fast that she kept reserving a part of herself for only herself. When she became overwhelmed, she’d run to that place and build her will stronger and stronger. She would rebel for no viable reason. She had begun to become a menace to herself and therefore to the People. Somehow, Manak had seen right to the core of the problem. She loved him so much that she eventually capitulated and with her capitulation, a new and different Ki’ti emerged, the special one that would one day be their Wise One in fact.

  Manak in his youth could not know that he had profoundly changed his sister. He could hope, and that’s all he did. He had startled Domur, but as time went by, she could see the difference his time spent that night meant to her and to the People. No longer would the People wonder about the willful child. Ki’ti’s change was that significant.
r />   Tension reduced in the cave and the evening meal was served. The meat was tasty and the plants the People ate filled a strong need. They could virtually feel the nourishment from the green plants they’d done without for so long. It was great to have plants growing again. As soon as the four who were joining had eaten, Chamul-na rose to make the pronouncement that Blanagah and Hahami-na were joined and that Manak and Domur were joined. Ermol-na brought out his drum and the People sang and danced in the gathering area of the cave. The newly joined couples danced toward the shadows and quietly left for their chosen caves to the north, and others would not go down there until the next day.

  Emaea took Ki’ti by the hand and they went to walk the field just southeast of the rock walk.

  “Oh, Mother,” Ki’ti began, “I am so sorry.”

  “Shhhhh,” Emaea put her fingers on Ki’ti’s lips. “We are just going to walk right now. You have much to sort out. Ease your mind. You have promised. Look forward, My Dear, not backwards. Do you not know how many People love you?”

  As they walked, Emaea wondered whether others had been so affected by the Winds of Change that they were like little volcanoes about to explode. She mused on the problem with Reemast. His pride, unlike Ki’ti’s, had been obvious. Ki’ti’s was more hidden. Had he been suffering from the Winds of Change or was he just demanding to get his own way? She felt a little old and tired. Somehow, she demanded of herself that she know the answers. If she didn’t have them, who would? And then it occurred to her that in the case of Ki’ti, the person who had the answers was her brother. He had watched out for his little sisters and knew them well. It did amaze her that Ki’ti could be as complex as she was at her age. It was possible that she didn’t need to have all the answers, if she could learn who did have them when it was necessary. Or perhaps, there was no way for anyone to know all the answers. What bothered Emaea was that Ki’ti had learned about walking in another mind web outside of present time. She wanted to go with Ki’ti to the cave where the bodies were. She would really like to take the body of the man they had found to be with his family forever. She wondered whether that idea was as absurd as Ki’ti’s taking the green bag. She wondered whether People ever really became adults or whether there remained a child in each adult and only the skin and bones got larger and older. The walk was good, but she began to lead them back to the home cave. Soon, it would be time for sleep. From the field, she gazed at the row of caves. Three lights. Her heart filled with joy. It was good!

  When they returned, they found that many in the cave were laying out their sleeping mats and getting ready for bed, since Wisdom had sucked all the color from the land. Emaea loved the new cave. Before she was willing to sleep, however, she took a piece of very soft leather and cut it in a small circle. She then poked holes around the edge of the leather with a medium sized stitching awl for sewing. She threaded a leather strip through the holes. Before she drew the edges of the circle tight, she picked up the little yellow owl and put it into the soft leather pouch. She tied the ends of the leather strap into a secure knot. Wamumur came over and sat on his sleeping mat. Emaea slipped the pouch on the leather strip over his head. It was similar to what Totamu had made for Enut, only this one was not an ornament.

  “What is in this?” Wamumur asked.

  “It is your owl, My Love,” she answered with a smile.

  He reached out and hugged her.

  Ki’ti came over and dutifully kissed Emaea and hugged her.

  “May I have one of those?” Wamumur asked.

  Ki’ti went to him and leaned down and kissed his cheek and hugged him. He pulled her off her feet and drew her into his lap and hugged her tight. “I do love you, Little Girl,” he said with feeling.

  For the first time in a long time, Ki’ti felt safe and secure. Somehow, she knew everything would be fine. She did not pull away but rather rested her head on Wamumur’s chest. Her head hit the hard little owl and she looked at him quizzically. “It’s my little yellow owl,” he explained. “Now, Little Girl, you need to go to sleep and your mother and I need to take a walk. You will do what I say?”

  “Yes, Wise One. I promise to go to my sleeping mat and sleep.” And she did.

  Wamumur and Emaea walked out under the stars. The night was lovely. Just cool enough to cause him to place his arm around Emaea. “You have been thinking about something. What is it?” he asked.

  “My Dear,” she responded, “I am probably as crazy as our daughter, but I think we should take the body of the man and put it with his family in the mountains.”

  Wamumur didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Whatever made you think that?” he asked.

  “I think it was that you and I were separated for so long and now we’re together. They have been separated longer than you and I were. And we can do something about it.”

  “Are you off in some mind web time thing?” he asked.

  “No, but I wish I could do it once so I’d know what you and Ki’ti are talking about.”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Oh, yes, I do,” she said firmly.

  “I fear that if I take you there and we return the body, you will experience it. Worse, I fear that Ki’ti will experience it again. Those people are dead. Can we not leave them dead?”

  “How would you feel if you were that man and Ki’ti and I were in that cave?”

  “Ah, you think like woman!” Wamumur said, sounding exasperated.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I am woman. Would you prefer I were man?”

  “Ah, but you drive me wild sometimes,” he said, embracing her and silencing her with a kiss.

  They returned to the cave. Wamumur was ruminating about returning the body to the cave. What would these females think next? He wondered.

  The people had settled down for the night. Wamumur could hear Emaea breathing. She still had some residuals from the ash. He was unsure what to do about her unusual request. After much time thinking, he decided to get some hunters to accompany him to move the body there. It would get rid of any connection with the event where they lived; it would satisfy Emaea’s curiosity; and it would give him the opportunity to teach Ki’ti how to resist temptation to fall into other mind web traps. He was not sure whom to ask to go. And after his decision was made, he drifted off into slumber.

  Chapter 5

  After Wisdom returned color to the land, Wamumur went outside. He stood on the rock walk surveying the stream bed and the tiny valley that lay between the hill and the place they now called home. The morning was lovely and there were fewer dark clouds. Still, it was cooler than most seasons of warm nights had been. It was great to see color in the landscape return. He did not think he could have tolerated for long the lifeless monochrome vistas they’d left. Sometimes, he longed for home as they knew it by the river before Baambas. It was such a simpler time.

  “Good morning,” Mootmu-na said on his way out to the privy.

  “Morning,” Wamumur said, abbreviating the wish.

  Mootmu-na returned shortly. He stopped to see what Wamumur was looking at. Nothing seemed different to him, so he asked.

  “Nothing much, just taking in the morning. I do have a strange request of you. Would you be willing to accompany Emaea, Ki’ti, and me to take the body of the strange man to the cave where you found Ki’ti?”

  “Sure. I don’t really think that’s strange. To have his body here when we know where his home is—we do know that was his cave, right? Well, it seems fitting.”

  “Mootmu-na, I am convinced that Ki’ti has the story right. How on earth would she have found the cave otherwise? I also had the same senses about the man. Yes, it’s his cave. This would give me a chance to teach Ki’ti to resist falling into other mind webs. She will feel it again and I can keep her out of it.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Yes. Well, I can tell her how to do it. She actually has to do it.”

  “Then, by all means, let’s do it. I’ll get Nanichak-na and Ermo
l-na to come as hunters. I’ll ask Ghanya and Lamul to carry the stretcher. You want to do this today?”

  “If it is convenient.” The names that Wamumur had chosen had changed through Mootmu-na’s intervention, but it didn’t matter to Wamumur. Mootmu-na’s selection was good.

  “We have enough meat so that few hunters need go out today. Today is fine.”

  “Good. Then, when you are ready . . . .”

  “We have to dig up the body, and we’ll have to fix it to the stretcher. Some of the hills are very steep.”

  “I cannot believe I’m doing this,” Wamumur said. He put his fingers against his forehead.

  “It’s your world. You understand these things. If we hunters can help you teach Ki’ti what she needs to learn, that is good, very good.”

  Wamumur went into the cave and wakened Ki’ti. “Get up, Little Girl,” he told her and gave her a hand. She got up and slipped on her tunic. Ahriku yawned and stood. She went out, while Mootmu-na guarded her, and then came to sit with Wamumur on the rock walk edge.

  “We are going to take the body of the strange man to his cave today,” Wamumur said, trying to sound as if this were a perfectly normal thing to do. “I want you to go and to feel again the tug of temptation to fall into the mind web trap. I want you to learn that when you feel your feet in two different worlds, you reject the strange one immediately. You NEVER need to know what these strange mind webs are saying. NEVER. You do need to learn to resist the temptation to pursue them out of curiosity. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Wise One. I really risked my life and interfered with the lives of others when I fell into the mind web of the man with the green bag. I am still sore to prove that I did wrong. I would like to learn to recognize when that extra mind web is there and how to resist. I do not ever want to go through this again. You said you NEVER need to know what another mind web is telling you. Is that really true for all situations?”

  “Yes. There is NEVER any reason for you to pursue these things. You live here and now, not somewhere else before in another time. Once we get that body removed from here, this place won’t have as strong a connection to what happened. But when you think of it in the light of the present day, what reason could you have to need to know that a man was killed here?”