When they reached the boat, boatmen came down the ladder to help them with the meat. Manak-na and Yomuk had skinned and quartered it on shore to bring only the quarters aboard. They would hang the meat at the back of the upper deck. As soon as they hung it, they took it down. Birds went after the meat. The men took the hind quarters and hung them in the back of the hut on the right and the forequarters they hung in the back of the hut on the left.
As soon as Rokuk saw Manak-na’s shoulder, he told him to sit and called to Mokul to take care of the shoulder. Mokul brought a container with many herbs and some liquids. He took a water bag and ran water over Manak-na’s shoulder and cleaned it with a piece of soft leather followed by more water. He poured something on his shoulder that briefly tormented him like the stings of many bees. Then he took some salve made with honey and pasted it over the shoulder where the bear had scraped him. Wrapping his shoulder and chest with strips of soft leather followed that. Manak-na was grateful for Mokul’s help. He knew that, left alone, a scrape like he got could cause sores that would be worse than the scrape. Sometimes people sickened from untreated openings into their skin; sometimes they died.
When asked about the bear, Rokuk refused it. According to Rokuk it was meat to eat only if you were starving. Manak-na liked bear meat, but he reasoned the meat would feed shore birds and the great birds he’d seen flying spirals in the air. It never occurred to him that he could have brought some on board for his personal consumption.
When the other men returned, some had water and some had green plants. The green plants made Yomuk salivate. He yearned for greens. He and the other men would thoroughly enjoy their deer meat when it was ready to eat. Rokuk liked to hang it for a few days before eating it. One of the men who brought the greens told Rokuk that there was a berry patch with ripe berries available where they got the greens. Rokuk pondered the information and then sent four men to pick the berries and put them in grass bags he supplied. Meanwhile, several men who had not gone ashore fished and caught several great fish for the evening meal. The berry pickers returned with four full bags of berries. The berries would protect the boatmen from the sailing sickness. Oranges, lemons, and limes were also effective for that purpose but they didn’t grow that far north. Coconuts were not effective for preventing sailing sickness. After checking to be sure all were on the boat, Rokuk called out the order to bring up the anchors. When that was done and the stones had been placed in the back of the boat, Rokuk called the rowers, and slowly the boat backed out into the channel and they rowed southward.
Manak-na sat near Ralm and asked, “What are the people like where we are going?”
Ralm sat there for a moment thinking. “They’re mostly Mol, if that’s what you mean. There were also people like you long, long, long ago, but they have merged with the Mol, so the differences don’t show very much any longer. At least that’s what I’ve been told. There were fewer people like you to start. That was generations and generations and generations ago.”
“Why do they stay there?”
“You’ll see for yourself. It’s warm there all year. For those who have difficulty with cold weather, it’s an ideal place. Also, there is food that isn’t available at home. There are fruits everywhere. You can walk along and pick one and eat it as you walk. People have branched out and they live in a variety of places. Some like to explore and they have traveled all over. Many of them died from a volcano a few years after they first arrived. They were covered deep in ash. Only two pairs of people survived, because they had chosen to live in a different place. Even so, they wanted to stay here. That was in the very beginning of the travel time. The land is vast. Once you pass the middle of the earth, the sky is different so you have to learn to navigate at night by a different set of stars.”
Manak-na again was fascinated with how the mind of the Mol worked. He asked about people and heard about people, fruit, travel, a volcanic eruption, and the lower earth night sky. Manak-na had been trained to listen to the question and answer the specific question, not add other details. All he felt that he had discovered is that the people where he was going liked warm weather and were essentially Mol, but some of his People had been to this land. He wondered how.
“Ralm, can you tell me why you keep traveling from your home to where we’re going and back again?”
Again, Ralm thought. Finally, he replied, “They are our people. If ever they want to come back here, we can bring them back.”
Manak-na asked, “Have any ever asked to come back?”
“Not in my memory. They have been there for too many generations. But we like to know how they are, what they have learned there, and they learn from us. They are our people and we are theirs. I think we do this because we have done it for longer than memory. It also tells us about the earth we live on. It’s just what we do.”
While they talked, the cook brought the skin for boiling some of the greens. He set it up and then brought the greens they’d eat raw. He ran water over a bag of the berries. Manak-na hungered. Sometimes it was tough to sit by the cooking place. To have to smell the food and wait for a long time to eat required much patience.
That night the wait was worth it. They had fresh fish, cooked greens with some raw ones, and berries. It was delicious. They had enough fish to have more than they put on their bowls the first time. The same was true of the greens. Once they had taken berries, Rokuk put the container away for another meal.
For days and days they traveled south. They passed some rough water as the sea entered a very wide place that seemed to be a river or a huge cove, Manak-na could not tell which. They saw several whales. Things calmed down some when they reached the other side of the great opening.
Mokul had dutifully taken care of Manak-na’s bear wound. Finally he removed the covering for the last time. The wound showed clearly, but it had healed well.
From the beginning of the trip to the present, Manak-na noticed that the temperature had warmed up greatly. At night he no longer pulled his covers over every inch of his body. Some nights he didn’t even need a covering, but he used one anyway. More and more frequently he dreamed of Domur. He wondered how his wife was faring with him so far away. They had always been so close. He knew he’d hurt her when he left, but he thought she understood. So much he would have to share when he returned. He wondered whether Domur would want to hear what he’d seen and learned. He knew Ki’ti would. Manak-na drifted off to sleep.
Sometime in the night a storm came up. Winds began slowly and increased steadily. Men who ran the boat at night saw lightning and could hear thunder in the distance. One of them went to waken Rokuk. He insisted that in real storms he be awakened. The man quickly realized that this was a storm to respect. He ordered the lowering of the sails and masts. He told the boatmen to check their ties and then to check them again. He told them to anchor with long ties. That would give the boat some flexibility in the wind and waves. Rokuk went around the boat to check that everything was well tied down. He found some water containers that needed better tying. Otherwise, all seemed to be well done. He looked at the double hulled boat. This would be a real test, he believed. He told the first person in each hut to be certain that all the sleepers were tied up. They crept down their huts and waked each man to tell him a storm was getting near and to tie up. Panic entered the heart of Yomuk when he heard the news. He tried to place this storm to come as adventure, but he found it almost impossible. He kept checking his tie up. It irritated him that Manak-na had tied up, checked the tie up, and rolled over and resumed sleeping. How could he sleep with a big storm approaching? he wondered.
Winds rose and the boat twisted and slid down high waves creaking out deafening complaints. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. Yomuk sat curled up with his skin around his back and pulled forward. He shivered from fright, not cold. The noise was high and finally Manak-na awakened. When he saw Yomuk, he realized that the youth was terrified. Part man, he was, Manak-na thought, and part boy. He slid over and put his arms arou
nd Yomuk. Yomuk put his face into Manak-na’s chest and wept. Finally, the warmth and security of Manak-na flowed into Yomuk. He calmed, stopped shivering, and tried to gain some strength to fight the fear that was troubling him. Manak-na moved back away from Yomuk. With Manak-na so close and seemingly unafraid, Yomuk had grown a seed of courage.
Just as his courage began to sprout, a wave covered the boat, causing the roof of the hut to hit Yomuk in the head. It startled him and Manak-na. Yomuk reached out and grabbed Manak-na’s hand. Manak-na resisted the inclination to reach out again to the boy with his arms. If Yomuk was now satisfied with his hand, that was good. Yomuk worked hard to regain his seed of courage. It grew very slowly. He knew he’d survived being hit by a wave that came from above but did not ruin the boat. That helped his seed of courage grow a tiny leaf.
The storm began to abate when Wisdom began to return color to the land and sea. Rokuk realized that one anchor line was missing. It hadn’t become untied; it had broken in the storm. It was good that they had more anchors and oars than they needed, but Rokuk felt that when they stopped next, they should look for more anchors—just in case.
Yomuk was sleepy when the drum sounded, but he was glad to be able to untie and get out of the hut. He and Manak-na looked at the boat and were surprised to see no damage except for one oar that had broken in half. The storm had been fierce. Each ate eagerly and went to his sailing position. Monotonous travel would begin again. Yomuk realized that although the storms were very frightening, they did relieve the terrible boredom that came from sailing day after day with little change. He did still think, though, that he’d prefer total boredom. He wondered why Manak-na chose this adventure.
As days passed first one and another of the boatmen shed their clothing. Water was not good for leather, and the air was warm. It took a while before Manak-na and Yomuk shed their clothing. Once they’d done it, they were pleased and wondered why it took them so long.
Just before Wisdom began to suck color from the land and sea to shift it to vivid skies above, Manak-na noticed that there appeared to be a fire off to his left on the land. He asked Ralm if he thought it might be a camp fire or one started by lightning from a storm.
“I am certain there are a few people living in there. You never see them at the shoreline. Just a few tiny fires from time to time. I don’t know where they come from or why they are here, but I’ve seen them for years. As we go farther south, you’ll see more of them, maybe as many as one every six or seven days. There never seems to be a larger group of fires, just the occasional one. They could be our people adventuring or lost, or people from somewhere else.”
“How sad it would be to be lost in all that forest alone.”
“Unless you wanted to get away from people,” Ralm added. “They may not be lost at all.”
“Why would anyone want to be so alone?” Manak-na asked truly mystified.
“I don’t really know, but I do know there are those who want to be alone and some who travel from place to place just to see what there is to see. I’ve only known one loner, personally. He never fit in anywhere, so he went off to the forest to be alone. We saw his fires off and on for years and years. Then either he died or he moved too far away for us to see the fires anymore.”
The drum sounded and the men waited for their relief, then went below to relieve themselves, and went back up to the huts to sleep.
The People had prepared for the move and had been trekking for quite a long time. Each time they lost the path, they would build a cairn with one arm and a head. The arm pointed to the direction Manak-na and Yomuk would need to go to find them. They had made six cairns at this point. They had reached some hills and they moved a shorter distance daily. Along with the People there had been a raven that followed them. The raven, the People were certain, was the one that had the broken wing Tiriku found and Likichi healed. When they’d stop to camp, sometimes the raven would call to Tiriku and Tiriku would race to meet the raven. Tiriku would often go out in the evening and the bird would come down and spend a little time with the dog. It was as if they were great friends of different groups who saw each other only infrequently. Then, the bird would rise up and fly away.
Kai-na and Nanichak-na marveled at the path made so long ago by giants.
Kai-na asked Nanichak-na, “How do you think the path has lasted so long?”
“I think it was used for a very long time. That would have made it hard, and that would make it so things did not grow on it easily. But you have to realize that some parts are just gone already. Without her spiritual guide leading her, Ki’ti would never be able to find the path once it disappears,” the old man said and continued, “I wonder whether it has been such a long time since the giants were around. Suppose they were here more recently than we think.”
“Now, I’d rather not think about that,” Kai-na said quietly, his eyes darting around into the forest on either side. “I wouldn’t like to see live ones!”
“Nor I,” Nanichak-na agreed.
Some time passed and Kai-na asked the old man, “Have you seen any evergreens up here or anywhere on the path since we left the cave where the paths crossed?”
“No, Kai-na, and I have looked carefully. For some reason, if we see any, I’d like to stop to see what we might find. Look at that raven! That is the strangest thing. I enjoy watching it with Tiriku at night. Have you seen the other raven that flies a way back from ours? I think it’s the mate of our raven.”
“I haven’t noticed, but I’ll look for it.”
The People reached the peak of the pass they were following. The downhill part of the path was wider and far more open. They could see a valley below with a small hill near the path at the far end. Beside the little hill there were some evergreens. The People were eager to reach the hill and it was nearing time for Wisdom to begin to suck color from the land. They reached the valley in a short time and in about the same length of time again they arrived at the hill. Kai-na and Grypchon-na went to the spruce trees and found a small cave behind them. The cave was not a natural cave, but it appeared to have been hammered into the hill, probably by the giants judging from the height of the ceiling. They wondered how they had made it, but there was little time to try to figure that out. They searched the cave carefully to determine whether it was useable for the night. It was. They called out for the People to come quickly, and two women, Ey and Minagle, came with brooms to sweep the cave.
Men checked the area and told the girls where to set up the dogs. This time Mona and Lakop had responsibility for the dogs. They unburdened them, got meat sticks for them, and went searching for a water source. Tongip-na saw them looking and told them that there was a creek beside the cave on the north side. The girls got the short, new watering containers made of aurochs stomach just for the dogs and filled them. The dogs were very thirsty. They showed the dogs where to relieve themselves. The girls went to the cave to see what else needed to be done.
Domur wasn’t busy in the cave as she normally was. She sat upon her sleeping skins, tired and sad. She slumped and her shoulders sagged.
“What’s the matter?” Likichi asked.
“I am just tired. I miss Manak-na so badly.” There were unshed tears in her eyes.
Likichi sat on the skins beside her. She put her thin arm around her son’s wife. “I, too, miss him, Domur. But we have things that need doing. You have to realize that he is on a very dangerous journey. He may or may not return. I have a son and a grandson on that journey. I hurt, missing them even as you do. You must fight letting the hurt eat you, my dear one. Keep busy and spread some of that love that aches to others who need it. Many of the little ones in big families often are overlooked. Find a place to spread your love, my dear. Love grows when spread. When you let something eat you, sometimes it makes your body ill. That would not be good. There is little cure for it. If it goes on and on, it can kill you.
“I’d think the cure would be the return of Manak-na,” Domur said.
“No
, my dear. That might just make his return such that he would find his wife nearing death with no hope to turn it around. That would make him feel guilty of something he should not feel guilty for.”
“It would serve him right!” Domur replied grumpily.
“Domur, my dear, your mind web is already suffering from bitterness. You need to forgive him for wanting to have his adventure, unless you are perfect and never wanted something you shouldn’t have. Manak-na did not understand that if he wanted to adventure he should not have joined. He has made a mistake that hurt you. You are compounding the problem by acting like a spoiled child. If Manak-na had died, you wouldn’t be acting like you are. Who knows, maybe he is dead. Time will tell on that. Meanwhile, you need to pull yourself together. That starts with truly forgiving Manak-na for whatever you’re holding against him. Forgive him fully, without condition. Do not allow yourself to dwell on his adventure. You’ll see him when and if you see him. Until then, live. Get busy giving of yourself to others. There is great need here with all the little ones. Right now you’re no good to anyone including yourself. Wake up before you make yourself so sick that you cannot turn it around. How would Tuma and Mhank feel without a mother, or Rish, Van, and Solu feel with no Izumo? Choose life instead of continuing the bitterness. That is all I have to say.” She did a palm strike and left.
Manak-na's Story, 75,000 BC Page 17