He looked her over carefully, and still could see some paleness underneath her tan, but at the same time she didn’t appear to be as drawn out as earlier. He breathed out deeply still concerned saying. “I know, but are you sure?” He walked up behind her and gave her one of those shoulder rubs that she loved and heard her respond as she sighed with pleasure. “We can wait, we really can.”
Looking over her shoulder and up at him she said, “That really does feel good, but I’m okay. It seems whatever that this was has faded and right now I’m good to go.”
Still reluctant he shrugged. “Okay, I’ll let you set the pace, and if you feel like you need to come back and lay down or something just say the word and we can come back.”
She stood up, looked him in the eyes, smiled, saying, “Works for me.” And headed off in the direction where they had discovered that crack in the wall. He paused as he watched her walk away, shook his head, shrugged, and then followed.
It took them the rest of the morning to reach the split in the wall – not that this was the only such place. They had checked out a number of these cracks or splits finding the rest nothing but what they appeared. As they approached, they looked at the ground and could see a subtle trail or path that appeared to be heading directly into that crack, and once they reached and studied what was there, were really surprised by the size of the opening. There was some low lying brush that had grown over the opening and this crack ran parallel to the cliff making it appear to be just a small crack unless one happened to be standing at the right place to see that it went deeper then it appeared. Once they entered into it, they got their second surprise. The actual entrance was narrow but immediately past that point it opened up wide enough that they could walk side-by-side. Still the cliff walls remained tight along this trail making it impossible to go anywhere but along this trail. And because of the steepness of the sides and the overall narrowness, the trail remained in deep shadow furthering its invisibility. Absolutely nothing to show that this trail had existed from the outside, making it easy to overlook.
She shivered briefly because of the change in temperature, leaving the sunny canyon that they had been in to this perpetually shadowed trail. With her shiver she could see once again his concern. She smiled and again confirmed that she was all right and they continued hiking down this hidden twisting trail that literally cut through the mountain. They truly didn’t know how long they had been following this trail but suddenly it made a sharp left, and like the entrance from the other canyon, suddenly dumping them into a very beautiful valley – a valley that appeared to be completely enclosed. And the trail – the one that they had used to enter the valley – giving the appearance of being the only access, although a well hidden one as they had found out. Since, like the other side, this point appeared to be as well hidden, they quickly built another cairn to insure that they could find their way back out. The suns were well towards late in the day when they exited into this hidden valley, so removing their packs and taking a quick break they decided that they would make the trip back. There was no time left to do any exploring at all. On the morrow they’d pack everything and move into this valley to explore it and see what hidden secrets would be here. At this moment they really didn’t know if this hidden valley was the legendary Valley of the Gods or not. As twisted and broken as the land was here, this could just be another of the hundreds. Kal, watching Jura carefully, couldn’t see anything that reflected that illness she had earlier in the morn so was at a loss as to what had happened. So with dusk not far off they headed back out the trail, pushing so that it wouldn’t be completely dark by the time they reached their camp.
Yet when they awakened next morning she again was ill. Just what was going on with her? It seemed like her stomach couldn’t handle anything in the mornings, well at least the last two anyway. And again, like yesterday, after a short period of time and eating of the travel bread, things settled down, and they made their move, packing up everything and moving deeper into the broken land. With their pack beast they reached their destination just a little earlier, set up their camp close to the pathway in and out of this canyon. And in the distance they could see some wild herd beasts grazing, and every once in a while staring at them as if they had never seen the likes of them before. They could hear falls, although, because it was cross canyon from them, it was muted somewhat, and not too far from where they had set up their camp, the stream worked its way across the valley and disappeared somewhere towards the herd beasts. And as the suns set, it was on a beautiful, peaceful, tranquil setting. It would be another day before the true exploring would begin, and with the seasons slipping away as they were this would be close to the end of the search for another cycle of the seasons.
Marking off on their calendar the end of another 9-day, they sat around their campfire enjoying the peace that seemed to permeate this place. Slowly as the heat of the day dissipated and the chill of the night arrived, with its soft down canyon breezes, they moved closer to the fire saying nothing and enjoying what was being offered. Finally Kal spoke saying, “If this place isn’t the Valley of the Gods, it surely could be. I can’t remember feeling this free of worries or having to think about ways to keep the predators away from our pack beast. It’s like we’re away from the worries of this world, and such things aren’t allowed here. I know that it’s just an illusion, but at this moment that’s the way it feels to me.”
Jura thought a moment, and nodded her head in agreement. Yet there was that nagging worry as to what was causing her to be sick in the mornings, and yet feel okay the rest of the day. Just what was going on anyway? Still, he had a point; this place seemed to emanate a quiet and peace that they hadn’t felt anywhere else. She sighed, for some reason she felt that all was right with the world and that didn’t make sense. Maybe it had something to do with the atmosphere here in this hidden place – one of so many in this area. “Yes, I feel it too. But I don’t know why. And maybe it’s not important to know why, but to just accept it and leave it at that.”
* * *
This is getting old, she thought as she was again behind their portable shelter heaving her guts out. What is happening to me? And whatever it is, why is this only happening in the morning, and I feel normal the rest of the day? And why is it that that really bland, travel bread seems to be the only thing that settles this down and I’m fine the rest of the day? She had no answers to these questions and she knew that Kal didn’t. She could see the worry on his face since this was the third day in a row that this was taking place. They were far from anyone who could help if this turned out to be more than a nasty inconvenience. Yet, at the moment that’s all it seemed to be. She had never liked throwing up, and hated the taste it left in one’s mouth, but just couldn’t keep it from happening. Well, maybe it would go away in a few days – although, she had to admit, if today was the day it went away it wasn’t soon enough. Once this bout was finished she headed for the fire and the bread that he handed her. There was little else he could do. Again like the other two days once she had gone through the episode, had eaten that bread, her stomach would settle down, even though certain smells would make her queasy, but once past this point she’d be okay.
With the suns rising over the walls that surrounded this valley, they viewed an idyllic scene making both want to sit and watch as the day came alive. It was time to explore the valley and see what was really here. So they started by doing a circuit around by going from right to left as one looked to the center of the valley. As they headed this way they could hear the sounds of the waterfall getting louder, and as they turned a small corner, they could see the full falls in front of them. They could see that as time had passed that it had cut back creating this deeper indentation in the cliff walls. And that’s exactly what you would have called them – walls. As they looked around the valley it appeared that all the walls were almost vertical. Climbing them would be next to impossible. As they approached the falls, the mist off them cooled the area and created small
rainbows as the sunlight filtered through the mist. The beauty almost took their breath away. Still standing here they began to chill and moved on back into the sunlight to get warm once again.
On this first time around they carried nothing but some water and food for a zenith meal if they were out and away from their camp that long. Later when they began their serious exploration of this valley they’d bring their noting materials so that they could write down their first impressions, and what they discovered here. Once they had warmed, they continued their trek around the perimeter, and soon discovered a number of caves in one of the faces, and what appeared to have been a possible exit that had long been closed from what looked to be a landslide. Guessing at the location of this closed exit they could see that it might have led to the desolation. They knew that they had to be close and this one seemed to point west. And as the suns continued to climb into the sky they found that this place was actually much larger than they first thought. It was nearing the zenith and they guessed that they were less than half way around the perimeter. Soon they’d break eat their midday meal and finish the circuit.
The valley had many areas that formed offshoots from the main area, enlarging its size tremendously, and it was close to dusk by the time they had made the initial circuit getting a feel for the size and shape. This valley seemed to be a world untouched by any. There seemed to be a peace that lay over the area – one that they could more sense than feel. So when they finally reached their basecamp, they were relaxed. It seemed more like an outing than them exploring a hidden valley deep in the badlands. They thought that most likely they had located what could have been originally exits to west out of this valley. Exits that probably emptied into the desolation, but so much time had passed since these routes existed that it was difficult to tell whether it was their imagination or what they surmised was correct. The only way they truly would know would be to locate, from the desolation, the other side where these blocked trails exited. But that would be for a later time, if they felt the need to confirm what they had concluded.
So with night they watched as the major moon rose over the cliffs and lit the area with a soft ghost like light that made the valley even more magical. They could almost see spirits move through the grass and trees, crossing the small stream. But all they truly heard were the night crawlers as they sounded off looking for a mate. And since the sound was unbroken they knew that nothing was out there. If there had been a danger, then they would have fallen silent – silent until that danger or perceived danger had disappeared. So, with this music in their ears they fell asleep in each other’s arms, knowing that on the morrow they would begin to search the center of this hidden paradise, and soon, and very soon, be heading back to their home.
* * *
As had become the norm for Jura, she went through her normal bout of throwing up, but instead of grumbling about it came back from behind the shelter smiling. Kal looked at her questioningly as she sat down next to him and put her arms around him and laid a big kiss on his mouth. “What was that for?” He asked, quite surprised by her actions.
“Well, mate of mine I have to say I have been a little slow to recognize what this is all about.” Here she laughed
“All about?” He looked around and asked, “Are you meaning what we are doing? I thought we knew all about that.”
Again she smiled and just shook her head. “I see you’re just about as dense as I’ve been. Haven’t you figured this out yet?”
Still at loss at the point she was trying to make, all he could do was shake his head – again not sure where she was leading him – although, as far as he was concerned, she could lead him wherever she wanted.
“Okay … look, and think about it. What would cause a female to be sick in the morning and then get better as the day goes on?”
He got this look in his eyes and suddenly realized what she had been trying to tell him. “Are you saying that you think you are carrying?”
With that she laughed again and threw her arms around him and said, “Yes!”
He sat there stunned. It was the last thing he expected. Although he couldn’t deny that they had been quite physical out here. But it was the very last thing he expected. “Wow”, was all he could say. He then hugged her back, completely at loss for any words. He whispered once again, “wow.”
With that news it changed the atmosphere for both of them but they were close to returning anyway, and this early in the carrying would only mean the morning sickness and very little else. It would be later that problems could develop and that would be under the care of the females that helped other females through this time in their lives.
As they worked their way to the center of the valley, and in an area filled with tall grass they found it. The alter they all had read and studied back in the learning centers. It was facing the section of the cliffs that the waterfall bordered. In front of the alter was a wall, which was built of stone but was only about knee high. They saw that its shape was such that it formed a “V” and the point of that “V” pointed in the direction of the same cliffs where the alter faced. So, it had been here in this very valley, so very long in the past that their ancient ancestors had met their gods face to face, changing the name forever to the Valley of the Gods. Although how that truly came about and what had happened here still was an unknown, a mystery that may never have a true answer. They knew that such gods did not exist, and that there were natural laws at play, for which no gods controlled. There was one creator who had created everything, as they saw and understood it, and laid the laws of this world down, and would not have appeared as their ancestors had insisted that their gods had.
So understanding and solving this part would come to others. While they had yet to accomplish everything they had set their sights upon, with the carrying that Jura was now doing, it would have to wait for another time. And who really knew if that other time would arrive? Their desire to search the Sacred Mountains would now be on hold, for who knew how long. And maybe in the end it would fall to one of their ancestors to discover those hidden secrets, those other mysteries that lay deep in those mountains. They had accomplished what they had set out to do – changing myth to fact – proving the writings to be accurate and it was enough. Now they had their true lives ahead of them and it was very promising – yes, very promising indeed. Much of their past had been what they had searched and discovered, but it was another generation’s past. Now was the time to create their own history, and with the changes that this had wrought, their future appeared to be truly strong – strong indeed.
EPILOGUE
With the suns rising it promised to be another hot and humid day. He was alone on this island and how he had arrived here was a blur and how he would find a way off an unknown. At least there was fresh water and plenty of food – although his choices were few. He looked to the east once again as he had done every day since arriving here. It had been difficult at the beginning and the passage of time hard to track. There only appeared to be two seasons here – wet and dry. So he guessed that he must have been here for approximately three cycles of the seasons, but he had no way to track the passage of time accurately. The island was large enough to provide support for a small population, at which he laughed bitterly, since at the moment, it was a population of one. His clothes were rags, a remnant of their former selves.
He cursed his lack of control over his anger for what was probably the thousandth time. Had he controlled it that night then he wouldn’t be here now. But that was the past, and again he laughed bitterly since the past was his specialty. But no more, no, he was stuck. He couldn’t see the mainland that was just over the horizon, so he paced his prison. After all that’s what it really was. At least it might as well have been. He knew that there were small boats that worked the large sea, but rarely came to these islands. There was nothing to attract them here. Some day that could change, or maybe some sailor would get brave and want to see what was out here, but for now here he was. He truly missed th
e game, the fencing between his rivals and himself. He wondered what had happened to those two and if they had been successful in what they were trying to accomplish. But here there were only the winds, the island, the sandy beaches, and the squawking of the feathered fliers.
He remembered that night, when his anger drove him into the wrong part of the village, the fight that had followed – the collapsing of that old dock after he had received that wound. Yet, even as he recounted this he smiled. Before that knife wound he had taken four of the bastards out. He still had it. But then that dock collapsed and into that rain gorged river he went with the rest of them. He had been lucky that he had found a major piece of that dock and had clung to it as it tore down that river trying to shake him off as a beast shook water off its back. Yet somehow he had remained with it. Eventually exhausted he had passed out, only to find that it was broad daylight and he was now in the sea when he had awakened. And at that time panic had risen as there was no land in sight. And in whatever water flow he was in, it continued to push him east. Somewhere during this time he passed out again only to awaken when he found himself beached on this island and that had been a long time ago.
A Taste of History Past Page 32