Aimettual led him to a place above the small river that bordered the village. They climbed up a hill by the river to a large, smooth rock.
“How old are you, Maber?”
“How’d you know my name?” he asked surprised.
“It is an easy thing to learn the names of four new people to arrive at your village. It is harder for the four to learn the names of the village people. Maber, I want to hear your story. I want to know who your people are and how you came to be here.”
Maber began, “I come from the far side of the eastern sea.”
She laughed. “That’s not possible.”
“It is possible,” he said affronted. “I have lived it. Do you want to know about me or not?”
She quieted. “You are serious about having lived on the far side of the eastern sea?”
“Of course. I am a SealEater, a people who are being forced to find a new land. We are called SealEaters because the ice keeps moving towards us. Seals began to use our beach for their haul out place. They are easy to kill there, and with little else to eat, we began long ago as a people to depend on them for food. Their meat is good. We ate food from the sea, most of which was seal.”
“What’s seal?”
“It’s an animal that grows about as long as I’m tall. They swim in the sea, eating fish and other food from the sea. They look a little like a dog in the face. They look a bit like this.” He drew in the sand and in the moonlight she could see the image. “Do you want me to continue?”
“Oh, yes,” she said.
Maber continued. “My land has strange rules. We had six elders. No one could take a wife without approval of every single elder. One elder refused all requests.”
“Why?”
“No one knows. The elder who refuses is my father. He is a man with a thinking place that is mean spirited. Growing up, I was beaten, some bones were broken, my jaw was dislocated, and I was forced to join the explorers who came to this land to seek a new place for us to live.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. You had an awful life.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m fine now. When we arrived here after the sea voyage that frightened me out of my wits, my father kept angering one native group after another. One village threw us out threatening to take our lives. We fled to a river to the north where we were supposed to spread out to explore this land. My father decided to take both us brothers with him. That night, I waited until he and my brother snored. I slipped away into the forest and climbed a hill that had rough rocks all over it. I scratched myself, but I managed to keep my place on that little hill so my father could not find me. The next morning I was awakened by Ghee and Akrumtry, and now I am here. I have never been so happy as I am to be free from my father’s mean ways. Now I am ready to live a good life.”
Aimettual’s concern for this young man was sincere and deep. She hurt when hearing of the abuse he suffered as a child, and silently cheered as she heard of his escape from his father. “I’ve never heard of anyone having gone through so much as a child,” she said truthfully.
“It’s in the past now,” he assured her. “I am finally free from my father and can live a good life now,” he assured her. “I see no value in looking back at what was. I’m not going to return to bring my people here. Others can do that.”
“I understand,” she said quietly.
“Now, tell me your story,” he asked.
“Oh, Maber, my story is shallow. I was born to the brother of the chief and have been bound to obedience, but otherwise, I was free to do what I chose. Garalumuta is a wonderful friend. We grew up together. It is my hope that when we have husbands, we will not have to live far, far apart. We both hope our children will grow up together as we have.”
“You have been blessed by Wisdom,” he said.
“Did you grow up knowing about Wisdom?” she asked.
“No. We know there’s a Creator we call Father Sky, but that’s about all we know. There was a terrible sickness that raged through our land nearly a hundred years ago. It killed our storytellers and those who knew the sacred things. My uncle, At, is the one between the living people and the spirit beings. He does the best he can, but he cannot bring back the storytellers.”
“Your people have had a very hard time,” she said. “We also lost our storyteller. He died in the western sea farther back than any ancestors can say. They just knew there was one. No one knows the stories. We are in a new land, so the stories begin again.”
“Our people have had a hard time, and they handled it poorly. I hope to do better with my life, since I’ve had the chance to observe how easy it is to go wrong, and how wrong doing affects people.”
“How old are you, Maber?”
“Seventeen, and you?”
“I’m fourteen,” she replied. “We are close in age. You, though, have had a lifetime of experience in your years, while I’ve had not much.”
Maber put his arm around Aimettual. She was so soft. He enjoyed her presence.
Aimettual reached out and took his other hand in hers. She looked into his eyes. “I noticed you the first time I saw you and couldn’t take my eyes off you. I wanted to know you right away. You are so far more than I ever could have expected.”
Maber felt himself going weak. What an effect this girl had on him! He struggled to make sense of it, but it made no sense.
“You’ve never been with a woman, have you?” she asked.
“I’ve been in a home with a mother and sisters. Is that what you mean?”
“No,” Aimettual said, trying not to laugh. “I mean, you’ve never made love to a woman. Have you?”
“No.” He said it straightforwardly, not with shame or with arrogance.
“Maybe, while you’re here, I can teach you.”
Maber was shocked. He let go of her and leaned back a little so he could see her face. “You can see us doing that?” he asked.
“Of course. Why else would I have come to talk to you?”
Maber didn’t know how to respond.
“For now, dear Maber, we need to return to the village to sleep. Tomorrow I’ll come for you early.”
Maber stood. She took his hand and put it on her farthest shoulder so his arm rested on her back, and they walked back to the village. Maber felt a sense of warmth inside he’d never known. He liked it.
Back at the village, Aimettual and Garalumuta slid into their sleeping skins and began to whisper as they did almost nightly.
Aimettual asked Garalumuta, “What did you think of Akrumtry?”
“I like him very much. He is able to make me feel comfortable, not demanding, but making me feel wanted. He listens to what I say. He treats me as an equal. That amazes me. And you with Maber?”
“He has had such an awful life, but instead of making him weak and mean, it has made him wise and gentle. I have already decided he will be my husband.”
“How could you have decided that fast? Are you letting your feelings run away with your thoughts?”
“Not at all. I think you’d have had to be there. He is very different. He grew up on the other side of the eastern sea. Can you imagine crossing the sea? I cannot. But he did it.”
“Heed the words of the chief. Keep your reason.”
“I have not lost his command, Garalumuta. I did tell him that when I have a husband I want to live near you so our children can grow up together.”
“You didn’t,” she giggled.
“Oh, but I did. It’s important to me.”
“It’s important to me, too, but it would never occur to me to make such a request.”
“Listen here, Garalumuta, you’d better make your wants known now. If he fails to heed your wants now, what would he do later? Don’t stand back shyly. Make your wants clear.”
“I understand, my friend. You are thinking, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and I don’t plan to quit.”
“I’ll learn from what you have told me.”
“Good.”
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In another part of the village, Maber pulled his sleeping skin over his shoulder just as Akrumtry and Ghee walked into the shelter.
“How’d it go?” Ghee asked Maber.
“I met a lovely young woman. I like her a lot.”
“So, did I,” Ghee said. “Her name is Copatua and she has wonderful long black hair and long black eyelashes. She makes me melt inside when we touch. I am so happy to be here.”
“How about you?” Maber asked Akrumtry.
“Garalumuta is lovely. She is shy, so I had to pull at her to start her to talk. Once she started, she seemed more comfortable. I like her a lot. She has been an obedient person all her life. She wants to be a wife and have children. She says I have to ask others how well she cooks.”
“That sounds wise,” Maber laughed.
“I can see her as my wife,” Akrumtry said.
“This soon, you can decide that?” Maber asked.
“Yes. She would be someone very easy to live with. Her greatest goal is to be a good wife and mother. What else could you want?”
“I would want someone who stirs my passion,” Lag said entering and joining the conversation. He laid down his spear and slipped into his sleeping place.
“Did you find one tonight?”
“No. I met a young woman named Lamelatua. She couldn’t stop talking. She did not stir my passion, instead she made me want to gag her.”
“So, you won’t meet her tomorrow?” Ghee asked.
“You are right, Ghee. I have no desire to hear her again.”
The men chatted only briefly. Maber turned over on his side and went black. He had had a wonderful, never anticipated day.
In the morning Aimettual was true to her word, she met Maber near the structure where he stayed. She was as lovely as he remembered. She took his hand and placed it on her shoulder. They walked back to the same place where they’d been the night before.
“Why did you want to return here?” Maber asked.
“I wanted to see if in daylight the delight was still there,” she replied.
Maber could no longer restrain himself. He leaned down, encircled her in his arms and kissed her.
“Is it?” he asked.
“Oh, yes,” she said with a wide grin.
“You make me feel like a melting glacier,” Maber told her.
“You make me want you,” she said.
“How is that?”
“I find you like a very warm spring that I’m drawn to. I want to touch and be touched by the warmth,” she tried to explain.
“I can understand your words,” he told her.
“Come,” she said, standing and holding out her hand.
They walked hand in hand to the valley in a place he thought very secluded.
“Not very many people know of this place,” she said. “This is the warm spring. Come, let’s enter it to see what may happen.” She began to remove her clothing.
Maber was unsure what to do, so he followed her lead. They stepped into the water together.
“It’s hot!” Maber exclaimed.
“Isn’t it wonderful!” she called back swimming through the water, her hair following behind on the water.
Maber immersed himself in the warm water. It had a not great odor, but the warmth made him forget the odor quickly. The water was clear, and he could see his toes from neck deep in the water. He swam to where Aimettual was on the far side of the pool. He was surprised to find her sitting on a rock edge. She stretched out her arms to him and pulled him to the rock edge between her legs. They embraced in the hot water, steam rising all around them. They came to know each other differently from the night before. They spoke little, each hungering for and finding in the other something they had both missed. Aimettual led him to another rock ledge, very smooth, about two by three man-lengths and a little less than two feet from the water’s surface. There they consummated the love that had grown so fast.
“In the bright light of day,” Maber laughed. “What a joy you are,” he said, sparkles dancing in his eyes.
“As are you! I want you, Maber, for my husband. I never want to be without you.”
“And I, you,” he said.
“We will have to return to the village to ask the chief,” she said.
“Now?” he asked.
“Of course, now,” she said with a girlish giggle.
They swam to the other side of the pool, climbed out, and dressed. They skipped and jogged back to the village.
Back at the village, Maber saw the chief first. He led her to the chief and they waited for him to respond.
The chief nodded.
“Chief Trajamuranta,” Maber said, “Aimettual has stolen something from me.”
The chief’s jaw dropped. Aimettual was shocked and stepped to the side.
“She has stolen my love, Chief. I must ask for your permission to take her as my wife.”
“And, Chief,” Aimettual said following along, “Maber has likewise stolen my love. This is a very special man and I ask your permission to take him as my husband.”
“You have my permission,” the chief said, his eyes dancing in mirth. Permission had been requested in many ways, but this one was definitely unique. The chief realized as soon as he saw them where they’d been. It was too cool to go in water anywhere but the hot pool. He could envision the day’s events.
“There are three temporary shelters for this purpose. Gather your things from where they lie and choose whichever of the three huts you want for yours.”
“I know which one to choose,” Aimettual said, grinning.
“Then let us stop to gather our things, and when we have them, you lead the way,” Maber said. He couldn’t help but think quickly that if he hadn’t been forced to make this voyage, he might never have had a wife. And such a wife he had.
They laid their sleeping skins and personal items inside the hut Aimettual had chosen. It was atop a slight rise. Of the three huts, it was the largest. They set up the hearth in the forefront near the entryway. That gave them a lot of space for their sleeping place.
Aimettual was delighted to see the furred skin Maber had for a sleeping skin. It was soft. She quickly realized it was made from many pelts.
“It’s seal skin,” he told her. I am SealEater. That is the skin of seals I eat.”
Aimettual stretched out on the seal skin.
“Wait,” Maber told her. “Come here.”
She came to him. He pulled her soft leather dress over her head and laid it on the sleeping skin pile. Maber laid her down on the seal skin sleeping skin. Aimettual’s body, he realized, was beautiful. He sat beside her and ran his fingers over her soft skin. She murmured. She touched him noticing the immediate change. They lost themselves in each other for a long time. Finally, satiated for the moment, they dressed and left their new temporary hut.
Maber and Aimettual went to Akrumtry and Garalumuta.
“I want to introduce you to someone, Akrumtry,” Maber said in an utterly serious tone.
“To whom?” Akrumtry asked.
“To my wife.” Maber grinned.
“You did it that fast?” Akrumtry asked stupefied.
“When you know, you know,” Maber said.
Akrumtry and Garalumuta looked at the couple. Clearly there was a huge difference in the two. Suddenly, Akrumtry understood. They had done something, probably repeatedly, that he had not done this day. And they glowed.
“Garalumuta, remember the hot pool I showed you once?” Aimettual asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“I suggest the two of you go there for a swim,” the young woman said.
“If Akrumtry agrees,” Garalumuta said smiling.
“Akrumtry agrees,” Akrumtry said with force. The two left. Before evening, that couple would also be husband and wife.
That night, in the men’s place, Ghee and Lag wondered how the others had managed so quickly to find wives. Ghee genuinely liked Copatua, but he was not as at ease as the other me
n had been, nor was Copatua seasoned in the search for a husband.
It was late in the day when Lag met Muhurandu. They were a good match, but very little of the evening remained. They planned to meet first thing the next morning. He entered the men’s place uplifted in hope of finding a wife.
The man who had been pursuing Aimettual was greatly angered when he discovered she’d taken a husband. He was threatening loudly and was overheard. He was arrested by guards and taken to the chief. The chief, watching the man’s inability to control himself, ordered the guards to escort him out of the territory immediately, while he signaled to the guards, that the escort was not to send the man on his way but to kill him. As far as the chief was concerned, Aimettual was unsafe as long as this man had such irresponsible ideas that somehow she belonged to him or that he had every right to her. The guards left with the man. He was gone and buried before dawn. The guards were at the morning meal even before it was served.
At the end of three days, Lag and Ghee had wives and both could not be happier. They had a goal coming to the Maikumatu, and they were successful.
In their hut, Maber and Aimettual had long discussions as to where they would live. Aimettual wanted to remain where she was. Maber on the other hand wanted to continue to the west. He wanted to see this land from sea to sea.
They went for a walk to calm things down before resuming the discussion. They joined Akrumtry and Garalumuta who were sitting on a rock overlooking the small river.
“How are you two?” Akrumtry asked, his arm around Garalumuta.
“Not the greatest. I want to travel to the western sea, and Aimettual wants to remain here. We have been in disagreement all afternoon.”
“The chief can solve that for you,” Akrumtry said, almost without thinking. “If you go to the western sea, I’d like to do that also. I’ve heard that the land there is wonderful. What do you think, Garalumuta?”
“I’d like to see the western sea. I’ve never seen a sea. It would be easier to travel to a place such as the sea before we have children.”
Aimettual said, “I feel outnumbered. What’s wrong with staying here?”
“Once you’ve traveled, it makes you more curious about what’s over the next hill or around that bend. You want to know where rivers lead. You know there’ll come a time when the traveling has to end, but when you can do it, it’s wonderful.” Akrumtry felt he had expressed what he wanted to convey so that someone who’d never traveled might have an idea of what called to them.
The SealEaters, 20,000 BC Page 26