by A. K. Vyas
Papa noticed Emil had jumped a step back. He smiled warmly and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry if I scared you, son. Men shouldn’t hurt little boys,” added Papa, his voice back to normal.
“I’m not so little, Papa,” smiled Emil. “Mama was telling me about animals up in the stars at night; can we see them?’
“That’s a great idea, Babo, we’ll go tonight. Let’s get our daily tasks done and take a nap.”
“I know we usually talk man to man up in the trees at night. Can we bring Mama too tonight?” Emil asked.
Papa chuckled. “It’s not a Man Talk, Babo. Of course, we’ll bring Mama too, it’ll be a star talk!”
The little family was oohing and aahing as the shimmering silver star shot across the vast immenseness of black sky above. They were sitting on the wooden platform Papa had fixed high up their favorite “night tree.” The dark night forest extended downhill in every direction and toward the river.
Mama was pointing at a particularly bright glowing star.
“Babo, that is the north star. When you see this star it’s always north. Then you know the other directions.”
“Where are the star animals?” asked Emil.
Papa relaxed against the trunk with his hands clasped behind his head. Mama began tracing the sky with Emil’s finger in her hand.
“There is Ursa, a little bear. See, starting from the North Star. Over there is Leo the sky lion. See its head and body? Here is Orion the hunter of the sky, a man, see him? OK, and finally over there is a great bull Taurus. See the long horns?”
Emil imagined all of these majestic creatures glowing far away in the heavens above. Are they truly the Sky Spirits of our ancestors? Do they really watch us in eternal silence from so high above? This is a nice thought.
“This is so nice! I wish Cloud could see them too! Is there a sky wolf too, Mama?” Emil asked.
Mama turned him around and pointed out Lupus the Wolf to the south.
Cloud had howled and whined in protest at being left behind in the village.
“Let’s hope Cloud doesn’t leave us a ‘special present’ back in the Gher in protest. That wolf really wanted to come along,” chuckled Papa.
Mama replied rosily, “Cloud has saved all of us so many times. I’m still amazed how you two crossed the river. If he poohs in the Gher so be it, we can clean it. But he won’t.”
She wrapped her arms around them both.” Thank you for saving me, Babo. It was incredibly brave!”
“I didn’t have time to be scared, Mama; well, not until it was over,” admitted Emil.
Papa reflected on this.
It’s true. Life is hard for the People. The hunters honor courage and ridicule cowardice. Both are actually a function of the circumstances and luck. A man could fight for his survival or his loved ones if attacked. He’d be brave if his spear strikes true, and possibly if there was no time to run or think. Clearly the outcome mattered. Papa decided the bravery was in the sacrifice, not the outcome. This realization was enough to keep anyone humble.
However, what Emil had done was truly brave. Anyone who knowingly puts themselves in harm’s way to save another soul, with utter disregard for their own fate, this is the epitome of courage.
Aash watched Lulu and Emil peacefully cuddled together under the stars next to him. He looked up at the night sky, thinking of something his own father had told him long ago.
“Do good with no expectations.”
Papa now truly understood the power of this belief. The Eagle Feather had been a great man.
I understood you better, Father, now that I have a son myself. Greatness is defined by the impact of a person’s actions, for the better of the People. Greatness isn’t perfection; all of us are flawed in our own ways. Yet this potential for something greater perpetually lies within, if we have courage.
The next day started out in normal fashion. The skies were clear and the sun made his usual appearance, as the People went about their daily tasks. The women fixed the Ghers and gathered berries and nuts. The children, escorted by Cloud and Mama, found time to joke, tease, and run. The boys hunted eggs and gathered kindling. Papa worked on crafting and reshaping damaged spearpoints. The hunting teams had success in making meat.
It was the best part of the day again. The People rested, joked, and sang, while the savory meat roasted over the fires. There was just the start of a bit of dancing when Chief Sev and the Elders approached Emil’s family in unison. The Chief held his hands up for silence and the drumming stopped. He motioned for Emil to step forward. The boy did so cautiously, wondering if he was in trouble again.
Chief Sev addressed the People.
“The Eagle Feather meant a great deal to the People. All of you, young and old, have heard the tales. All of us graybeards witnessed them firsthand. Emil, what you did the other day was an act unlike anything we’ve seen since your opa. He served as an inspiration for the People. You took reckless risks, young man. Learn and think carefully on this going forward. Yet life is but one reckless risk. You give the People hope.”
Chief Sev produced an intricately weaved buckskin headband holding a single magnificent eagle father and placed it on Emil’s forehead. The band had Bret’s jumping fish pattern and the feather was a beautiful snow white.
“The Eagle Feather has returned to the People!” he proclaimed in a joyful voice. The People cheered.
Emil wore the Eagle Feather from that day forward.
Chapter Twenty-one
“Wake not a sleeping lioness.” -Chinese Proverb
The Purple Fruit
One lazy, hazy summer morning Emil and the village boys were out hunting bird eggs in the warm reddish-orange sunlight. They were all pointing out Emil’s near empty basket. While he stared at the red sky, they good-naturedly teased about how horribly bad Emil was at finding eggs.
Truth be told, the boys had a point. Emil would’ve been the first to admit he was bored silly by bird egg hunting. However, this was a daily task for the boys. Emil could just hear Papa’s voice reminding him, We do our duty.
There were, in fact, two solid reasons that any bird eggs in the valley were usually safe if Emil was hunting them. The first, which he’d readily admit, was after Dori he was constantly watching over his friends in rocky, low bushy terrain. The boy accepted his parents’ explanation that snakes were just like any other creature trying to survive.
Emil knew this was true; despite this, the fact was he still hated snakes and always would. Papa had drilled into his head that killing is only for food or defense. Emil didn’t kill anything unnecessarily, but he was always alert for snakes.
I think of you often, Bret. I’m grateful for all your lessons, especially on snakes. I remember you told me snakes kill more People, even great hunters, than any other forest creature. This is so true. Tigers or panthers mainly avoid us. Bears also usually steer clear of the village. It’s easy to avoid berry bushes in Grizzly country. Snakes, though, are everywhere around us. They are a threat day or night, hard to see, and lethal. Since Dori’s passing, snake bite has taken four more of the People.
So, while the other boys were focused on eggs, Emil and Cloud kept silent watch over his friends. Emil had trained his white wolf to point out snakes as well. The boy had become skilled at subtly influencing or actually directing his boys away from risky snake areas without a direct word. There was an unspoken truth, which the boys now all subconsciously acknowledged. They followed Emil. He was their leader now, even the older boys.
The second reason, which was also unspoken common knowledge among the People, was that Emil’s mind was special. Chief Sev had presented him with a rare Grizzly bear claw necklace after he’d discovered the Falling Spear mammoth trap. The Falling Spear had taken eight mammoths for the People at the sole cost of four broken ropes and one deep cut to a hand from meat skinning.
The Chief and Elders taught Emil all sorts of things and pushed him hard. He still performed the required daily tasks. Papa and Mama mad
e sure none of this went to Emil’s head. They didn’t actually need to. Like his opa before him, Emil was fiercely devoted to the People. Whenever he was asked to do more than the others, Emil simply replied, “Good.”
He was asked to always run one more lap than the other boys. Good. He had to learn all of the People’s knowledge, skills, traditions and history. Good. Good. Good.
Most importantly, the Chief and Elders had all asked him where and how he came up with all these creative ideas. “My papa told me imagination is the most important skill for a hunter,” Emil replied.
Emil described how sometimes he’d just sit quietly between chores and imagine adventures and think about things. He’d remember something and try to imagine a solution. Mostly though, as he went about his days and nights, it was just always there in the back of his mind. Emil was always imagining and asking, Why or why not?
Chief Sev had emphatically told Emil, in front of Papa, to do as much imagining as possible and to always share any ideas or questions he came up with.
Emil was actually doing both these things just now. As he scanned for snakes, for some reason he was thinking of the bending throwing sticks on the cave wall drawings.
I remember that really windy winter day just before the great winter hailstorm. That Gher binding snapped and sent a rock flying clear out of the village into the forest. Could the bent throwing sticks in the drawing actually be some sort of rock throwing pouch? I should talk to Papa about this.
Chuckles around him snapped him back to the present. Emil smiled and looked down at the single egg in his pouch and laughed. “Good, more baby birds will survive to be born!” He realized he was daydreaming and tried to focus on finding at least a few more eggs.
The boys were under strict orders not to veer too far away on their own. They’d inadvertently strayed away anyway, nearly reaching the river as they jostled and kidded around.
Cloud had wandered off, chasing birds by the river. The white wolf came back with a new purple fruit and dropped it at Emil`s feet. None of the boys had seen this fruit before. Emil picked it up and sniffed it. “Let’s see if it’s good,” said Mats.
Emil drew his obsidian knife, pausing for a second thinking of Bret, then deftly sliced the purple fruit in half. It smelled wonderful. The fragrant juices dripped down the black blade onto his little fingers.
He was just about to take a bite when he remembered Mama’s story about the deadly yew berry seeds. “No!” insisted Emil. “We have to take it back to the village first to see if someone knows if it’s safe to eat.”
“C’mon, Emil, the village is a full walk away. It smells so good! Look, the birds seem to be eating them too,” argued Mats. The other boys chimed hungrily in as well in support.
“Mats,” explained Emil gently, “this is a second mistake. Our first one was not staying next to the village like we’re supposed to. What if it’s just like the mistake we made with the bears at the river? It could be poisonous like the pretty yew berry seeds. Let’s just run home and eat it after asking.”
Mats went pale at this memory and nodded quietly. “Yeah, let’s not make a second mistake.” Then the speedy boy promptly tore into a sprint. “Last one home’s a rotten egg!”
The race home was on with glee.
At the village, Emil showed this purple fruit to Mama. “This is a prugna,” explained Mama. “They are very rare and yummy. It’s Papa´s favorite.” Mama cut the fruit into small pieces, so each of the children got a taste.
“There is none left for Papa now, can we go back and look for more?” asked Emil.
Mama nodded. “Prugna grow on a tree, we will go find it after noon chores.”
Lulu, Emil, and Cloud went to find the prugna tree. “We will surprise Papa. He will love this!” revealed Mama.
Emil giggled. “Papa always says love is in the little things Mama. Does he mean love comes from prugna?”
“No,” smirked Mama with a twinkle in her eye. “He means love is the little kind things we do for one another.” As they followed Cloud into the forest, Mama marveled at the conversations a child of so few winters was capable of.
They finally found the massive prugna tree in a clearing close to the river. Cloud was chasing a flock of birds he had flushed. Emil cheerfully plucked the ripe fruit while chatting away. “Mama, did you know Papa was scared of you?”
“What?” asked Mama. For some reason, Lulu had that same bad feeling from the pond again. Mama smiled and cut two pieces of smoked venison from her leather pouch. She offered one to her son, taking the other for herself.
“Papa taught me special breathing to do when something is scary, like hunting a bear. He did it before your first dance,” Emil explained.
Cloud all of a sudden yipped and flushed two white rabbits and bounded after them toward the river. They watched the rabbits dodge sideways at just the right instant as Cloud went flying by. The wolf was a bit confused deciding which rabbit to chase. The larger rabbit disappeared into bushes by the river, with Cloud in hot pursuit. They laughed at the puzzled look on Cloud’s face.
They were thirsty from the long walk and salty smoked meat. Emil began filling his water pouch in the river. He heard a sudden rapid flutter of wings behind him. A flock of startled birds scattered south from the dark tree line by the river. The wind shifted again.
Emil sniffed the wind, stepping protectively in front of Mama, drawing his black knife at once.
Mama sprang alert, instantly leveling her obsidian-tipped light spear. “Get behind me!” she ordered. Lulu saw tawny, menacing death slithering low into the clearing. The Sabretooth.
The one-eyed cat is smiling wickedly at us, thought Lulu. The big cat had them now, and could take his own sweet time. The prugna tree is closest. We can’t reach it in time. I’ll buy Emil the time.
Mama looked straight and hard into the visceral malevolence of those immense yellow eyes. Lulu’s voice was loud and clear.
“Babo, when I say run, you will climb the prugna tree as fast as you can. You will stay there no matter what happens until Papa comes, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”
Emil knew this tone in her voice. Mama’s gentle eyes had a fierce icy blue glow he’d never seen before. “Yes, Mama,” he responded. The big cat came for them with a blood-curdling roar.
As Emil had just now discovered, Lulu of the cheerful blue eyes, who’d endured the pain of childbirth with joyful indifference. She who loved to dance to the People’s drums and chant stories with the best of the Elders. She who everyone agreed knew more songs than existed, and caroled countless lovely lullabies to her baby. She, the one who rosily sang through life with carefree joy, comforting all the People’s children with tender empathy.
For all of that, Lulu, like most truly gentle souls, was also a woman of savage temperament when provoked. She saw the sinister slits of the Sabretooth’s eyes and the unholy wickedness radiating within. As deadly a killer as there was in the world, was coming for her baby. This brought the savage deep within her boiling to the surface. Lulu commanded, “Run, Emil!”
Mama took a step, leveling her spear, then flew forward like the blue-eyed angel of death herself, meeting the Sabretooth’s charge with her own. Lulu sang out the ancient battle cry of the People with an unbridled fury, known only to the female of the order, and the deadly determination seen only in mothers of any species defending their cub.
“HAR HAR MAHADEV!”
Chapter Twenty-two
“Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself.” -Byzantine proverb
The Gift
Aash was tempering a stubborn spear point near dusk at the first thunderclap. He recalled the tormentous scarlet tint to the sky that morning. His belly grumbled. Fresh meat tonight for a change would be good. The hunters returned early with great trepidation and no meat. Chief Sev called a quick council of the People. His voice was deep with emotion.
“The Sabretooth has returned. The hunters report fresh tracks by the river, it has definitely kille
d. It storms tonight with the new moon. We’ll post night guards. No one leaves the village alone. Make sure there are two hunters with the women and children who go for wood and eggs tomorrow. After the storm, we’ll destroy this Shaitan once and for all.”
Aash returned to their Gher to ask Lulu for some berries. The Gher was empty. He began asking around the village. The boys told him about the prugna, and that Lulu and Emil had left at noon. He knew that area near the river was half a day’s journey. Lulu knew about the storm. They should be well back by now. A familiar dark shadow of fear chilled Aash’s heart. He raced back to the Gher to gather weapons, and lit a torch.
Chief Sev and four hunters were waiting in blocking positions outside the Gher as he reemerged.
The Chief took a deep breath.
“Spearmaker, it’s nearly sunset. We don’t know where they are. The last hunting team heard the Sabretooth’s roar near the river. They distinctly saw a kettle of vultures circling a kill on the horizon. The animals rule the night. It’s a new moon. You can’t track by pitch darkness. The storm will kill your fire. Your woman is clever, and none would wager against Emil’s mind. I’m sure she and the boy are safe up in a tree. You are the People’s only Spearmaker. You can’t go tonight. We will send hunting teams at dawn. I’m truly sorry, Aash. This is an order. I have spoken.”
Aash said, “No.”
He brandished the great ivory war axe as the hunters stepped back, spreading apart. His eyes were cold fire. Sev knew firsthand the blood that ran through those veins, and how this would end. He quickly ordered the hunters back. Papa was racing out of the village as he heard the Chief shout, “We will come at dawn.”
Aash found their tracks shortly before sunset. Cloud’s with them, this is good. The bad news is fresh hyena spoor on their trail. I have to hurry. A pack of hyenas is every bit as dangerous as any Sabretooth.