I Am Adam

by J.T. Twerell

  Chapter 6

  Year 5

  Adam watched as Star and Wellna brought the sheep back into the clearing. He was proud of the boy and how much work he put into taking care of the sheep. Wellna did all the hard work of keeping the sheep together, but Star was willing to help guide them to the lake and back each day.

  Adam bent down and pulled another rock from the soil he was clearing. This area was good ground and fortunately did not have as many of the rocks and roots as the other field he had cleared. This would be the third time they had planted the seeds from the grass-with-seeds and had a large return. Sun had learned to grind the seeds to a fine dust, and she could add water to the mixture and put it over the fire where it turned into round things that were good to eat. She also found that the food from the forest was good to eat with the round things. Adam looked over to the sleeping place and saw Sun working on something with the two little females. She had found a way to take the tall grass by the lake and make it into things that they used to carry food from the clearing and forest. He was sure the little ones were having more fun than working, but that is how it should be. Whatever they needed to do, they would accomplish, but they always had time to play and have joy.

  Looking to the far side of the clearing, Adam saw the flying beings circling over the nearby trees. This usually meant that a sheep or some other animal was either dead or dying. Turning, he shouted to Sun, "I am going to see what the flying things are doing over there." She waved back to him, and then he called out, "Star, come with me to see what is happening at the end of the clearing." The boy ran to Adam, and with great joy, jumped into his arms and swung up on Adams shoulders. They both ran across the clearing with Star laughing and bouncing all the way.

  Sun watched them run across the field and laughed at the way they had fun together. Turning back to her weaving, she smiled at Dawn and Eve as they worked together to make a small carrying mat. Adam said they were small Suns and she agreed that they had her fair hair and light eyes, but they definitely had Adams chin and shoulders. Dawn was the active one with little desire to sit still very long; Eve was always content to sit and play or simply look around and be still. They looked exactly alike except for the small brown spot that Eve had on her back. Sometimes it was hard to tell them apart unless they turned around, and you saw the brown spot on Eve. Sun looked over to the small one to be sure he was asleep and not in the light of the sun. Her breasts were beginning to hurt a little, so she was sure he would wake soon and demand more milk. All her little ones brought her much happiness and she was always thanking the God of All Good Things for the ability to make more little ones. Dom said they were ‘babies’, and that they would grow to be tall and strong like her and Adam. It was hard to believe things this little could become so big, but looking at Star off in the distance, she knew Dom was right. How strange that he had not come to visit in such a long time. Satari was gone somewhere far away and said she would be back, but Sun was sure she felt Dom around even though she did not see him. "When he comes, I will be here," she said to herself, "for where else would I ever want to go?"

  Adam and Star came to the edge of the clearing and entered the forest. Adam saw the flying things in the tree ahead, but could not see why they were there. Setting Star on the ground, he took the boy's hand and walked quietly to the tree. As they approached, the flying things took to the air in a loud noise and the quiet settled in once more. Near the tree, he saw something on the ground, but could not tell if it was a sheep or some other creature. He told Star to wait as he carefully approached the thing on the ground. As he neared the creature, he stopped short and pulled back in surprise. On the ground was another Adam. It was female and had blood all over its leg. What was another Adam doing here? Why had they never before seen her? As he bent down near the female Adam, he heard Star come near.

  "That is not a sheep, that is a female", the boy said. "She is hurt and the blood comes from her. Do you know who she is?"

  "I have never seen another Adam in any other place around here," Adam answered as he pushed the female's long dark hair away from her face. As he touched her, she opened her eyes and looked at him and he could smell her fear. "I am Adam," he said to her.

  She looked at him and in a quiet voice said to him, "I am Adam." She closed her eyes and fell back into her sleep.

  "Her belly is big as when Sun makes babies," Star commented as he circled around the female.

  Adam saw this was true, and saw the female's wounds needed help. He reached under her and lifted her into his arms.

  "Run back to Sun and let her know what has happened."

  Star jumped up and ran across the field shouting to Sun to come see what Adam and he had found. Sun saw him running and went out to meet him. She could see Adam on the far side of the clearing and he was carrying something in his arms. As Star came near, he shouted to Sun, "We have found another Adam who is female and who is going to have babies like you do. She is sleeping and Adam is bringing her."

  Sun heard the words Star spoke, but had trouble understanding. She ran to Adam to see what he had found and felt a shock in her body when she saw he carried a female form in his arms. "Where did she come from Adam?" she asked as she stood before him and looked at the woman in his arms.

  "She was near the great tree at the edge of the forest. Her leg is hurt and she won't wake from her sleep," he said.

  Sun looked at the female's leg and could see a deep cut on the upper part. "Bring her to the fire so we may see what is wrong and help her."

  They laid her on the sheep covers and Sun washed the blood off the leg to have a better look at the cut. It was deep and continued to bleed. She leaned over, placed her lips on the cut, and allowed the feeling to flow through her that brings wellness to the places of pain. She sensed the flow of the power through her and after a while, she sat up and saw the flow had stopped and the cut was now closed and clear. She placed her hand on the female's swollen belly and felt the firmness of the baby beneath. She took water, washed away the dirt from the female’s face, and applied the water to her lips. When she did this, the female opened her eyes and looked at Sun. She tried to speak, but could not seem to work her mouth. Sun took the sheep horn and filled it with water and held it to the female’s lips and poured it slowly into her mouth. With much difficulty, the female swallowed some of the water and then leaned forward to get more. Sun put the female’s head in her lap, extended her breast toward her, and squeezed her milk into the female's mouth. When she swallowed the milk, Sun lowered her breast to the female's mouth and felt her suck deeply and swallow the life-giving liquid. Then she felt the female slide away and drift back to sleep.

  Sun turned to Star and said, "Fill up several horns with water and bring them to me so I can clean the cut in her leg." Star looked at Sun and did not move. It was then that she realized the female's blood still covered her face after she put her lips on the cut. "Hurry Star and I will wash away the blood from my face so I do not cause you to worry." He quickly turned and, picking up several horns, ran to the lake.

  Adam sat next to Sun and said, "Every time you do that it makes me feel good inside. I feel the healing flow through you and into the cut and it makes me feel better, too. I wish I could do what you do and help with hurts."

  "I do nothing Adam; I allow the feeling to flow through me as a river. She has lost much blood and water from her body and I am not sure about the life in her body. The milk will be good for both of them and I will try to wake her in a while to see if she can take more. Help me wash the mud and blood from her so she will be more comfortable. She has a baby in her; there must be a male Adam somewhere. Did you see any signs of anything else around her?"

  "I was so surprised to see the female I didn't even look. When we finish with her, I will take Star and search the area near the tree to see if I find anything or anyone else." He looked at the female and then back at Sun. "Her hair is not like yours, and her eyes are dark." He looked at her hands and arms and ran his hands do
wn her leg. "She is soft as you, but much darker. Where would she live that we would never see or hear her? When I told her my name, she said, "I am Adam" and then slept. Maybe she is the one who calls back to us when we are up the mountain?"

  Sun took the water from Star and a piece of the sheep's covering and began to wipe the cut clean of mud and blood. She washed the female's body and found it strange to look at a being like her and touch that being’s body. It was like touching herself, and yet not feeling it.

  When they finished cleaning, Adam and Star went to the clearing to see if they might find something else. Eve and Dawn sat next to the female and watched her as she slept. Eve put her ear on the woman's belly and smiled as she heard the sounds of beating. "The life in her is still there," she said and then rested her face back on her belly. Dawn, quickly tiring of sitting, got up and wandered out into the clearing to see what she could chase. While all this took place, Sun sat and watched the little ones and the new female and thought about what all this meant. There was something very important about this moment, but it was beyond her immediate understanding; she just continued to watch and think.

  That night, as she and Adam sat around the fire and the female asleep next to Sun, Adam said to Sun, "Do you think that the male Adam was hurt and could not go with the female? I would not want you to be alone and far from me."

  Sun thought about this and finally said, "We have never been apart since we were brought together. I can't imagine you not being with me and I am confused as to why she would be here alone. I try to feel if there is anything else around us, but I find nothing different. Satari and Dom may be able to give us some help, but we have not seen them for a long time." She glanced down at the female and met a pair of dark eyes looking back at her. "You are awake," Sun said to her.

  "I am Adam," the female said.

  "I am Adam, too," said Sun", and I am called Sun. This is also Adam," she said pointing to Adam next to her. Sun reached for the horn and gave the female some water to drink. The woman took the horn and drank deeply and then held it in her hand and looked at it. She looked at her hands and finally looked down at her cut.

  "I fell and cut myself and was in pain. It is now not there. What did you do?" she asked as she sat up and looked at both of them in the firelight.

  Sun handed her more water and replied, "I let the feeling that takes away hurt flow through me, and we cleaned the mud and blood off of you. How do you feel?"

  The female looked at Adam and asked, "You are Adam and are called Adam?" and looking at Sun said, "and you are Adam and are called Sun?” She sat quietly for a moment and then said, "I am Adam, and am called Wind, for I am never at rest in one place, or so my Adam male has said." Turning to both of them she leaned forward, hugged Sun, then reached over, and hugged Adam. "I like you and am glad we are Adam together." With that, she lay her head in Sun’s lap and fell asleep again.

  "Wind," said Sun softly, "who is never at rest in one place. Is that why you have blown into our clearing?"

  Adam reached over for a sheep covering and threw it over Sun and Wind and then lay next to Sun as she put her head on his Arm. "And where is the Adam male who calls her this name?" he asked, but had no reply, for the two females with him had fallen asleep.

  Wind awoke as the first light of day began to spill over the top of the mountain. As she glanced to her left, she was startled to see another form next to her and pulled back quickly. The sheep covering came with her and she saw another female sleeping next to her. As she focused, she remembered she was in the clearing that had other Adams and they had helped her when she was hurt. Looking at the female sleeping, she remembered that this woman called herself Sun and she had a male companion who was not now with her. Wind smelled the air, but could not find his scent. However, she noticed something that smelled new and fresh. Turning to her right, she saw two small females and an even smaller one who was all wrapped up in sheep's covering. Looking at these little forms, she placed her hand on her belly and knew that she would soon have one of these herself.

  She rose to her feet and felt the tenderness in her wounded leg, but could not see any sign of the cut she had received when she fell from the tree. She touched the bruise on her leg, but realized that the cut was gone. How had this other female done such a thing? To make the cut and pain go away was something Wind had never seen. Squatting next to the female known as Sun, she saw that she was very light in her hair and that her skin was lighter than her own was. Her breasts were large and full, and seemed to be very hard. This Sun female had strong legs and arms, and yet seemed a very soft and gentle Adam. Wind reach out and touched the woman's breast, and felt the firmness of them. As she squeezed tighter, the one breast began to drip a milky liquid. She then squeezed the other and watched it drip when the woman suddenly sat up and looked at her.

  "You are awake, Wind," the Sun female said. "How are you feeling?"

  Wind watched as Sun stood and went to the small Adam and picked it up. She unwrapped the small one and Wind saw it was a small male Adam. Turning back to Wind, she placed the small one on her breast and it began to suck on her. Wind held her own breast in her hand and began to understand why they had grown large. They would feed the little one inside her as the other creatures feed their young. She looked back at Sun and replied, "You made my leg better. I do not know how you did that."

  "I don’t know either," said Sun with a smile, "but the feeling that takes away the hurts flows through me and does the work.

  Wind rose up and approached Sun. She reached out and touched her hair. "This is different from mine. It is the color of the wild things in the open field." She then looked into Sun’s eyes and saw how light they were in comparison to her own and to her male Adam's eyes. "You and I are alike and yet different. I have never seen another female Adam before, and it is strange to look at you and know we are alike. Wind turned to the little females and saw that one of them was sitting looking at her with eyes like Sun's. "I am Adam known as Win," she said to the little one.

  "I know you are Wind," the little one replied, "and I am Eve." With that, she rose and came to Wind and placed her hands on Wind's belly. "They are part of you and will soon be part of us." Then Eve looked up and smiled at Wind and said, "You have come to us and are now part of us and we will all be together here."

  Sun watched this take place and said to Eve, "You know there is more than one inside Wind. How do you know this, Eve?"

  "I hear more than one thumping in her belly, and I feel more than one Adam is there." She smiled at Sun, turned away, and walked toward the lake.

  "She is always coming up with things that surprise us," Sun said with a laugh, "and she is always right."

  They both turned as they heard another sound behind them and saw Adam come through the trees. Wind looked at him and saw that he was very much as her Adam, but the hair on his head and face was shorter and darker. He had strong arms and legs and carried a sheep over his shoulder with no effort.

  "I see Wind is up and moving around. Has she said anything about how she got here?" he asked Sun.

  "I am well and I can speak to you as you can speak to me," Wind said with a slight irritation in her voice.

  Sun looked quizzically at Wind as Adam set the dead sheep on the ground. Never taking his eyes off Wind, he approached her and walked around her. He looked into her eyes and asked, "Where is your male Adam?"

  Wind stared directly into his eyes and did not reply. She straightened her back and took a step closer to Adam until they were almost nose to nose. Finally, Adam said, "You have eyes different from Sun, and you do not smile as Sun. Are you hurt?"

  Wind felt a warm feeling as she looked at Adam and she began to relax her shoulders and arms. How different this male was from the one she knew. He felt no fear in her presence and she felt no fear in his. "I am not hurt. I am not sure what to do. My Adam is not here, and I do not know where he is. I left him three full moons and have gone far from him."

  Sun thought for a mome
nt and asked, "What is a ‘moon’, Wind?"

  "The big light in the night sky is the moon," she replied, "and it changes from big to small and back to big.

  "Oh, the face that smiles," Sun said. "Why do you call it ‘moon’”?

  "I don't know," Wind said quietly, "We just call it moon."

  "I am Sun, like the light in the day, but we have never heard of moon. I like that name." Turning to Adam, she looked at the sheep near him and asked. "That one is not old, why is it dead?"

  "It caught its head in the vines and could not get out. It could not get any breath and it died. I will take its covering off and dry it for us," Adam replied still looking at Wind.

  She turned away from Adam and said to Sun, "Do you want me to help cook the sheep?"

  Both Adam and Sun looked at Wind but made no response. Finally, Adam said, "What is ‘cook’?"

  "We cut the sheep up and cook the meat over the fire to eat. Have you not ever done that before?"

  "I have tried the meat and it is not good," said Adam, "but this ‘cook’ is something we have not done. Show us what you do, for I would like to know how this is done."

  As the three of them turned their attention to the sheep, Eve watched from afar and thought the words in her mind, "Wind is different from us."

  "Yes she is," a familiar voice answered back in her mind. "She has seen many things and been through many things that you have not experienced. But you also have many things that will be good for her."

  Eve thought for a while and then thought again. "Are there more like her, Domatarious?"

  Appearing next to her Domatarious replied, "Yes Eve, there are more like her and more like Adam. Some are very far away, but she and her Adam were close enough so they could find Adam and Sun if they wanted."

  Eve thought about what Domatarious told her, turned to him and asked, "What about the male, is he near?"

  Dom looked at Eve and found her wisdom was truly great for a child. They had been meeting for sometime and he watched her grow in her understanding in ways that amazed him. While she was but a child, she was much more; Dom knew she was a soul that had been through many journeys. "He is not near, but he is working his way toward your clearing. He will come in time, but you must not try to seek him, for the plan of the God of All Good Things will bring all things to pass in proper time.”

  "’Time’ is not a thing I understand, but it must mean the same thing as this 'moon' change that Wind talked about," Eve thought. She had never spoken aloud to Domatarious, as it was much easier to exchange thoughts. She had tried it with Sun and Adam, but it did not work. She sometimes heard Dawn's thoughts, but could not get Dawn to hear hers. Star just ignored her most of the time, so she did not even try to work this with him.

  "Yes Eve, time is very much like the moon changes. It is how we see things go from day to day. It is how you measure your life on Earth."

  "I will think about this." she said and then smiled at him and rose from the ground and ran off to join Adam, Sun, and Wind.

  "Yes child," Dom thought to himself, "you will think on this and find that time is a measure that limits understanding. However, for now, it is just a new thought.