Shadow of Makei cotpl-3

by John H. Burkitt

  “I’m scared, Sis.” Shimbekh slinked away, sobbing. “Please don’t hate me! Please! I’m so scared!”

  CHAPTER 3: INNER TRUTHS

  Shimbekh trudged home despondently. She was afraid to go to her parents with such a strange tale of prophesy and doom. Besides, if there was the slightest chance she was mistaken, she would not want them to know. Even if she were not mistaken, she would not want to break their hearts.

  There was only one source of comfort left to her. Since she was a small pup, her spirit guide had never let her down, though she had never relied on a spirit for companionship. She needed to ask him about the vision, and she was angry with herself for not consulting the him before upsetting Kambra.

  Sitting alone by the den she had once shared with her sister, she stared off into space, looking at nothing in particular. “Urikh hom dalem,” she said. She began to chant it repeatedly. “Urikh hom dalem, Urikh hom dalem....” The words meant, “Anoint my spirit,” but they began to lose meaning as the chant washed away the tracks of her troubling thoughts, blending into a sleepy surf breaking upon a mystic shore where time and space had no meaning, and there was only the Eternal Now. “Urikh hom dalem. Urikh hom dalem. Urikh hom dalem....”

  Before long, she had fallen into a receptive state. A golden mist surrounded her.

  “What would you see today?” the voice asked.

  Her jaw began to quiver. “You.”

  “Me? Do I sense idle curiosity, Shimbekh?”

  Tears flowed down her cheeks. “No. I’m so alone! I have no one else to turn to! Please tell me your name. Let me see you.”

  “Are you sure? I mean, wouldn’t it remove all the mystery?”

  “Who needs more mysteries? I don’t know what’s real anymore!”

  “All right, but you may be disappointed.”

  Something began to materialize from the mist. At first there were two bright spots in the haze which formed into hazel eyes. Fear shone in those eyes, the fear of becoming vulnerable. But Shimbekh plead with those eyes, and her gentle coaxing brought out a face--and soon the body--of a hyena.

  “Oh!”

  “Well, I’m Brin’bi,” he said shyly. “You were expecting something spectacular, and you got me. See, I told you that you’d be disappointed.”

  “No, not at all!” Shimbekh smiled shyly. “I like you much better that way. I can talk TO you, not AT you.” She looked into his soft eyes and felt kindness flow from him the same way it came from Gur’bruk, only this kindness was hers. She wanted to touch him, but wondered if she could--or should.

  “You may try,” Brin’bi thought to her. “I don’t know what you’ll feel.”

  She abandoned spoken language and let her thoughts fly freely to him.

  “I think you look beautiful, Brin’bi.”

  “Well, uh, thanks. So do you, Shimbekh. So beautiful, and so sad. You really need a friend.”

  She almost cried. “Can you stay for a while?”

  “I have all of eternity.” He yawned as if to prove the point and settled into a sphinx. “So Shimbekh, you’re on the outs with your sister, are you?”

  “Brin’bi, tell me it’s not so!”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. There are forks in our path, but I believe we choose to go left or right.”

  “Then you can’t tell me what to do?”

  “I can only give advice. Remember how much you love your sister, and whatever happens, be there for her. That always works.”

  “I’d do anything for her.” She sighed. “I’m so depressed thinking about this. Let’s talk about you for now--please?”

  “About me? What’s there to talk about?”

  “Dozens of things! How old are you? Do you have a home? How did you die? And are you a real hyena, or just taking that shape to please me?”

  He smiled. “Does my shape really please you? That’s the way I used to look. I was born near this spot. I was almost your great grand-okhim till I caught a hoof between the eyes. I never even felt pain.” He sighed. “I guess I went left where I should have gone right. As for where I live, I guess this is my home now. And since I became your spirit guide, you’re the closest thing I have to a steady date.”

  Shimbekh smiled. “I like that. Why don’t I consider you my steady date too?”

  Brin’bi broke into an embarrassed smile. “Why not! When my friends ask me what’s happening, I’ll have something worth reporting.” He laughed softly with a beautiful laugh that made his eyes shine. “This will help my reputation, being seen with a pretty female.”

  “Am I really pretty?”

  “No. You’re really beautiful--that goes deeper.”

  Shimbekh smiled. “I feel much better now. Thanks so much.”

  “For what?”

  “For being my friend. And for just being you.”

  CHAPTER 4: THE UNION

  Kambra married Gur’bruk that night beneath a full moon, which all agreed was a sign their love was eternal. Indeed, all who knew them felt inspired by the depth and purity of their joy. And all were happy for them except Shimbekh.

  Kambra’s muti asked, “Where’s your sister?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think she was feeling well.”

  “Not feeling well? I don’t have the gift, but I can always tell when you’re not being honest with me. Guilty thoughts leave tracks all over your face.”

  Kambra nuzzled and kissed her. “We had a little disagreement, that’s all. Tomorrow we’ll rub and make up.”

  “Well I hope so. She should have been here anyway. That’s not like her.”

  The next day came, and the sisters did not make up. Kambra immersed herself in Gur’bruk’s affections, trying not to think about Shimbekh, and he respected her wishes. And so for days Shimbekh’s name did not pass between them. Still, in her private prayers, Kambra would beg Roh’kash to heal her sister of her strange madness in long, tearful missives uttered lying on her back.

  Shimbekh, once so happy and carefree, spent her days in prayer and fasting. Before long ribs began to show under her once sleek coat. When anyone asked her why--and few ever did--she would predict the downfall of the clan. Only Brin’bi had the patience to hear her words of desperation again and again. He was all that held her together during those lonely days.

  Kambra watched her sister’s suffering, and her heart was pierced by the haggard, unkempt ghost that haunted the fringe of the clan. For the longest time, she was afraid to confront Shimbekh again. But the sadness inside her grew until it could no longer be hidden away or denied its wish. With a deep sigh and a faint heart, Kambra stepped in front of Shimbekh and tried to paw her face.

  Shimbekh pulled back. “So you remember who I am?” she said disparagingly.

  “Let there be no more ill will, Sis. I came to tell you I am with child.”

  Shimbekh’s anger was forgotten. Tears of grief came to her eyes. “So happy, my dearest Kambra? Oh gods!”

  “Sis, you’re not well.” Tears came to Kambra’s eyes. “Come with me, honey tree. I have a fresh kill nearby. Don’t you want to eat something?”

  “How can I eat? Everything I love is being destroyed right before my eyes! Kambra, love your daughters, but by the blood of Roh’kash, you must not allow a son to live. Your son will torment you and bring destruction upon us!”

  “Are you going to start that again??” Kambra started to scold her once more, but she stopped and looked in Shimbekh’s eyes. Such misery cried out through them that she shuddered.

  Shimbekh wept again. “I love you, Sis. I want you to be happy. You know I do. If I could break the curse with my own death, I’d be glad to die. You do still love me, don’t you Kambra?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I love you.” She shook her head balefully. “I don’t know what foul spirit brought this madness, but there’s no truth in it. Gur’bruk wants a son and I will give him a son if Roh’kash wills. Someday you’ll forget that dream, but I can’t afford to wait that long.”

  S
himbekh fell before Kambra and rolled on the ground. “Oh gods, Sis, you don’t understand! He’ll put a thorn in your heart! He’ll destroy you and Gur’bruk! He’ll take away your happiness!” She panted, her gaunt and fragile body strained close to the breaking point. “I’m trying to help you, Sis! Promise me you’ll at least pray about it!”

  Kambra shook her head. “You’re mad! You’re stark raving mad! Pray, Shimbekh. Ask for Roh’kash to heal you. I’ve prayed for you every night, and I’ll pray with you now if you like. Come, kneel by me, Sis, and we’ll fight this thing together!”

  “No!! Poor fool, you’re the one that has to fight this thing!!” Shrieking in torment, Shimbekh ran into the bush.

  She ran straight to Roh’mach Amarakh who listened sympathetically as she related her wild-eyed prophesy of doom and darkness. Amarakh loved Shimbekh and was worried about her--most everyone was--and she was glad to find out what was wrong. But she knew Gur’bruk and Kambra too well to see any harm in their love.

  “What do you want Kambra to do? Kill the child? Because you say you saw a vision?”

  “I DID see a vision. We have to do SOMETHING. We can’t just sit on our haunches and watch our world swept away!”

  Amarakh nodded. “I agree. I will keep my eyes on this situation. In the meanwhile, do nothing. Do you hear me, Shimbekh? If you act on this further without my assent, or speak to anyone of this talk, I will be VERY upset with you and you will be looking for another clan. Understand?”

  “Oh, I understand, Roh’mach. You think I’m mad--so does she. But just you remember when night falls on our people that I warned you before the sun set! I warned you!”

  CHAPTER 5: SUNRISE

  Gur'mekh and his sisters Bath and Mer’bel were born to a beaming Kambra. She fondled them and looked deeply into each of them with her inner vision. Bath and Mer’bel continued to take their first meal at her warm side. But Gur’mekh stirred and looked at her with unseeing eyes. Even on his first day, there was no doubt about it--he had the gift. Gur’bruk looked at his son with wonder, then he nuzzled Kambra. “They were born as the sun rose. It is a good sign.”

  “Are you happy, okhim?”

  “Yes, okash.”

  Gur’bruk climbed out of the den, up into the morning sun. As he looked east bathed in crimson light, the morning breeze swept his body, fondling his ears and crest. He threw his head back and cried out in his unbridled joy. “I’m a father!” he shouted in common speech. “I’m the luckiest person alive!”

  “So you’re a father!” an ostrich cried, surrounded by a flock of a dozen small, squabbling chicks. “The novelty soon wears off.”

  Lost in his reverie, Gur’bruk watched the enormous disk of the sun climb into the purple sky, gilding the acacias and turning the grass to flame. In an ecstasy of thanksgiving, he uttered his morning prayer:

  “Lend your light to anoint my eyes, Great Mother (Roh’kash) of us all! Open my eyes and let me see the wonder of your works! There is the mountain, lofty and noble, capped with snowdrifts jasmine white. There is the restless meadow grass. There is the crash of mighty thunder, and the whisper of a heartbeat. Who shall place a value on these things? Who shall understand your heart, O Mighty Roh’kash? One like you whose heart is full of love, and whose feet walk the true path of righteousness.”

  Never before and never again would that traditional aubade feel so much like whispering fresh love words right into the ear of God.

  On a sadder note, Shimbekh was not allowed to be present at the birth for fear she might do something desperate. It was the one blemish on an otherwise perfect morning.

  CHAPTER 6: HUNTING PRAWNS

  Time passed, and Kambra’s pups grew to the age where they could come out and meet the pups from other litters.

  Bath and Mer’bel liked to play with young Jalkort and Fabana. But Gur’mekh had little patience with those who could not hear his thoughts. The one exception he made was for Lenti, a female that he was infatuated with. Lenti could have cared less about him or his puppy affections. Gur’mekh held even his own sisters in mild disdain, preferring to stay home and hang on his Muti and Maleh.

  Gur’bruk was afraid his son would not learn the social skills he needed to rise in the clan and find a mate someday. And so reluctantly he told Gur’mekh to go play with the others and not to come back home till Bath and Mer’bel returned. “You need to get out of the den and stretch your legs! Now go be a good boy, OK?”

  Gur’mekh was not upset. He resented the enforced “play” but knew his maleh’s gesture was meant well. He trudged off to try and amuse himself alone, maybe to find a springhare a or meerkat to chase.

  He saw Lenti and Demrath wrestling. For a while he stopped and watched their struggle until slowly but surely Demrath won.

  “Hello, Lenti! Why don’t you try me?”

  “Demrath won. You’re supposed to play the winner.”

  He drew close to her and whispered, “I bet he won because you let him.”

  “I did not,” she said very indiscreetly. “He won fair and square!”

  “Shhhh! He’ll hear you.”

  She drew close to his ear and whispered, “Wanna know a secret?”

  “Yeah! Who’s it about?”

  She looked around and then whispered in his ear. “You. I hear on good authority that Lenti doesn’t want to play with you. She doesn’t even like you.”

  Gur’mekh hung his head. “That’s not funny. Why don’t you like me? I just want to be your friend, and all you do is dump on me.”

  She sighed. “Look, Gur’mekh, if you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone, OK?” Lenti turned and trotted off with Demrath.

  Gur’mekh plodded off, his head hung low. Preoccupied with his own problems, he walked right into Shimbekh’s side.

  “Excuse me, ma’am.” he said, but he thought, “I bet she thinks I’m an idiot.”

  “No I don’t,” she thought back.

  “Hey, you heard me!”

  Shimbekh smiled. “What’s wrong, Gur’mekh? Your maleh put you out of the den?”

  “Yeah. Who are you?”

  “I’m your Aunt Shimbekh.”

  “That makes you....”

  “Your muti’s sister. Does she ever mention me?”

  “I’ve met my Aunt Zari and Uncle Der’brukh. I didn’t know my Muti had a sister. Why don’t you ever come by?”

  “I really want to, but not today.”

  “When?”

  “We’ll talk about that later. Since you have nothing better to do for a while, why don’t we go chase prawns in the creek and get to know each other?”

  “Yeah, sure!”

  From that point on, Shimbekh tried to keep her eyes from meeting his. A desperate plan was going through her mind, one she tried not to think about for fear that it would betray her motives to the pup.

  They took a long route to avoid the eyes of the others. It would not do to have others identify her as the last one to see Gur’mekh alive. Eventually they ended up at a deep place in the creek, deep enough to suit her needs.

  “Maybe you’ll get your first prawn,” Shimbekh said. “Mmmm, yeah!”

  “Are they good to eat?”

  “The best. But you have to know where they like to hide.”

  Gur’mekh waded into the cold stream, raising his paws high with each step to avoid the chilly water. “Where are they?”

  “They live under the rocks. You have to turn them over.”

  “Oh.”

  Gur’mekh dipped his whole muzzle in the cold water, pushing up a rock with his nose. A prawn skipped backwards, using its tail to flee along the bottom. He smacked at it with his paw and missed, only wetting his underside. “Darn it! They’re fast, Aunt Shimbekh!”

  She laughed--a forced laugh that her heart was not in. “You have a better chance in the deeper water.”

  “I don’t swim--very good.”

  “That’s all right. If you get in trouble, I’ll come after you.”

  Gur’me
kh waded out until the water lapped at his shoulders. He reached under with his head, pushing up a stone. Between the efforts and the current, his paws lost their hold on the slippery rocks.

  “Hey!”

  He struggled to right himself, but the current pushed him into deeper water where his feet could not touch the bottom.

  “Help! Aunt Shimbekh!”

  Shimbekh’s jaw trembled. Her heart began to pound. If Roh’kash willed him to live, than live he shall. If he were to die....

  “Help! Aunt Shimbekh, help me!”

  She watched the pup that could have easily been her son slide under the water. Sputtering, Gur’mekh broke the surface to gasp in a breath and release it in a yell for help. “Oh gods! Auntie Shim....”

  Shimbekh’s maternal feelings yelled for help as well. She sprang up and ran along the bank. “Hold on! I’m coming!”

  “Help!”

  His small body slipped under the surface. Shimbekh jumped into the water, frantically paddling to his side. She groped around in the water till she found him, then gripped the nape of his neck with her teeth and held his head above the water. He gasped, his eyes wide with fear.

  She got him to the bank. Sitting him down, she fell to her side and began to sob. “Poor little boy! Oh gods!”

  “Auntie Shimbekh,” he sputtered, coughing.

  “Are you all right, honey tree?”

  “Yeah. But I don’t like prawns.”

  “I know honey. I don’t like them anymore myself.” She began to groom him, tears rolling down her face. Holding him desperately to her with a paw, she stammered, “I was so scared that I’d lose you! No more fishing till you learn how to swim. From now on, you don’t get in deeper than your knees, understand?”

  “No problem!” He looked at the water and shuddered, half with cold, half with fear.

  “We’ll go hunt you a nice springhare. Would you like that?”

  “Yeah! Let’s go away from here!” He leaned against her as they walked. “Thanks for saving me. I love you, Auntie Shimbekh.”