As she continued happily picking berries, something disturbed Aman. She was so busy concentrating on picking the next clump of berries, though, that it took a moment before Aman stopped to look up and see what had disturbed her. In the distance, where the sun was no longer penetrating the trees, she could hear a grunting noise that didn’t sound like any animal she'd ever come across.
She slowly crept forward to investigate, clutching the basket of berries protectively against her side. She imagined the grunting to be coming from a big fat skunk, who was the greedy berry culprit. Truth to tell, while Aman had a high respect for skunks, she secretly wasn’t all that keen on them. When she was six years old, she had mistaken a skunk for a spring bunny. She ended up getting sprayed and had to wear sprigs of lavender for well over a week until the smell had faded. Normally, the six-year-old Aman had no shortage of playmates, but after the skunk debacle, no one had wanted to play with her until the smell had subsided.
This time, she decided, she would approach with a little more caution. As she edged forward, dodging the stinging nettles that were trying to find any exposed flesh at the bottom of her trousers, she suddenly saw what was making the noise.
Aman wasn’t naturally fearful, but she had been taught to keep a safe distance from certain animals. With this in mind, she remained relatively still while she tried to get a better look at what was in front of her. Aman was amazed. She had never seen anything like it and to her knowledge neither had anyone else.
The two ‘things’ directly in front of her sort of looked like people from her own tribe, but they also looked very different. While they were standing on two feet and had arms and legs and all the normal features that most people have, they were dreadfully ugly. They had bulbous Neanderthal features and long hair that was matted into clumps. Their manner was something Aman had never encountered before. It was so inelegant! Their faces were covered in the juices of all the juju berries they had gorged themselves on, but the really strange thing that had stuck out most to her was that one of the beings was very fat. She guessed this was a male by the uncovered genitalia he had on display. The other appeared to be female and it was very skinny. So skinny in fact that it looked ill.
As Aman watched in amazement she could see why the female was so thin. It was clear that the fat male would not let the female eat any of the food she had picked! And while the skinny one was the one doing all the picking, the fat one was the one doing all the eating. All the poor female got for herself were the occasional berries that fell out of the greedy one’s mouth when he tried to stuff them in too quickly.
Another behaviour that was foreign to Aman was how the fat one kept lashing out at the skinny one in a very aggressive manner. This was something Aman had never witnessed before, and it seemed the only advantage the skinny one had was the ability to move quicker than the fat one so as to miss some of the punches. The fat male had total dominance over the thin female.
It would be fair to say that Aman felt very uncomfortable with what she was seeing and at this point she had seen quite enough. One small step at a time, Aman edged backwards as best she could, hoping not to disturb the beasts while still hanging onto her basket. She managed to get out of sight of the creatures but not quite out of earshot from the incessant grunting they were making. She mentally picked herself up, took a deep breath and prepared herself for a swift run back to the plain, where she would alert the elders of everything that she had seen. Aman knew she could be safely back home within just a few minutes but just as she was about to set off, the ground came up at her face and then blackness descended. Aman was unconscious.
“And that, my little friend, is where we are going to leave it for today”, Joe said as he snapped the book shut and looked at Charlie to see how much he was enjoying the story. Charlie was on the edge of his bean bag in anticipation at what was about to happen to Aman. He wasn’t too surprised that Joe had ended there, as his school teachers did similar things when they were reading stories. Charlie tried to prize out of Joe when he would read the next part of the story but Joe wouldn’t give in, as he wanted Charlie to digest the story bit by bit and also have something more to look forward to.
Joe took his gaze off Charlie momentarily and looked in the direction of the door as he heard something.
“Yep. That, my little friend, sounds like your Mum coming through the door”.
Joe carefully set the book back on the shelf and they both looked in the direction of the front door. Sure enough, Angela had finished work and was ready to pick up Charlie. Angela came in with her usual smile for them both. No matter how hard or testing work had been, she always made sure she left any work problems at work. Even when she didn’t feel like smiling, she always made sure she did by the time she got home.
Charlie jumped up and ran to his mum, giving her the biggest hug he could muster and with his own big smile said, “Hi ya, Maaaam! Did they let you off early”?
“Ooh, chance would be a fine thing. It would be nice if they did”, Angela laughed. “What made you think I got let off early, Mr C”, she asked while tweaking Charlie's little nose.
“Well, because it’s only…” Charlie looked at the clock in surprise and realized it was actually 8.15 and not 7.15, as he thought. “Arrr, it’s later than I thought. I thought it was an hour earlier”, Charlie giggled.
“Time flies when you’re having fun, eh kiddo? Well, come on then”, Angela said as she held Charlie's coat for him to slip into. “Let's leave Joe in peace and you can tell me all about your day on our way home”.
Joe walked toward the door to see them both off.
“Joe, can we read more of that story again tomorrow? Pleeeeeeeease”, Charlie asked with the cheekiest of smiles. After all, he thought, this chapter had been much shorter than the first chapter so in Charlie’s mind he was due at least a little bit more. And besides, he knew this didn’t really allow Joe the option to say no.
“Only if you work really hard at school tomorrow, little fella”, Joe winked back.
“I will. I promise”, Charlie said excitedly. “See you tomorrow, Joe”!
“Yep. Goodnight to both of you”, Joe waved. “Careful on your way home now. It's a long trip”!
Joe went back inside and went about the usual chores he did at that time of night. He smiled to himself as he did and felt lucky to have Charlie and Angela in his life, as they both gave him so much to live for. He wondered how dull life might be without them in it. He liked that Charlie had really enjoyed the first part of the story about Shepherd Wood and Joe looked forward to reading more of it to him tomorrow, almost as much as Charlie looked forward to hearing Joe read it.
That night, Charlie told his Mum all about the amazing place called Shepherd Wood and how they did everything differently there. He told her how one day he was going to build a place just like Shepherd Wood where everyone could live in peace and be happy.
Angela loved the fact that Charlie and Joe were so close and felt very grateful they each had Joe in their lives. Money was tight but Angela was happy now, much happier than when she was with her ex, Aiden, when money had been plentiful. It made her smile to think about all the people who put so much emphasis on financial happiness only to forget where true happiness lies – which for Angela were in all the little things in life that didn’t cost a penny.
Charlie worked really hard in school the next day so as not to let his best buddy down. The day flew by and before he knew it, the end of day bell was ringing.
Charlie was excited about hearing more of the story that evening but he also knew that story time was always at the end of their day. It was how he and Joe had always done it, leaving the best part of the day till the very end. Joe did it like this because he wanted to teach Charlie the importance of always having something to look forward to.
Joe got dinner ready while Charlie helped out. While they worked, he told Joe about his day at school and all he had learned. After dinner they chatted some more, all the while Charlie kept
glancing at the clock.
Joe teased him about this a bit and then eventually said, “Well, I think it’s probably time for a Chronicles of Us story, what do you think, Charles”, Joe casually asked, fully knowing what his little friend was going to say.
“Funny you should say that, Mr S. I was thinking exactly the same thing”, Charlie nodded.
Charlie excitedly nestled himself in the corduroy beanbag chair opposite Joe, while Joe retrieved the book from the shelf and started the story where he had left off
CHAPTER FIVE
FINDING AMAN
“They who profess to be wise are usually shown the fool”. ~ Soladus
By far, the eldest member of the community of Shepherd Wood was Soladus, a wise old man who had seen many things in his time. Despite his obvious age, his eyes were young and eager, and this juxtaposition encouraged those who needed advice to consult him for spiritual guidance and healing. You didn’t talk to Soladus, you let him talk to you because he appeared to be all knowing. Truth to tell, he had lost most of the use of his hearing some years ago, but he had become very good at lip reading and he enjoyed the peace that having no hearing had given him.
SOLADUS
When a person of a younger nature would visit him for the first time it would always be the same. They would start talking frantically about what was bothering them even though they knew he couldn’t hear. Then Soladus would calmly place one hand on top of their head and ask, “Have you come here to teach me about yourself or have you come here to be taught about yourself? Sit down my child, and I will tell you what’s bothering you”.
Soladus lived at the very top of the plain, about a mile from where all the main activity in the settlement took place. His wooden house stood alone and could be clearly seen as a silhouette on a moonlit night. He chose to live in this specific location in the settlement because it gave him a clear vantage point as to everything that was going on in and around the plain. Being in this position gave him a great deal of extra insight as to what was going on in people’s lives, and a better chance of him being able to help them. He would sit many a day doing the chores that his body still enabled him to do while watching over the village in the meantime. He enjoyed sewing and making clothes for the newly born because his hands still worked well, and this activity gave him a great sense of being useful to the community.
The scream could be heard for a mile in every direction and it stunned every inhabitant of Shepherd Wood into a motionless silence. The sheer pitch of the scream could have split wood, but the scream was followed by what sounded like a never ending cry of, “Nooooo”!
Aisha was barely able to stand so several of the Shepherd Wood men came to Aisha’s aid in bewilderment, wondering what was going on.
“What is it my dear, Aisha, what is troubling you so”, asked Geisha.
“A man”, replied Aisha enigmatically. Again, she said, “A man”.
“It’s okay, Aisha”, Geisha said, as he held Aisha's hand and looked deeply into her frenzied and desperate eyes. “We’re here now. Look! There are at least five of us here. We’re here for you”, she said trying to comfort her friend.
Aisha shook her head sadly and amidst her many tears cried, “It’s my baby! My beautiful baby. It’s Aman”.
Aisha knew that something was very wrong, in the way a mother knows when something bad has happened to her child. And now she sank to her knees with tears streaming down her face. The men didn’t know what to do, so they stood there looking and feeling extremely useless. After all, they had never encountered this kind of emotion before. They looked around for the nearest mother they could find and sure enough three of them appeared. Parina, the high female elder instantly took charge of the situation, and Gelam and Sheena followed Parina’s lead. The men folk gladly gave the women their space.
“My baby, my beautiful baby”, Aisha continued to cry in a soft tearful voice while holding one hand on her stomach. Parina was initially confused by this as Aisha wasn’t a young woman and she had lost the ability to bare children.
Aisha looked Parina in the eyes and Parina instantly perceived the sheer panic Aisha was feeling. Parina had felt the same thing herself once when her son had fallen down a rock shaft and broken his leg, because this form of telepathy was the way people had once communicated with each other in times of trouble. Parina wasted no time before getting to grips with the situation.
“Gelam! Sheena! Take Aisha back to her hut and look for Sasha, as he'll want to be there. I’ll be along shortly. Teewok, gather a hunting party and take a sling-slack with you”.
A sling-slack was a half-circular shaped piece of animal hide that turned into a circular piece once opened. It had two oval shaped pieces of wood around the edges that locked into place to create a round stretcher that was large enough to carry an adult. When folded, it was easy for one person to carry. When opened, many people could hold it and between them carry a fair amount of weight. It also gave very good suspension to anyone who was lying on it.
Soladus had not heard the scream from his vantage point but could clearly see what was going on. He felt no need to go down and pitch in, so he simply sat in his chair very calmly. This wasn’t due to any lack of compassion. Soladus knew exactly what was going on. Indeed, he had been expecting it for some time, but his heart still felt heavy knowing that the time had finally come.
Speaking to himself he said, “What a shame to see the end of such a beautiful thing, but what a pleasure to have been a part of it”. Soladus let out a deep sigh, a sigh that spoke of mingled joy and sadness.
Teewok was the youngest of the trackers heading down to the bottom of the open plain. He had only recently been passed by the elders as a ‘beginner tracker’ and his road to becoming a fully-fledged ‘tracking master’ would take a great deal more study and dedication. If there was one thing that put Teewok above anyone else in the field of tracking, it was his keen sense of smell. He could detect autumn in the air at the height of summer and spring just after the height of winter. When it came to Aman, Teewok’s nose positively went into overdrive, likely due to the great affection he felt for her.
When Teewok was eight, he and his family had undertaken a location swap from a different tribe and he met Aman for the first time. Right from the start, he felt a strong connection with her and the gentle affection between them was mutual. One day, Teewok couldn’t help boasting to Aman that he could smell her coming down from the hills from a mile away, so Aman decided to play a little trick on Teewok, She bet him that if she ran into the wood he wouldn’t be able to discover her hiding place. Aman stopped short of offering him a kiss if he could, as she knew with that kind of prize on offer she would stand no chance of winning at all.
Aman knew exactly where she planned to hide. She would hide herself in the hollow of an ancient oak that was so wide it would have taken 10 people holding hands to circle it, and one had to climb the tree to reach the hollow. Knowing full well that Teewok wasn’t very good at climbing, Aman knew that victory would be hers, and the only thing that nearly gave Aman away was her need to let out a fit of laughter while Teewok sniffled and snorted around the base of the tree. Meanwhile, he wondered how someone could just vanish into thin air! Even more amazed was Teewok when he got back to the village, because Aman managed to creep up behind him without him noticing and to whisper in his ear, “Hey, Teewok. That’ll teach you”!
He probably would have been more annoyed with himself if Aman hadn’t given him a little peck on the cheek, because that alone made it all worthwhile in Teewok’s eyes.
As the hunting party made its way through the forest they also noted the lack of juju berries which was so unusual for that time of year. Makeshaw, the tracker master who led the search was less worried about the over-harvesting situation than he was about the safety of Aman. The berry situation puzzled him somewhat though, for he was the one who had impressed upon Aman not to over-pick the fruit in the first place. One thing seemed certain though – if they intended
to find Aman, they needed to search the areas from which the berries had been taken.
Sure enough, it was Teewok who first located Aman but not in the way he had hoped or expected. Teewok had run lots of little scenarios through his head about finding Aman and being the one to come to her rescue. Perhaps she was in a ditch with a twisted ankle or had lost her footing and fallen down a ravine, he'd thought. Now that Teewok had found her, he wished he hadn’t. Any romantic thoughts quickly turned to tears which alerted the other trackers to Aman’s position.
The Game of Shepherd and Dawse Page 6
