by Emil Toth
“You can thank Batu. She thought of the law and how to keep the rape a secret, if it was what the victim wanted.”
Kaathi hugged Rana. Sharika, Marie, Mara, Ashlee and Scarlet surrounded them and embraced them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Janos was on the plains hunting with Jacob, Pauli and Sandor. With no game in sight, Jacob started a friendly banter.
“Janos, I noticed you have been seeing a lot of the old lady, Alice.”
“You have?” responded Janos with a smile. “I thought only the old women noticed.”
“No, I noticed as well.”
Sandor chuckled. “Hmm it puts you in the same hen house with them.”
“Hey, watch your mouth,” retorted Jacob good naturedly.
“Well, Miss Jacob, I am having a nice time with Alice,” Janos said humorously.
Jacob glared at him. “What the hell do you mean Miss?”
“Well if the skirt fits…” Janos let the sentence hang.
The others laughed.
“Ah, you guys are full of shit and no longer funny,” Jacob said in mock anger.
“Wait a moment…are you interested in Alice? Are you looking for a fourth wife?”
“No, and do not go spreading it around the village.”
“You know, I am taking a good look at you, and I can see you have aged a good ten years since you have taken Scarlet as a wife. You look a little used up and thin.”
The men slapped each other’s shoulders and laughed.
Janos smiled saying, “I have also notice you are looking at Pauli a little doe eyed. Are you thinking of taking a husband as well?”
Jacob jumped over Sandor and fell on top of Janos and rubbed his knuckles on his head, while the other men laughed their heads off.
When Jacob got off of him, Janos shared a story about his grandfather.
“Grandfather was never one to talk about his warrior excursions. He did love to talk about all the foot races he won. At our yearly Test of Strengths Festival he won the race for the twelve and under age group. When the fourteen and under group assembled, he squeezed into the group. If you recall the twelve and under distance was a thousand steps in length and there was not much time for him to recover and get into the next race. The fourteen and under men had to run two thousand steps. No twelve year-old had ever entered the race. He was the first and he received a lot of strange looks from the group.
“The way he tells the story, he hung back to preserve his strength. Near the three quarter point he stretched his stride and made his way up to the leader. The leader looked over at him astonished to see it was my grandfather and even more surprised when he left him and crossed the finish line first.
“By winning the race he caught the eye of several girls and women, which made him happy.”
“So, have you caught the eyes of the women because you are a swift runner?”
Janos smiled saying, “No, the race for over twenty year olds is too long. I keep tripping over all the men passing out in the races.”
“I would have thought it would have been bodies of women,” snickered Pauli.
“They were. I do not like to say it was so,” he retorted.
He received a punch on the arm for his remark.
On the bank of the river, the three Talker Healers were relaxing after their evening meal. They rested in the shade watching and enjoying several children frolicking in the bathing cove of the river. A woman approached them. She was short, thin, middle aged, dark skinned, gaunt faced, with large dominant lips, dark brown eyes and dark, fuzzy hair. “May I speak with you alone Kaathi?”
“I would prefer Mara and Marie to be present to learn from our engagement.”
She looked at the other women and thought a long while about the request. “Very well. My name is Bani.”
The healers rose to give her a hug, which she grudgingly accepted.
“Now, what can I help you with?”
“I missed my menses for two cycles. I think I am with child…”
“Is it a problem?”
“It is. My husband died during the rains and left me with four children we could barely feed. Without him things are even tougher. We have utilized the village food cache, but I have found there never seems to be enough to go around. None of us are eating enough. I am not sure my family can survive another child. We are struggling to exist.”
Kaathi jumped on the problem. “I shall bring up the fact you do not have enough to eat with the council at our next meeting and the food cache shall be increased. What about your family, have they been of any assistance?”
“My family are all dead and only his mother is living.”
“Is she helping you with food and the children?”
“She does what she can. It is still not enough.”
“The council meets in three days and the cache will be immediately increased. As soon as we are done talking I want you to come with us. We will supply you with some food to tide you over.”
“I appreciate your kindness.”
A brief quiet ensued in which Kaathi connected with Bani at a deep level of consciousness. “I sense you have something else troubling you.”
“There is. I do not want this baby. I am thirty-eight years old and do not want to endure the difficulties of carrying a child and childbirth.”
Marie was curious. “What sort of difficulties have you experienced?”
“During each pregnancy, I threw up many mornings. In each of my childbirths I struggled to birth them. I nearly lost my life delivering my last daughter. Wahi, the birthing-mother, told me not to have any more children. She told me it might kill me.”
Bani stopped talking and was struggling to go on. The healers waited for her to continue. Bani wringed her hands and finally spoke, “I do not want to birth this child. I do not want to die. I am afraid of what will happen to my children if I die. I want an abortion.”
“I presume you have given this decision much thought?”
“Oh, my god yes. It has been on my mind since my man died. Hardly a moment goes by it does not enter my thoughts. With my man gone it has become increasingly hard to give quality attention to my children. Now I am pregnant, and I am tired all the time. Giving birth to another child would be another burden in my life. I do not have the energy to take care of an infant. It is too much. I am at my wits end. It is why I am here.”
Kaathi reached out and took Bani’s hand and sent her love. As she held it, she opened herself to Bani to determine her sincerity. She found no flaw in her and felt the deep conflict she bore in her heart. She spoke only after she was assured the connection gave her all the information she needed to make her decision.
“Bani, I sense the turmoil you are facing. I heard you say carrying and birthing your children were difficult. I have also sensed you will not die in childbirth. I have made a decision to help you not to abort your child. I encourage you to give it life, let another family adopt it and give it a good home.”
“You are not hearing me. I do not want to keep carrying it, Kaathi.”
“Did you love your husband?”
“Of course.”
“Perhaps it would benefit you to see this is the last gift your man gave you.”
Bani looked at the mystic and absorbed her words. “You call it a gift I call it a burden.”
“It is all I can offer you. Your unborn child is not a threat to your health, and I cannot in good conscience abort your child.”
“I do not want to be sick every day as I was with my other pregnancies.”
“I have oils and herbs to help lessen the problems you are going through,” countered Kaathi.
Bani’s eyes were filled with tears. It took a while for her to speak, when she did, her voice was filled with emotion. “I do not know if I can do it. I am too weak.”
“Marie, Mara and I will take turns and help you with your children and tasks. I do not want you to regret aborting your child the day after you do it or the next day or any day afterward. I want you
to go home and think about it and return tomorrow and we can share our thoughts and feelings again. While you are arriving at your decision, I want you to know my position on taking a life. As the High Priest and Talker Healer, I am committed to the sacredness of life. My positions impress upon me to save lives not take them. I believe we learn through our interactions with each other, and if one life is removed, it is possible some of our understanding of life may not be fulfilled.”
Bani listened in earnest and shook her head unable to respond. Tears clouded her vision.
Kaathi, Marie and Mara embraced Bani and she left.
Once Bani was gone, Mara asked, “Why did you not agree to do the abortion? She wanted it.”
“As you know, my decision to help a woman abort is based upon the need to save the mother’s life. If the mother is in no danger, I cannot help her abort her child. It is my obligation to convince her to carry the baby to term. After the baby is born, it is my obligation to find a suitable family to adopt the child.”
Mara shook her head. “Please do not take this wrong. It seems you are taking the place of a god by making such decisions.”
“You have brought up a valid point. To avoid it, I go through a procedure in each case. In Bani’s case, I emptied myself and went to a deep part of my consciousness, in order to make a connection with Bani’s consciousness before giving advice.”
“Have you ever failed at convincing the mother of the correct action to take?”
“Yes. Twice. As a healer, you cannot be dictatorial. You must realize, all you can do is provide advice, which comes to you. The decision is always theirs to make. In those two cases, I provided the liquid to abort the child. I did it to prevent them from aborting it themselves and possibly injuring themselves and the baby.”
The next morning Bani awoke and again went through the reasons why she wanted to abort her child. She needed the reassurance of her own reasoning and emotions. She was assailed with doubts and sobbed often. A long while later, she composed herself and went out into an early morning mist to the Talker Healer’s hut. She found Kaathi, wearing an oiled leather poncho, relaxing on the bench outside. Kaathi rose, embraced her for a long time and released her only after telling her she loved her.
Bani’s already red eyes filled with tears. They went inside and the apprentices embraced her and told her they loved her. Everyone took a seat. Fresh tears slipped down Bani’s face.
Kaathi and her apprentices silently waited for Bani to speak, while sending her love.
“I have gone over this many times. I examined it a few ways. This is my decision. If you help me with food and help me care for my children and my morning sickness is not bad, I will carry the child and birth it. You have to promise me you will find a good family for my child.”
Tears of happiness poured forth from the healers on hearing her decision. Bani was astounded. These women were not her friends and yet they wept. Life was intriguing.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kacy dropped by to visit with Leah and hold the new born babies. She had been doing it every day for the last two cycles of the moon. She had a tremendous attraction to little Marcel and found herself holding him twice as much as Kati. There was something about Marcel. It drew her to him on a much deeper feeling of love. It did not disturb her; it interested her.
The moment she arrived at Leah’s house she hugged her and reached for Marcel. Leah always welcomed Kacy. There were times when Leah could not get Marcel to stop crying and Kacy would pick him up and he would quiet down. Leah noticed the attachment and marveled at it. She did not have to be a genius to see how Kacy was drawn to Marcel. Kati was often left in her crib or in Leah’s arms, while Kacy cooed and sung to Marcel.
The next day Leah left the babies with Kacy and went to the Talker Healer’s hut. She found Kaathi inside.
“Can I talk to you?”
“Of course.”
Kaathi took Leah’s arm. “I need to cool off.” She steered Leah to the avenue and they walked leisurely toward the bathing area. On their way they greeted many people, with some they chatted briefly. At the water, they sat down away from the others and cooled themselves.
“You have seen how much time Kacy spends with Marcel. Have you sensed anything between Kacy and my son?”
“Other than how much they love each other?”
“So you have felt it too? It does not seem normal. Have you seen anything like this happening with other children and adults?”
“Not as strong as what is taking place with them. Are you concerned?”
“I am and I am not. It is unusual and I would like your opinion on what you think is going on.”
Kaathi stared off into the distance for a while before she turned her attention to Leah. “Do you recall me telling you you would have a son named Abraham, and he would influence the mutant Wanderer tribe?”
“I do. How is this tied to my son, Marcel? When you talked about Abraham nothing was mentioned about having twins and my son’s name is Marcel.”
“I am going to share some of what I see for the future. I am telling you this in strict confidence. I am not prone to speak of the future. I am doing this for your benefit. Marcel is Abraham,” Kaathi assured her, “and he will be a huge influence among the Wanderers. The wonderful twist is Kacy will be by his side to provide more energy and power to what he desires to accomplish as a peacemaker.”
“Are you certain?”
“As sure as we are sitting here.”
“How will they ever be able to infiltrate the Wanderer village without being killed?”
“It is where Ashlee will contribute to their success.”
“Is she going there with them?”
“It is what I am seeing at this moment.”
“How in the world will she ever be able to do it after being abused for eighteen years?”
“It will not be easy for her and yet she will do it because she will have grown bold with her spirituality and love.”
“I cannot understand why Ashlee would want to go. She would be in her mid-forties, and it would be a difficult trip for her.”
“The main reason for the trip is for each village to ratify a peace agreement. The Wanderer people will remember Ashlee and it will give credence to the peace treaty. The trip will also be a test of her ability to forgive them for holding her as a slave for eighteen years.”
“My little Marcel is going to be so deeply involved?”
“Yes. To maintain the certainty of what I saw, I need you to keep what I told you confidential.”
“Of course, I understand.”
Leah was already deep in thought visualizing her son contributing to the peace between clans and tribes.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The season of blue skies was coming to a close and four more men and one additional woman were taking the energy sensing classes conducted by Jacob. Sharika was outdistancing all the others including Janos, Pauli and Sandor. She was also receiving lessons from Jacob on the use of poles and running with Janos to build her stamina.
After the noon meal, she got together with Jacob to learn the art of pole fighting.
Before they started to engage, Jacob said, “I want to tell you I admire how well you have been doing sensing a person’s action before it occurs. You have a real gift.”
“Thank you. I am not so sure it is a gift. Prior to any function I go into an expectancy mode.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kaathi told me before I attend any workshop to expect something marvelous will happen. I found it works every time. I am always anticipating something wonderful to take place at every class.”
Jacob acknowledged Kaathi’s gifts. “She has a knack for helping people in so many ways. I shall keep her suggestion in my mind the next time I attend a class presented by her. With that in mind let us see how you do today. We have been working at half speed with the poles, and you have done well reading the energy and anticipating the strikes. I think you are ready to go th
rough the practice at a faster pace.”
They picked up their respective poles, which were wrapped at the ends with a layer of chamois stuffed with white fluff, to soften the blows. Jacob took his time increasing the speed of the blows. He was proud to see Sharika was having no difficulty in parrying his blows. He quickened his movements and freely struck her leg, hand and arm. Suddenly, he felt the blow on his leg. It was unexpected. He stepped back and assessed her. He saw a different look in her eyes, one he had never seen before. They went at each other for a long time. His blows were quick and she parried many of them. Impressive. Very impressive. Kaleez, the giant warrior of Homar, would be proud of her ability. He took a blow to his arm for his thoughts. He stepped back and called an end to the exercise.
They sat side by side sweating.
“You are doing well. Our men would be in trouble fighting you with poles. You seem to have an aptitude for sensing energy. How were you sensing what I was going to do?”
Sharika thought a moment before replying, “The twitch on my forehead was fine for you striking my back. I soon learned, in combat, it was too slow. Where I am now is at a place of knowing. I know what you are going to do and I can prepare myself for the most of the blows.”
“It is exactly the way I sense things as well. I cannot believe how quickly you are picking this up. It took me two years to be where you are. Whatever you have in your bloodline it is serving you extremely well.
“So let us move onto something different. I asked you to bring your weapon today so we could practice. I would love to shoot your bow if you would let me.”
“Of course. I am not superstitious about others touching it. I am particular who shoots it. I must admit not too many have touched it.”
“I am going to hang the target on a tree limb and challenge you from different distances before I shoot your bow.”
He moved to the limb, hung the target and walked back.
“Jacob, can I challenge you to a test of swiftness before we do it?”
“You can. What do you have in mind?”
“Let us see who can fire off ten arrows the fastest and how often we hit the target.”
