Love's Joy

by Emil Toth

  “In the past, you and your people have done what was required to survive in a harsh environment. It was paramount in your thoughts. If everyone agrees to the treaty, you will not have to worry about scouting parties killing your people. You will have community peace and you can turn to enlightening yourselves by taking advantage of the relationship sessions and acquiring a deep personal peace. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how intelligent your women are. If you are pleased with the effects, we would like to introduce you and your people to Kaathi’s views on spirituality and God.”

  “It seems, if we have community peace, it is all we need.”

  “I can see you are reaching the end of your time on Mother Earth,” observed Ashlee. “Are you at peace with what takes place after you die? Do you have questions about the afterlife? Are you curious about the gods and about the energy I call Creator?”

  Carch rubbed his hand over his beard as he contemplated her questions. At night, when he could not sleep, he went outside and looked at the stars and marveled at their number. He had given thought to many questions and had no assurance his answers were correct. He did a lot of introspection since the passing of his wife and compared himself to what he was like in his youth. He found he had become emotionally soft. Now this woman who had been a slave and lived among his people was suggesting ways for him to acquire peace. Damn, this woman touches the places in me I do not want to look at. It is a shame our women do not have this understanding or knowledge – or do they?

  “As strange as it seems to me, you are making sense,” he admitted. “You have an inner capacity similar to Kaathi. If you are to convince me my people need your help, I need to be assured. I shall ask you questions and I want you to answer them as you would if you were instructing me in one of your sessions. Agreed?”

  Ashlee smiled. “Agreed.”

  He fondled his scraggly beard for a long while. “My first question is: Are you teaching how to improve all forms of relationships?”

  “Yes. What applies to a relationship with your child applies to a friend, lover or wife. The first principle is respect and I suspect this is not given in most cases to your women and daughters. Is this true?”

  Carch took his eyes off her for a moment. His eyes returned. “It is true.”

  “Did you realize the Searchers respected their women?”

  “I did. I was informed it was because they hunted and fought by their men’s side.”

  “Fighting beside their men was part of why they respected their women. In talking to Isaac, a Searcher mutant, he told me all the things his wife did for him and his son. It was why he respected her. Why do you and your men not give your women respect?”

  “Because they do not scout and sacrifice their lives as did the Searchers.”

  “Your women give you children and feed you and comfort you at night and repair your huts. Is this true?”

  “It is.”

  “Do those things have value or worth?”

  “It is not the same as dying in battle with a man or beast.”

  “I agree. The sacrifice is greater for men. It should be apparent without women all those other things would not exist.”

  Carch took a moment to examine what she was driving at. He had never looked at what women did in Ashlee’s light. It was the first time he saw they did a great deal to make a man comfortable. He looked at his son to see how he felt. His son raised his eyebrows as if to say answer the woman.

  “Well, I suppose they do things for us,” he grudgingly admitted. “Tell me another thing you will teach us.”

  “Has anyone in your village ever taken the time to thank their women for all they have done for them?”

  “I do not know.”

  “Do you realize your women want to feel they have worth?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When a man thanks a woman it validates what she has done is worthy of doing and thus gives her worth.”

  It seems to run parallel to how my men feel when I praise them for something they do well. I never thought of doing the same for my deceased wife.

  “Go on. What else gives a woman worth?”

  “You accepting her as your equal.”

  He furrowed his brow and shook his head. “Not going to happen.”

  “It is why there needs to be a dialog at each session to allow differences of opinions to be expressed in a civil manner. How are you ever going to know what goes on in anyone’s mind or what is in their hearts, if they are afraid to speak? I am sure your women are afraid to talk about what is wrong in their lives to their men.”

  “A man does not want to hear drivel and crap, when he comes home from a twenty day scouting trip. He is tired, hungry and horny.”

  “I understand. Has any man asked his woman what she wants and needs or what makes her happy, when he is gone for a length of time?”

  “Of course not, it has always been the role of a woman to please her man.”

  Ashlee jumped on his statement. “Have you ever thought of pleasing your woman?”

  “No.”

  “If you asked the women what gives them pleasure, I think you would be surprised by their response.”

  “You are not picturing our men in a nice light,” he informed her. “It is our role and what we have always done.”

  “And you have done it because you played your role for generations. The trouble is women were never asked how they felt about a multitude of things. Let me ask you a question. Are you impressed with our conversation?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do I sound intelligent? Do I bring up imposing questions? Have I made you see women in a different light?”

  Carch’s brow went up as he thought. “Somewhat.”

  “What makes you think your women would not be able to sit down with you as I have and intelligently discuss these same issues?”

  “I do not know. I never thought of them as thinkers.”

  “Perhaps you should. Should we bring one of them into this discussion?”

  It was the only way he was going to prove her wrong and get her off his back. “Very well, get one of our women.”

  “Thank you.” She looked at Evette. “Can you get Gwen for me?”

  “I can.”

  Evette walked as quickly as she could to Gwen’s hut and called for her. She came out and, using the common language, she explained what was taking place in the chief’s hut. It did not take her long to agree. They walked off together.

  Gwen made eye contact with her leader and bowed her head. “Good day Carch.”

  He nodded.

  After giving Gwen a quick smile, Ashlee directed her attention to Carch. “May I ask Gwen questions and can she answer them without getting into trouble with you?”

  “Yes, yes, get on with it.”

  “Gwen do you feel respected by the men in your village?”

  Gwen looked at Carch for approval to answer. He nodded his head and she hesitantly answered, “No. I barely feel it from my husband.”

  “Does your man ever thank you for what you do for him?”

  “He did once when I forced him to do it.”

  “Do you feel you have worth?”

  “No and my mother never felt it. I know you did a great deal around our house and you never received any thanks.”

  “Do you feel you are treated justly?”

  “Our justice is tied to our men.”

  “Are you able to speak openly about any subject you please?”

  She looked at Carch again. He made a face saying answer the damn question.

  “No. Most of the time I am told to shut up, so I know to not make trouble.”

  Ashlee looked at Carch. “Do I need to go on?”

  Carch’s eyes had a distant look to them. “No. You have made your point.”

  “Thank you Gwen,” Ashlee said in appreciation. “I will talk to you later.”

  Before Gwen could leave, Ashlee hugged her. Gwen hugged her in return.

 
; Carch looked questioningly at Ashlee. “Is it something you Normals do?”

  “It is something I learned from Kaathi. Do you want one?”

  He glanced at his son, made his decision. “Yes. I want to see what it feels like. I noticed both of you put your arms around each other.”

  “Come, put your arms around me and hug me.”

  Carch stepped to Ashlee. She embraced him and he clumsily put his arms around her and squeezed.

  “Gently, you are not trying to squeeze the air out of me. Embracing another person is your way of showing affection or love and should be sensitively done.”

  He relaxed and gently embraced her.

  “Now relax and breathe and be aware of any sensations in your body or mind.”

  He was aware of the contours of her body and grew excited. She withdrew and made a face. “Embracing a friend is not a prelude to having sex. It is a display of friendship.”

  He gave her one of his rare smiles. “I am new at this.”

  “We got off track with the hugging. What are your thoughts on having the sessions?”

  “I shall think about it. A question. How long will this instruction last?”

  “It depends on how resistant your people are to new thoughts and guidance. The relationship sessions with our instructors may take one to three years. It depends a great deal on how resistant your people are and the scope of the problems. We hope someone among you will be able to conduct the sessions on an ongoing basis. At that time we can talk about introducing the spirituality sessions.”

  “Will you be presenting them?”

  “I do not think so.”

  A sternness returned to his face. “Whether I accept your offer or not hinges on Nubilon’s acceptance of the peace treaty. If they agree, you can return next year with people willing to instruct us in the art of relationships. If I do not like the way the sessions are going I will send them back to Kahali.”

  “It is your prerogative. I am certain Kaathi will be pleased you have accepted our offer.”

  They bid each other goodbye and he watched her walk away. If someone had told him years ago he would be having a conversation with a former slave, he would have thought the man crazy. Now, he was wondering if he was the one insane.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  Kaathi and the others from Kahali waved to the Wanderers, turned and walked away from the village. Their stopover was for four days. All of them were pleasantly surprised by how guardedly hospitable the mutants were after the treaty proposal was introduced. None of the women spoke of the incidences with the mutants.

  Ahead of them was a long stretch of plains. Everyone in the party was watchful of predators, consequently, they were relatively quiet while making their way through the savannah. They ate dried meat and fruits and drank their ration of water, during the noon meals without any significant discussion. On the sixth day away from the mutant village, Jacob located an excellent spot to camp overnight. They busied themselves with collecting dry wood, starting the fire and preparing the meal.

  Kacy could not keep her thoughts quiet. “I have never seen so many mutants. Isaac and Leah were my first experience with mutants. They were much more social than the Wanderers. I had a difficult time keeping a conversation going with the people hosting me. I sensed a lot of aggression, and their auras displayed it. I was disappointed I had to stay with a man and wife who showed an aggressive nature. I also noticed they have a different body odor than Leah. They must not bathe often.”

  “Mother told me there is a reason for it,” explained Marcel. “In the dark, they want to be able to identify themselves from others.”

  “It makes sense,” observed Jacob.

  “I think they responded to me because I am part mutant,” added Marcel. “Their questions and mine kept the conversation going till darkness claimed the day. I am glad we stayed the extra day. It gave me the chance to talk to my grandmother a little more.”

  “Did they ask why your father did not remain with them?” asked Kacy.

  “They did, and I told them his nature was not like theirs and I attributed it to his mother being a Normal. Father was much more at ease living with the Kahali. They were curious about you, and I told them we were married and enjoyed living there.”

  “Did they ask how Isaac and Leah came to live in Kahali?” asked Mara.

  “They were surprisingly curious about them. I told them how quickly Kaathi accepted them as friends.”

  Jacob’s eyebrows raised. “Was the family you stayed with curious about you having no hair Kacy?”

  “They did ask a few questions about my physical makeup. Once the topic dried up they were done talking to me. How was your experience?”

  “Like most of you, this was the first time I was in the midst of a number of mutants. Being the Warrior Hunter, I was especially interested in their archery skills. I looked over their bows and requested a demonstration. They let me shoot at their targets. I found their bow required a great deal of strength to use, and for some reason their arrows do not fly true. Only thirty percent of them hit the target. It is possible their eyesight might not be as good as ours. In the construction of arrows the eye has to be able to judge the straightness of the wood for an arrow to fly true. I was interested in how stout and muscular they were. They seemed to have twice the strength I have. I know they cannot run fast. I do know from stories I have heard, their endurance is phenomenal. They like us are exceptional trackers. They are well suited to survive the harshness of the plains.”

  “I would like to say something about them,” announced Ashlee. “I am sure most of you noticed there are few children. I spoke to Carch about it and he was concerned. He was not sure what was causing the decline. I believe the decline is the reason they have not made any recent raids and why he is amiable and listened attentively to the treaty proposal.”

  Evette chimed in, saying, “I noticed the lack of children the moment we arrived. I attempted to talk about it with the people hosting me without success. It is possible they were not willing to discuss it because they were past the age of producing children.

  “I did have a breakthrough with Carch. You all know he and his men brutalized Gene and me until Kaathi rescued us. We had a heated discussion about his brutality and he shrugged his shoulders as if it was what they did. His reaction showed me he and his men perceived experiences through their cultural values and I experienced them through mine. It helped me to have the knowledge in order for me to forgive the brutality he and his men did to us. I did realize something. Back in Kahali I thought I had done my forgiveness work on the mutants. Facing Carch and being in the mutant’s presence, I realized I was not done.” Her gaze found Kaathi and she continued, “I am sure you brought me on this journey to achieve complete forgiveness.”

  Evette had a strange look on her face. Kaathi noticed. “Is something wrong?”

  “I was thinking about the mutants and their vile nature, lack of compassion and strange beliefs. It is hard to like them much less love them and yet you seem to be able to do it. How are you able to do it?”

  “It is because I know they are aspects of Creator as I am. In other lives they are choosing to look like us and acquire beliefs like ours. If you met them in those lives you would understand and like them. It is likely there are many of your lives you would question why you are living them, from your current viewpoint. Only when you have an understanding of the totality of your life experiences, can you see them without prejudice and discontent.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  The peace contingent from Kahali trekked back to the river without any predator incidence. Approaching the river they saw they did not come to the exact place, where they left their dugouts. They walked the riverbank until they found them. The mutants had informed them it was a twenty-five day march to Nubilon. Because the mutants had superstitions about the river they refrained from traveling on it. The group left the area and did not have any problems navigating the river until they came across a small
group of hippos resting in a rather wide area of the river. They kept to the shallow, far bank and were chased by one large hippo, which they outdistanced. They reached the first Nubilon sentry eleven days later.

  A great Nubilon congregation of thousands awaited them on the riverbank. They showed their palms, indicating they came in peace. Everyone in the canoes saw the men of Nubilon standing in front of the women and children in the place of distinction. Ashlee recognized her uncle, Ravi, Zafir and Amira. She was puzzled seeing Amira next to Zafir. Clearly, she had attained a distinguished position since she last saw her.

  Abdu recognized some of the foreigners in the canoes. He had forgotten their names. Not so with their faces. They were etched in his memory. His anger rose as they made their way out of the dugouts. He broke through the crowd and stormed over to them.

  “So, you have returned to rub salt into my wounds,” he shouted at Kaathi. “I have not forgotten you stole my wife. You made my life a mess. My god is great. I have prayed I would get my revenge and god has delivered you to me.”

  Zafir and two stout followers quickly made their way in between Abdu and Kaathi. He motioned for the men to restrain Abdu.

  “Your behavior is atrocious, Abdu. As Chief Councilmember, I cannot condone it.” He spoke to the two men holding Abdu. “Take him to his home and see to it he stays there.”

  “This is not the last of this,” Abdu screamed as he was removed. “You better keep your eyes open while you sleep.”

  “I apologize for Abdu’s terrible behavior.”

  “Apology accepted. It seems he has not changed and still does not know the true value of women,” Kaathi said to Zafir.

  “Come let me introduce you to the council and its two new members who you know.”

  Zafir introduced the new members, Amira and Ravi. Their placement on the council meant there was enough support from the villagers to allow the new interpretation to the religious tablets to happen.

  Devra left Nena to stand next to Ravi, who took Devra’s hand and proudly introduced his wife to the Kahali travelers.

  Kaathi embraced Devra. “I am so happy the two of you found love. It is easy to see you are very happy.”