by JJ Aughe
Behind that wall Logan and his team had uncovered and opened what he had only hoped would be a treasure trove, a kind of time capsule, of artifacts of the people who had once lived in the area of the cavern.
What it proved to be was so much more.
Professor Logan, knowing the relationship the cavern held with Jessie, Bailey and their friends, felt that what his employers were about to see would be sacred to them. So, while he waited he had his entire dig team exit the cavern.
Now, telling Bailey and the other six people to wait just inside the entrance to the main cavern, Logan led Jessie to the dig site in tunnel two. He told her to wait until he had walked away and was out of sight before she pushed aside the thick clear plastic tarp covering the entrance of the newly opened dig site.
As Jessie stepped through the narrow opening a strong aromatic scent assailed her senses. Quickly glancing around the small vault she saw dozens of various herbs scattered over the stone floor and stacked in tightly woven baskets against its four walls. What she spied in the center of the floor though had her falling to her knees.
On an intricately carved stone bed lay the mummified form of a woman. The woman was clad in what appeared to have once been a fringed doeskin dress, the image of the head of a snarling cougar still vaguely visible on the garment’s front. Though she no longer doubted her heritage, Jessie knew this ancient mummy was the body of Agana, the first Warrior Princess and therefore, proof positive of her own heritage.
Jessie knelt on the dirt and stone floor of her ancestor’s burial crypt, bowed her head in reverence and in honor of this ancestor, the woman, Agana, Warrior Princess of the On-Ah-Asa People. The woman lying on that stone bed had struggled for ages against massive odds to guide her people to peace and freedom.
Jessie knew in her heart that Princess Agana was not through. No. She would continue to watch over and silently guide her people, now Jessie’s people, through dreams and visions until all her descendants were re-united and free.
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Thank you for reading “Jessie, Listen To Your Heart.” I hope you enjoyed the book and will take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer. Then, if you would be so inclined, go to Smashwords.com to leave a review there.
Thank you!
JJ Aughe
About the Author
Dear Valued Reader:
First, let me say this: If there be only one thought provoking theme you gain for your lifestyle from my writing, let that theme be; ‘Listen to your Heart.’
This, my first published work, is dedicated to a very wise and compassionate high school councilor, who, for now, will go unnamed because if she were still living she would probably swat my knuckles for this dedication. That wise woman once told me that, no matter what it is you want to accomplish, if you think it, put your heart into it, you can accomplish anything. From experience I know she was right then and she still is. Having worked all my life with those words bouncing around in my head, I can honestly say they are true.
Now that I have retired, and have the time to write, something I have let life get in the way of, I will keep those words in the forefront of my mind.
There are other aspects of importance in this work too.
No matter what your circumstances, be of a giving nature. Yes. I portrayed Jessie as a multi-million dollar figure. Her acts on the Seattle waterfront were not only monetary; they were purely from her heart. She had grief tearing at her mind but that did not hinder her as she walked with Bailey that night or at any other time in her life. She smiled, spoke to and waved hello to complete strangers. As in the case of the mother who searched her purse for enough change to buy her daughter a hot dog, Jessie noticed circumstances that most people would not. She did her best to help. That, in itself, as it should be with everyone, is important to her.
The discovery of the mummified body of Princess Kua-Lea A-Ga-Na depicted in the epilogue in this story is intentionally designed to entice the reader to honor the peoples who first came to live on the American Continent. The Native American.
Other Books By Author JJ Aughe
Ancient Destinies Series:
Book One: Jessie - Listen To Your Heart
Books soon available:
Book Two: Journey To Destiny
Book Three: Nan-Yun-Ban
Book Four: Maiden Warrior A-Ga-Na
Book Five: Huzon’s Akua
Book Six: Ban-Shel
Book Seven: Na Co Ma
Connect with Author JJ Aughe
I really appreciate that you read my book! Whether you enjoyed it or not I would like to hear from you. Here are my social media coordinates:
Friend me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/JJaugheNovelist
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Please visit your favorite ebook retailer to discover books by JJ Aughe as they become available.
Read on for a sneak preview chapter of Book Two of this series:
Nu-Co-Mi Kua-Lia A-Ga-Na: Journey To Destiny
A quick note of clarification on pronunciation is in order here: In The People On-Ah-Asa’s language, the word ‘Nu-Co-Mi,’ (New-Ko-Me,) in a literal sense, translates to Princess/Leader and designates the female leader of their people. Kua-Lia, (Koo-ah-Lee-ah,) translates to Wise Woman. A-Ga-Na, the name of the first Princess in the new land, is added to each new princess’ given name to show honor. The people refer to themselves as The People On-Ah-Asa, (On-Awe-Ah-Sah) which translates to The People of the Land, Sea and Sun.
Enjoy the read. JJ Aughe
JOURNEY TO DESTINY
ANCIENT DESTINIES SERIES; Book 2, Chapter 2.
Copyright by: JJ Aughe, 2014
On-Na-Has faced the eastern mountains from whence Father Sun would soon arise. Crossing his chest with both arms, he slowly spread them wide as he raised his open hands to the ebony sky, closed his eyes and began a low voiced chant in the ancient tongue his mother, Nu-Co-Mi Mi-Ca-Na A-Ga-Na had taught him as a child.
“Ulia aul luauna! Ulia aul luauna! Ulia aul luauna!” (When repeated thrice as here these words indicate urgency; Ancestors, your people need your council!) Suddenly he could hear many people speaking in the same ancient tongue. Startled, he opened his eyes. He found himself sitting cross-legged in a thatched hut of some sort. Gazing around the structure his eyes came to rest on an aged woman sitting on her knees across the fire from him. She was bedecked in large orange, yellow and red flowers that covered her upper body, her lower body encased in a long skirt that appeared made of dried grass.
He recalled his mother telling him to remember the name of the mother of the first female leader of The People, for later on in his life he might meet her.
“Grandmother Nu-Co-Mi A-Lua-Lea-Loa?”
With a toothless smile the ancient woman replied in his own tongue, “Yes, On-Na-Has, leader of The People. I am the Nu-Co-Mi you speak of, your Great-grandmother of many, many generations ago.”
On-Na-Has started to ask for her help in deciding what his band should do when A-Lua-Lea-Loa held up a hand silencing him. “I know you have questions. That is the reason you are here with me now. I will answer as many of them as I am able. I must tell you though that although I would like to help you make the decisions you must make, I cannot. To interfere with your generation’s decisions is forbidden. All I can do is reveal to you the events that many times have led our people, The People On-Ah-Asa, to the point of annihilation and how they survived. Always remember this. The People have only survived because those leaders were wise and sought the advice of others in the band.”
When A-Lua-Lea-Loa silently nodded, On-Na-Has knew he needed to tell her why he sought her council. Yet, he felt she would know why he was there, so instead he said, “Grandmother, I know the stories told by the eldest of our band to the young are based on things that really happened. Some of those stories are very unbelievable.”
With a knowing twinkle in her eye, A-Lua-Lea-Loa asked, “Is there o
ne in particular that you believe has been changed?”
“There is one,” he returned “I do not understand how it could be true. The elders tell of the time The People lived on a land surrounded by great waters. It is said by the elders that a warlike people attacked them. To survive, our leaders, you and your husband, Kua-Lualu, and all The People fled into the water. How can that have been true? The People would have all drowned!”
Understanding that over the generations many of the facts of The People’s flight to safety of that time had been lost, A-Lua-Lea-Loa smiled at his confusion. “The story is true, On-Na-Has. Only, it seems, part of the story is now missing from your elders minds.”
“I understand how that can happen.” She gave On-Na-Has another toothless smile, then continued, “As time goes by more words are forgotten from the stories of our people’s past until the whole story is no longer being told to your children. It is a shame we do not have a way of recording the history of our people. That time is coming though, but until we do The People will have to rely on our elders. You are here now so I can tell you of our people’s past. In this way you will know the true story of The People and will be better able to relay those stories to your elders and the elders to your young.”
The twinkle On-Na-Has had seen in her eyes disappeared as her face became solemn. “I will begin by telling you that you must first understand that before we came to live in that land surrounded by water we were a small band of people living on the mainland far toward the setting sun. As a band, including the very young, we would go out on the great waters in small crafts made from the trunks of trees to fish.
Early one morning we departed our small village on a last fishing trip before Jenua-Akia and his betrothed were to be married. Before the sun rose above the horizon that morning a strong wind started to blow from the mainland. Great rolling waves began to push the People’s crafts further and further from their home. The leader of The People, Alua-Nabou, my grandfather, realized they were in great trouble and had the men quickly tie their fishing crafts together with the fishing nets so none of the boats would get separated from the rest of them. He thought that when the storm was over they would be able to paddle their way back home. Only when the storm was over late that evening they were so far from their home that they had no idea where they were or which way to go to return to their village. The people drifted on the water all through that long night. The next morning they spied a small, heavily forested island. The people used their paddles to reach its shore. Our leaders, my grandmother and grandfather, spoke with the elders and it was decided that since they did not really know how to return to their home on the mainland that small bit of land sticking out of the water would become The People’s new home.
The People built temporary hut frames using fallen limbs from trees and driftwood then covered the frameworks with any foliage large enough to repel the rains they knew were coming. They later built permanent huts and lived on the island for a generation.
Not long after I married my husband, Kua-Lualu, my grandfather became very ill and went to be with the ancestors. Because his only son, my father, had drowned during the travel to the island and I was his only granddaughter, before he died, my grandfather declared that my husband and I would become the new leaders of The People.
A very fierce people attacked the village one morning before dawn the following summer. Though ill prepared to defend themselves, the village men bravely fought to protect their families. Sadly, a few of our people died in the attack, but many of the invading warriors had also been slain before the invaders were chased away.
Kua-Lualu, told that one of the warriors among the dead still lived, sent men to bring him to one of the huts. A few of the elders wanted the warrior killed because villagers were killed in the attack. Kua-Lualu told them that killing injured or helpless enemies was not the way of The People. Then he asked me to tell Alua-Nida, the bands medicine woman, to go to the hut to tend to the warrior’s wounds.
Alua-Nida and I found the warrior awake and in great pain. One of our men had hit him on both legs and one arm with a large tree branch he was using as a club, breaking the bones. The broken bones were not his only injuries though. He had deep cuts in his chest and lower back and a large bump was forming on the side of his head. We tended to his cuts as best we could to stop the bleeding, but were not sure what to do about his broken bones. Injuries Alua-Nida confessed she had never tended before. She said she was not sure the warrior would survive.
Earlier, Alua-Nida had asked Anua-Lea, one of our women, to bring water from the spring. When that woman returned with the water she could see that we did not know what to do for the warrior’s broken bones. She suggested that we try to set the bones, then place short branches on each side of the arm and each leg then tie the branches with vines to hold them in place. Alua-Nida did not know if the woman’s idea would work but willingly tried while the woman went to the band’s supply of firewood to find short lengths of branches that would work for what we needed.
Alua-Nida decided to work on the warrior’s arm first but as soon as she took hold of the man’s wrist the pain caused him to scream and pass out. Kuk-Yanun, one of our men, heard the scream and, thinking we were being attacked by the warrior, rushed into the hut ready to defend us. We explained what had happened and what we were trying to do. Then asked for his help. Anua-Lea retuned with the branches and, with Kuk-Yanun’s help, we set the broken bones as best we could and secured the branches in place.
The warrior awoke later to find his legs bound together and one arm tied to his side. Alua-Nida knew he was still in a lot of pain and tried to get him to drink a mixture of herbs she had mixed with spring water that would ease his pain. The warrior refused to drink and spoke for the first time. Both Alua-Nida and I were surprised when we understood most of what he said. His language was very similar to ours.
The warrior did not remember what had happened to him so we told him about the attack on our village and how we had done what we could for him. He said he was amazed that we had tried to help him at all. Then, certain he was dying, asked to speak to Kua-Lualu.
The warrior told my husband his name was Tobu and that he truly expected to be tortured and killed when he was found alive. That did not happen and he thought he would be tortured instead. He was positive the torture had begun when the woman pulled on his arm sending excruciating pain throughout his body. When he awoke to find we had tried to help him he did not understand why. We were supposed to be a savage people who would torture and kill without a thought of remorse.
The leader of his village had convinced Tobu and the other warriors that the people they were to attack were a worthless, savage people and that they were occupying an island that their leader claimed as his. Tobu realized the treatment he had received from Kua-Lualu and his people proved the other leader had lied. He now knew that when the leader had ordered them to kill all the men and to bring only the women, young girls and children back with them, what he had suspected was true. He wanted the male children so they could be taught from youth to be fierce warriors, the women for wives and the older girls for slaves and his own pleasures.
Tobu told Kua-Lualu that he knew his wounds were so severe that he would not live. Because he had seen the fierceness and determination of our fight to repel the warriors, before he died he wanted to warn my husband that the warrior leader would soon send great numbers to conquer us and would do the same to our people. He said the warrior leader was ruthless. Any of our people who resisted his warriors or refused to obey the leader would be killed and, as had happened to Tobu’s own people, their bodies used for food for the rest of the people. He begged Kua-Lualu to take The People and flee from our island to islands two suns toward the rising sun that he discovered by chance the summer before. He told Kua-Lualu we would be safe there because the warrior leader did not know those islands were there.
Kua-Lualu refusing to believe Tobu would die kept vigil over him. He believed Tobu’s warning tho
ugh and immediately instructed the band to start cutting down trees to use to build large rafts for the people to flee in. A hand of suns later, with Tobu aboard, we sailed away from that island. A few suns after that Tobu guided us to the islands he had told Kua-Lualu of and we began a new life there.
Kua-Lualu asked the band if they wanted to adopt Tobu into the band and they all agreed it was the right thing to do. Though he never regained use of his arm, Tobu lived a long and, by marrying one of our women and having sons and daughters, a fruitful life. We lived on the largest of those islands and fished the surrounding water for many hands of summers. When my daughter, Kua-Lia-A-Ga-Na turned two hands and four fingers of summers, my husband decided we should have a great feast to celebrate her coming of age.
I remembered how my grandfather and grandmother had arrived at the other islands and was fearful something terrible would happen. I begged Kua-Lualu not to go. He only laughed and said that there would be no harm in going out to harvest the shrimp and fish he knew would be plentiful near our islands. He told me that since I was so fearful, I should stay behind with the eldest of the people and a few of the younger men and maidens to make ready for the celebration. Tobu, knowing his useless arm would hinder him trying to drag nets in, immediately begged to stay with us
Kua-Lualu left our large island before dawn the next morning, taking my daughter, Kua-Lia-A-Ga-Na, with him. Though we have talked many times since I came to reside with my ancestors, it was the last time I ever saw my husband or any of those with him while I was alive. You see, my fears were proved valid before the sun had traveled half way across the sky. Only it was not only Kua-Lualu and my daughter and those with them that were in jeopardy!
