At the evening meal, Urch asked Yotuimoa to keep the alligator backpack for him while he made the crossings.
“The trip will be very wet. It would ruin the backpack. You did a wonderful work on it and I cannot bear the idea that it could be ruined.”
“But it’s yours.”
“And, I have every intention of returning to claim it. You will take good care of it? Waxing it when needed?”
“Of course.”
“And you’ll take great care of my new cousin?” he said smiling.
“How did you know?” she asked clearly shocked.
“I am very perceptive,” he said.
“Seriously, how did you know?”
“It has to do with how you stand, the look on your face. Does Wapa know?”
“I planned to tell him tonight.”
“I won’t say anything,” Urch promised.
“Good.”
Urch took another check of the boat, while Yotuimoa carried the backpack into her home.
“Let’s take a quick walk just past the heron rookery one more time, Yotuimoa,” Wapa said.
“That’s a great idea,” she said, needing some way to expend the energy she felt.
They walked down to the rookery and the noise was gone. They passed it and went to the place where they watched the clouds a while ago.
“I have something to share with you, my husband,” Yotuimoa said, smiling.
“And what might that be?” Wapa said, putting his arms around her.
“I carry our child,” she said.
Wapa had to take her words and pass them through his thinking place. He certainly knew that could be a possibility. To realize that he had a part in a new life overwhelmed him. His words didn’t flow.
“Are you disturbed?” she asked with slight alarm.
Finally the words came, “I am overwhelmed with joy,” he admitted.
They hugged for a long time in the quiet away from others.
They reluctantly turned and headed back to the village.
The morning of Urch and Wapa’s leaving came, and no one wanted to see the time arrive. The men stoically went to the boat, took it from the supports that kept it from damage, and carried it to the river. They put the boat half way into the river. Then they came back to say their parting words. Each went from person to person. Then Wapa and Yotuimoa stood aside holding both hands and talked briefly. They hugged, kissed, and Wapa went to the boat. He turned, waving to her, and boarded. Villagers pushed the boat into the water. Urch and Wapa were on their way.
As they traveled to the cache, the two put markers all along the shore, so if they didn’t make it back, the markers would show the people where to go to find their new land.
Chapter 11
The SealEaters’ New Land
Whug and Amoroz stood by the shore. Each scanned the horizon looking for the least deviation from normal. Their suntanned faces were creased and deep lines formed in their foreheads and at the corners of their eyes.
“Nothing, as far as I can see,” Whug said with a sigh.
“Well, it’s not like they’re overdue,” Amoroz replied. “I’ll have to admit, I loved my children before they left, but my awareness of that love is more acute now that I’ve been without them for so long. Interesting how that happens.”
“I know what you mean. To have Urch and Emuka both gone, it’s a terrible loss. I hope they find us a new land where we can live well. More than that, though, I hope they return.”
“We both can be certain, if there’s a way to return, they’ll find it. I have to admit I’m terrified to make the crossing they’ve made. To do it three times . . . .”
“I agree, Brother. If it takes us to a place where our lives will improve, it’s worth it, I think.”
“We certainly have enough boats prepared, if we are to migrate,” Amoroz laughed.
“I think on that we’ve overproduced.”
“The women have a sense of things we don’t,” Amoroz said. “If they’re right, some will return and we’ll migrate. They’re making pemmican and sewing skins, as if we’re about to depart. If it comes to migration, I wonder whether I should remain here.”
“Remain here! Have you put your thinking place on the hearth? We have to be where our people are.” Whug was alarmed at the thought.
“I was just letting my thoughts into the air.”
“Well that thought makes as much sense as drinking sea water!”
“Is Kol starting to watch for the boats?” Amoroz asked.
“Yes. Kol is watching. I know she’ll be happy as long as Urch makes it back. That little Aptuk is adorable. What a delight to have in my home,” Whug said. “I think she resembles Gemu.”
“I’d never even thought of that, but by Father Sky, you’re right! Aptuk does look like Gemu.”
“If Urch returns, he may see the resemblance. I’ve never mentioned it to anyone else. Kol has done a good job of raising Aptuk. The little girl already has responsibilities. Before she goes black, she has to fold and stack the leather wiping cloths in our home, and she has to be sure the gourds are all filled. She is so tiny to have responsibilities. Cattu is very fond of her and takes her outside often. Urch would approve of the little one with responsibility.” Whug looked at the horizon.
“Yes, he would. You don’t suppose he found someone else while over there?” Amoroz let the words out without thinking.
“Urch and responsibilities go together. He knows he could be a parent. From a one-time event, it’s unlikely, but certainly not impossible. My thought is that he has left the possibility in front of him, and he’ll do nothing until he knows. He may love Kol more than I thought he did. I don’t know. He and Kol were not like Litmaq and Lefa.”
“Litmaq and Lefa remind me of you and Gemu,” Amoroz said smiling.
“Me too. You ready to kill another seal?”
“No, but let’s do it anyway—it’s our responsibility,” Amoroz replied bored.
Momomu and Belah walked the shore south of where Whug and Amoroz talked. Their son, Biez, played in the water at their feet.
“Do you think any will return, Momomu?” Belah asked.
“I think maybe two will return. I doubt more than that. I do not expect Reg to be returning,” Momomu replied.
“Why would you say that about my father?” Belah asked horrified.
“Reg is not a normal person. He will press other people too hard, and they’ll either chase him away or kill him. We’ve put up with his nonsense so long, he probably has no idea how abnormal he is.”
“Well, the only person who would be very upset if he doesn’t come home is my mother. I think she genuinely loves him” Belah said.
“Well, Waywap’s the only one he ever treated with any kindness, that’s certain. I don’t know how she could have lived seeing her children beaten so badly. That’s what I mean about his being abnormal.”
“Let’s gather some sea greens for this evening. Come on, Biez,” Belah said.
Biez splashed through the water to them.
Litmaq and Lefa had climbed up the hill to the place where they once hid. They had eaten some jerky and enjoyed the cool breeze and smell of green in the forest. They turned to go down the hill and something caught the corner of Lefa’s right eye. She turned her head and, sure enough, out on the horizon was something. She pointed it out to Litmaq.
“Do you really think it’s them?” he asked.
“Who else could it be?” Lefa replied. “I do think we need to return quickly to let the others know.” They went down the hill faster than they ever had.
They ran into the village shouting, “Someone comes!” The villagers dropped whatever they were doing and ran to the shore. They could just barely make out a dot on the sea.
Out on the sea, Urch said to Wapa, “We must minimize the frightening parts of the crossings. We have to cause them to migrate, and, if we tell what happened, none will move.”
“I agree,” Wapa said. They rowed strong
er now that they could see the Cove.
Knowing that it took a while, women went to cook food as they would for a gathering of all the people. Normally each home prepared its own food. But this was a celebration.
When Urch and Wapa reached the Cove, it was becoming dark. Food was ready and laid out on a log so each person could be helped by the women who prepared the food.
The boat reached shore and Momomu, Smam, Morg, Oppermatu, and Begalit ran to pull the boat to a safe place. The people at the Cove watched Urch and Wapa emerge from the boat. The mariners went to a place where SealEaters had prepared a log so they could sit. They sat. Women brought each one a special plate of the evening’s best choices of food. Then others were served.
All wondered where the others were. They wanted answers, but they knew that Urch and Wapa had to be exhausted. They waited in dead silence.
After the SealEaters ate, they did what they’d done countless times in their lives. They took their bowls to empty and rinsed them out in the sea. They put the bowls where they could dry out near their sleeping places. They returned to the group to sit where they had been sitting.
Urch cleared his throat. “I know you want answers and I wish I had answers to give. We arrived at the cache where we had planned to meet at the proper time. None of the people were there except Wen. Mongwire stopped breathing air, and Wen was taken in by people living near the cache site. Wen wanted to take a wife of those people with whom he’d lived for almost two full seasons. I talked to him and encouraged him to begin his life there. I gave him the reasons I thought he should stay. The girl he met is wonderful. They’re a special pair. He would have just been one more in our boat. Of course, there was a risk. Wen’s making this trip wasn’t necessary. Wen made his own decision to remain behind. I am convinced that he made the right decision.”
Guint wept silent tears on hearing that Mongwire no longer breathed air.
“I’m sorry, Guint. At least you know now,” At said, putting his arm around the widow.
“We became separated from Vaima, Emuka, Murke, Plak, Torq, and Akla early into the exploration. Before we separated from Murke and Akla, Murke confided in me that Vaima had hidden on his boat when he and Akla went to explore to the south. The son of a chief came to love Vaima, and she loved him. She became his wife. Reg never knew what happened to her. For any of you who worried about Vaima on the voyage, Reg did not abuse her. I am quite serious. He did not do to her what he did to Ipsalu. What he did was to make her row. I will say that Reg’s big boat was not a good idea. It slowed us down because we were determined to stay together. His boat kept hanging up on the sea ice. Ours maneuver well on the sea. You might want to know, the best number of people on a small boat is three.”
“For the rest of those who went to explore, I do not know whether they breathe air. The land is immense. There is no way to find those who go exploring. What is true is that this land will provide a place for us to live. We have found a place, a warm place. We found indigenous people who welcomed us and will welcome you to their land. They taught us rules of life in that place, rules different from what we have here. Their climate’s different; their animals are different; their ways of living together are different. There is no need for heavy clothing in winter there. It rarely snows in the place we found. Food is available in abundance, good food in varieties you cannot imagine. Wapa has a wonderful wife in whom his seed now grows. We plan to return, and we want all of you to join us. You cannot imagine the good things that wait for you on the other side of the crossing. I will not lie. The crossing is frightening. It is not as hard as you might think, however. I urge you to come to a decision quickly. Now is the time to cross. You do not want to wait many days.”
Whug stood, “SealEaters, you must leave Urch and Wapa time to rest. Save your questions. For this day, let them go to their homes.”
Whug extended his hand to Urch. Urch took his father’s hand and stood. They walked home together. Wapa stood to hug Forth and Trupo. He was home but he’d left his love in another land and longed to return.
At home Urch did a double take when he saw Aptuk. For a fleeting moment he thought of his mother. He saw Kol smiling a great smile. She looked beautiful. He wondered whether she was his father’s wife.
“Before you wonder, Urch, in your absence we abolished elder permission to take a wife. Women have the right of refusal restored. It now takes the entire council to drown anyone. Things have changed. Kol has been with no one else. She waited for you.” Whug thought he needed to know that immediately.
“I have been with no one else,” Urch said, looking at Kol, not Whug. “She looks like Mother,” Urch said glancing at Aptuk.
“Isn’t it an amazing likeness?” Whug asked quietly.
“Her name is Aptuk,” Kol said. “She’s your daughter.”
“She’s adorable,” Urch said. “And where’s Cattu?” he asked looking around.
“I am here,” came a voice from the back of the dwelling. Cattu walked out of the shadows and ran to Urch. She was still tiny, still had red hair, but her explosive nature had calmed significantly. She threw her arms around him and hugged him. She began to cry on his neck.
“What’s the matter Little One?” he asked.
“I thought you would never return, Urch. I love you so much, but I thought you no longer breathed air.”
“You can see, Cattu, I still breathe air.”
“Yes, I see. It’s just hard to believe even though I see you.”
“Would you like me to pinch you?”
“Why would you do that?” she asked, pointedly moving back from him.
“When you dream you don’t feel things like pinches. Only in real life does that happen. Shall I pinch you to prove this is real?”
“No, Urch. That’s not necessary.” Cattu was uncharacteristically serious.
“Where’s my funny little Cattu?” Urch asked sensing something wrong but being too tired to think it through.
“Urch, when you left, things changed.”
“Something here changed?” Urch showed the inside of the dwelling with his hand.
“No, something changed here,” she signed something inside her had changed. “It was two cycles of seasons, Urch! How long does it take to find a new land?”
“Interesting that you ask that. I asked that also. When we reached the new land, we knew immediately that the land was good. We could have turned right around and come back. But most of us felt a need to explore to find where we should locate in this huge land. If Wapa and I had chosen to return here, we’d have missed the place in the south where we intend to go when we return. It’s very important there to have good neighbors. We found great ones!”
“Cattu, let me promise you this, if it’s all right with Father. You’ll be in my boat on the return trip. Would you like that?”
“Oh, yes, Urch. That way you won’t leave me again.”
Urch looked at Whug, who nodded.
“See, Cattu, Father has given his permission. You’ll go on my boat.”
Cattu snuggled as close to Urch as she could. For the first time in a long time she felt safe.
In another home, Wapa and his family were reacquainting themselves after the absence. Wapa had left almost a boy and he was now clearly a man. He left at twenty-one, and one would think that was the age of a man, but his years had been spent studying plants and healing. His interaction with people was very limited. He had no experience with women. He returned as someone who had a wife and a baby on the way, someone who had made two crossings, someone who had grown in some ways beyond where most men ever grow.
“Tonight, I feel for the families who are missing people,” Wapa said. At and Merian are missing two, but at least Vaima breathes air. Guint must be devastated. Three of her family did not return, and that includes her husband. At least she knows what happened to two of the three of them. Same is true for Waywap, though I cannot imagine anyone missing Reg. She does seem to love him.”
“It’s a st
ory most people don’t know, Son,” Forth said quietly. “Let me see whether I can help you understand. Reg was born the third child. He had a testical that was missing. With a missing testical one cannot ever become chief, for a chief must be fully man. His condition turned Reg from a normal kid into a twisted, sick man. Oh, Reg had a part in it. He didn’t have to view himself as someone other than perfect, which he seemed to think the rest of us were. He was no different from us except for that missing part. But he let it eat away at his thinking place until there was no substance left in his thinking place. It was all eaten away. He took Waywap as wife when he was young. She was young. They were maybe sixteen or seventeen—maybe younger, even fourteen. Waywap knew his concern about what he considered his deficiency. Instead of supporting his worry over his deficiency, Waywap supported his positive aspects such as his strength and hunting prowess. She gave him support and he was grateful. She didn’t do it for any of the wrong reasons, but I’m not sure the effect of it was helpful to Reg. He has a way of taking something that’s just simple fact and twisting it into something unrecognizably ugly and sick. Waywap sees the devastation he created, but she knew him before he changed into a man with a broken thinking place. That became a disaster for him and others.”
“Your words explain a lot, Father. Thank you for sharing. It seems to me that wouldn’t matter, unless he desperately wanted to become chief.”
“I think he wanted to be chief, only because he couldn’t.”
“Oh, I understand. How sad. How sad to twist a life like that.”
“Some of us tried in the early time to help. Any attempt to help seemed to make the matter worse, so we quit trying and tried to ignore him. We should never have done that. We learned that the hard way. If he treated people who have lived on the new land the way he treated others here, I expect he no longer breathes air.”
The SealEaters, 20,000 BC Page 33
