Sky People by Ardy Sixkiller Clarke Page B

square grave with the bodies sitting upright. When we discovered the grave, only the top of the skull was poking out. We carried the skull back to the village. My grandfather was upset. He said that it belonged to the space giants and if they discovered we had stolen it, they would kill us and all of our families.”
    “What did the skull look like?”
    “It was huge. Not the skull of a Maya. It was the skull of the giants my grandfather had seen. The skull resembled that of a human except it had sockets on the side of the skull as well as the front. The eyes wrapped around the side of the head. My grandfather said we must return the skull to the cave, but when we went back to bury it, there was no evidence of the grave. We searched for hours but couldn’t find it.”
    “What did you do?”
    “We took the skull back to the village and reported to my grandfather. I read the fear on his face, but he said nothing. That afternoon, we took the skull into the forest and buried it for safekeeping. That made my grandfather happier. Months later, we heard of a wise man up near the Guatemalan border who knew of such things. We made the journey and took the skull to him. He said it was a space giant, but from the blue kind.”
    “The blue kind? What does that mean?”
    “The blue kind were the blue-skinned giants of the old stories told thousands of years ago. The blue-skinned giants were different because they had eyes in the front of their head and in the sides.”
    “What did the wise man tell you about the blue-skinned giants?”
    “He said they were diminishing in number and that they were becoming extinct. That is the reason they stole women. They were trying to preserve their race.”
    “Did they ever return the women?” I asked.
    “There was one very old story that my grandfather told me. He said his grandfather told him. One woman actually escaped and returned to Earth with a blue boy. When the boy grew up he fought for his mother’s people. He became a great warrior, but he had other powers, too. They said he could move mountains. He made valleys so the people could farm.”
    “Do you believe that story?”
    “When I look upon the beautiful valleys, I think of the blue boy,” he said. “I believe it is true.”
    “Where is the skull now?” I asked.
    “When my grandfather and I arrived in the village, rumors of our mission preceded us. Our presence brought a number of curious onlookers. There was an archaeologist and a number of local men who came around to see the skull. It just happened that among the onlookers was a man in the village who had lost his daughter many years earlier, maybe fifty years or so. The villagers blamed the blue giants on her disappearance. Hehad eleven sons who went in search of the giants in an effort to rescue their sister. Six of them died in the pursuit. He was a man in pain who had never gotten over his loss.”
    “How did the sons die?”
    “Not sure. Stories say they were thrown over cliffs by the giants. One was nailed through the heart to a tree. Several different stories.”
    “What happened to the skull?”
    “The man who lost his daughter was so angry when he saw the skull that he drew his machete and broke it into hundreds of pieces. There was an archaeologist present. He wrestled with him, but the man was so filled with anger, nothing could stop him. So the skull was gone, and my hopes of fame and fortune disappeared.”
    “What else can you tell me about the event?”
    “They say the blue giants returned one more time to the village. This time, the man who had lost his daughter was ready for them. He was a powerful conjurer, and when they appeared he placed a curse on the giants. The wise ones believe his curse was so powerful that it ended the visits of the giants. Some say they died off, for they were never seen again. They no longer travel the universe in search of women and little girls.”
    Another car pulled up and stopped. Gabriel stood and shook my hand.