return. By dawn he had not come back and the Family had to move on.
After four days and Thorn had not rejoined the group, Tall One wept silently in her nest-bed, fearful that her enchanting stranger was dead, and wondering why he had left when the Family had so welcomed him. The passion she had started to feel for him was replaced with pain and grief, emotions the young female had never experienced before.
And then suddenly he was there, standing on a hillock with the westering sun at his back, waving his arms and jumping up and down. The Family recognized his sounds and gestures as being good signs, and ran to him. He beckoned for them to follow, and they tramped en masse behind the young man as he led them along a curving streambed, now dry and waterless, and over another hill, along a narrow rocky canyon, until they climbed a slight incline and he pointed proudly to what he had found.
A grove of tamarind trees. And every part of the tamarind tree was edible.
The humans swarmed the tall, densely branched trees like locusts, grabbing for the pulpy seedpods, tearing at the leaves, stripping bark and stuffing their mouths. The fleshy fruit slaked thirst and the bark staved off hunger. Fire-Maker started a fire and everyone threw tamarind seeds into the hot stones for later consumption.
Now Tall One wept with joy, and with admiration. Everyone had thought Thorn ran away out of hunger and thirst. But now they knew he had gone in search of food for the Family—and had found it.
The balance of power shifted in an instant. Thorn was now given the plumpest tamarind fruit. Lion was given the leavings.
When the tamarind trees had been stripped clean and could yield not another leaf, seed, or piece of bark, the Family moved on. But this time they carried liquid with them. Before they could consume all the moisture found in the tamarind fruit, Thorn had shown them how to squeeze the juice into empty ostrich eggs to carry with them.
They still came upon rotting carcasses, but the marrow was good and sustaining. For a while, the volcano rested and the stars were briefly seen again. And when Thorn led the Family to an artesian well that gave them freshwater, he decreed that here they would spend the night.
Lion was not consulted.
The heat that had begun to burn in Tall One, the night everyone thought Thorn had abandoned them, continued to grow within her until thoughts of Thorn filled her mind night and day. She hungered for his body, for his touch. When the Family groomed by the campfire, it was Thorn she wanted to feel plastering mud on her skin. Tall One would glance shyly across the camp and see him there with the other young males, demonstrating to them how he made his sling, laughing with them. And when he looked her way, she felt the heat surge, like sparks shooting from the embers.
Overcome with restlessness, she left the group and went to the rocky outcrop where a few sooty herons waded in the artesian water. She was vaguely aware of being glad to see the stars and the moon, even though the sky was still hazy, and she was glad the ground hadn’t rumbled in days. And she might have pondered these mysteries were she not in the grip of a strange spell.
When she heard footfalls through the dry grass she was not alarmed. An instinct told her who it was, and why he had followed her. She turned and saw Thorn’s smile in the moonlight.
She had seen others act this way so many times without understanding why they did it, the touching and fondling, tasting and sniffing. But now it made her warm all over. Thorn pressed his mouth to her cheeks and neck, and rubbed his nose against hers; Tall One’s hands found places on his body that made him moan. He grinned and she giggled. They began to tickle one another until Tall One, shrieking with laughter, suddenly pulled away and ran from him. Thorn gave chase, howling and waving his arms. Tall One made sure she didn’t outrun him, although she could have with her long legs.
After four days and Thorn had not rejoined the group, Tall One wept silently in her nest-bed, fearful that her enchanting stranger was dead, and wondering why he had left when the Family had so welcomed him. The passion she had started to feel for him was replaced with pain and grief, emotions the young female had never experienced before.
And then suddenly he was there, standing on a hillock with the westering sun at his back, waving his arms and jumping up and down. The Family recognized his sounds and gestures as being good signs, and ran to him. He beckoned for them to follow, and they tramped en masse behind the young man as he led them along a curving streambed, now dry and waterless, and over another hill, along a narrow rocky canyon, until they climbed a slight incline and he pointed proudly to what he had found.
A grove of tamarind trees. And every part of the tamarind tree was edible.
The humans swarmed the tall, densely branched trees like locusts, grabbing for the pulpy seedpods, tearing at the leaves, stripping bark and stuffing their mouths. The fleshy fruit slaked thirst and the bark staved off hunger. Fire-Maker started a fire and everyone threw tamarind seeds into the hot stones for later consumption.
Now Tall One wept with joy, and with admiration. Everyone had thought Thorn ran away out of hunger and thirst. But now they knew he had gone in search of food for the Family—and had found it.
The balance of power shifted in an instant. Thorn was now given the plumpest tamarind fruit. Lion was given the leavings.
When the tamarind trees had been stripped clean and could yield not another leaf, seed, or piece of bark, the Family moved on. But this time they carried liquid with them. Before they could consume all the moisture found in the tamarind fruit, Thorn had shown them how to squeeze the juice into empty ostrich eggs to carry with them.
They still came upon rotting carcasses, but the marrow was good and sustaining. For a while, the volcano rested and the stars were briefly seen again. And when Thorn led the Family to an artesian well that gave them freshwater, he decreed that here they would spend the night.
Lion was not consulted.
The heat that had begun to burn in Tall One, the night everyone thought Thorn had abandoned them, continued to grow within her until thoughts of Thorn filled her mind night and day. She hungered for his body, for his touch. When the Family groomed by the campfire, it was Thorn she wanted to feel plastering mud on her skin. Tall One would glance shyly across the camp and see him there with the other young males, demonstrating to them how he made his sling, laughing with them. And when he looked her way, she felt the heat surge, like sparks shooting from the embers.
Overcome with restlessness, she left the group and went to the rocky outcrop where a few sooty herons waded in the artesian water. She was vaguely aware of being glad to see the stars and the moon, even though the sky was still hazy, and she was glad the ground hadn’t rumbled in days. And she might have pondered these mysteries were she not in the grip of a strange spell.
When she heard footfalls through the dry grass she was not alarmed. An instinct told her who it was, and why he had followed her. She turned and saw Thorn’s smile in the moonlight.
She had seen others act this way so many times without understanding why they did it, the touching and fondling, tasting and sniffing. But now it made her warm all over. Thorn pressed his mouth to her cheeks and neck, and rubbed his nose against hers; Tall One’s hands found places on his body that made him moan. He grinned and she giggled. They began to tickle one another until Tall One, shrieking with laughter, suddenly pulled away and ran from him. Thorn gave chase, howling and waving his arms. Tall One made sure she didn’t outrun him, although she could have with her long legs.
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