Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.
As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.
Chapter 86
I came to the conclusion that we have to stay here for a few more days. As a precaution, till the worst storm around Reiko, who will have to take a new name after today, has subsided. Having decided that, or at least that is what I will present to the rest, I still was left with one problem.
The three prisoners, what to do with them?
Killing is too much for me, but they could betray us too easily.
We can't leave them bound to die of hunger and thirst, can we?
Leaving them somewhere along the way poses too many risks; they would easily reach the city, and we would be exposed.
The solution comes suddenly, and it is so simple, it almost has to have been sent.
What if we were to remove all tools and usable resources?
Then it would take them forever to make primitive utensils in addition to gathering food. Let alone building a seaworthy raft. We only have to destroy the rope bridge upon our departure to ensure that they will not escape from this oasis for years to come.
That should be enough time to fulfill our plans. A feeling of satisfaction comes over me, yet I can't wait until the next moon phase comes and we will leave this place behind.
Dadrie decides to stay with his sister; he fully supports our idea but is cautious about the feasibility. He doesn't believe in the ancestors; he doesn't believe in past lives. And now he no longer believes in fame, violence, and the fact that this is the only life.
It feels like Dadrie has something of an identity crisis. Not that he makes that clear. It is more apparent in the moments of absence and withdrawal. Things that didn't seem to bother him before.
It is not strange; the man has lived under his father's yoke all his life. Now that he has decided to free himself from the yoke that has oppressed him since his early childhood, a whole new world is open to him. A world in which he has to create the answers himself.
Something that requires time and energy, and 'coincidence' wanted us to have plenty of time. There is hardly any work, as food and water are plentiful.
Numico and I go fishing in the morning. Well, I go fishing, and Numico comes along, while Cabilah and Dadrie search the woods and fields to find the vegetables and grains.
The long absence of man has caused the shrubs to lose their cultivation. As a result, the nutritious components grow less emphatically. Yet there is still more than enough to be found. Which makes sense when you consider that the land had to feed an entire settlement.
We have to get through the rest of the day. In my case, I continue to struggle because I still have not lost my curiosity. Continuing the journey, walking new paths, discovering new things, it keeps my mind spinning. Especially that city.
It got even worse since Dadrie said that there is quite a civilized group of people to be found in the city. That was something I had not expected based on what I had seen; my curiosity is running wild and every heartbeat seemed to last forever.
This city has to be the most modern in the empire. The large houses have water sources, without being on the river. It is carried from house to house through trenches and gutters and can be tapped into the house by a simple tapping system or pump.
The houses are heated in winter, not by a fire like ours. That is of little or no use because every room in the house needs a fire. No, there are hollow spaces under the floors where steam runs through from a central fireplace. This heats the stone floors and therefore the house.
Clothes are made in the most fantastic colors. The rich even employ people to prepare food. It seems ridiculous to me, but apparently, everything can be done with money, and people will do anything for it every week.
Dadrie's stories fascinate me. But despite this, I don't get the feeling that this city is a paradise, or at least not my paradise.
All possessions and prosperity have a price; people lose the old rites. They replace these with material, to fill the void left by the loss of contact with the elements and the ancestors. But this filling seems temporary to me since fulfillment cannot come from objects. It finds itself in the rhythm of life, the sense of value derived from actions.
Caring for your land that provides the nutrition needed for your tribe. Caring for the animals you care for, that provide milk and skins for warm winter clothes. A care that does not stop with your immediate family but spreads to the entire community if possible.
Being in contact with the elements constantly is what makes you thank the land you use for the harvest.
Listening to the spirits, so that you harvest just in time.
All seemingly normal things, but things that make you feel good about yourself and your life.
