Why Not Murder

65. Pursuit

65. Pursuit

Harmony went to continue her work with the police. Maya and Tara began the trek to the ancestral village.

"I'm certain that's where your kids are," Maya said, "Or else heading that way. I think they saw that the house was being watched."

"How would they get there and why would they go there?" Tara asked.

"That's where they're from," Maya said, "It would seem a likely place to be found by you. Where else would they think to go? As far as their getting there, I don't exactly know, but I think it's the next place we should go to find them." Tara agreed but was clearly worried. She had put her disguise back on.

Maya with Sori on her shoulder now that they were away from people, led Tara in a fairly straight path from Amanda's house to the ancestral village. When they were around people, Sori had remained inside Maya's bag, instinctively understanding that it was best to remain unseen. It was a beautiful day and an easy one to let the sun guide. After walking about an hour, Tara spotted a piece of fabric tied around a small tree branch close to the ground.

"This is from Cathy's shirt!" Tara exclaimed, "She left a sign intentionally. Something learned from Hansel and Gretal." Tara kept the ribbon of cloth and they kept walking. About the same distance further on they found another piece of the same fabric tied to another tree branch. This one had a strand of long white hair wound around it. "Amanda is with them!" Tara gasped quite relieved. They continued. Amanda would be guiding the kids.

As dusk approached, Maya and Tara settled for the night exhausted at a place beside a tiny waterfall. On a large rock there, they could see signs of a campfire that had burned recently. A child's drawing had been scratched into the stone. It was a representation of Tara's children and an old lady stooped over with long hair. Beside them was a man with feathers on his head and over the top of him was a candle flame.

Maya pointed to the man and said, "I know who that is." Tara looked questioningly at her and Maya continued, "His name is Spark and the reason I think so is because he uses the symbol of a candle flame for his signature. They were expecting to be followed by us or they wouldn't have left so many signs."

"What if it had been by the police?" Tara asked.

"The police, if they would go to the ancestral village, would not come this way. They would take the road," Maya replied. Tara nodded. Sori was perched on a low lying pine tree branch sleeping with her head tucked under her good wing.

Just before Maya and Tara were about to fall asleep, Sori startled them making a great ruckus. A feeling of dread filled Maya's mind and she said, "A predator may be nearby. You sleep first and I'll keep watch." Tara crawled under the thick dead branches at the base of the pine tree and fell asleep. Maya stayed alert beside the pine tree and Sori stood on her shoulder. Maya dozed off for a few minutes now and then but Sori stayed awake. Later Tara took her turn on watch and Maya slept at the base of the tree. Next morning they were stiff and sore, happy to be alive and not eaten during the night. They continued on their way and Sori slept inside Maya's bag.

Maya was thinking while she walked, 'There's nothing like friendship with a wild animal. Just by merit of their relationship with you, they become domesticated to a certain extent while remaining untrained and still guided by their instinct. Much as the current prevailing culture would have it, we humans are ruled and guided by our instinct as much as animals are. Ever since the rise of agriculture, we have considered ourselves separate and above Nature, quite different from when we were hunters and gatherers and knew ourselves to be a part of Nature only, like other animals, and not Nature's ruler. Sori and I share mind without any territory in between such as there is between me and Tara and other humans I care for. Me and the humans I care for have a deep bond and intuition but there is also an invisible space between, not so with Sori.'