OTHERBORN: THE DIG [WP PROLOGUE EDITION]

THREE

My people know well to keep to themselves. Jogging back-and-forth between the box camp and my side of the canyon and cliffs, I don't reveal any of these spots with my path-marks just yet. It might bring us scouts—and worse—outsiders here.

In the morning, I start to lope the thirty miles back and I pick an easy pace to save on my legs. We all run a lot. If I'm caught though, it would end any hopes of town school attendance one day. I'd never work in my 'first father's' store.

My plan will take trust. They don't even know he could be near here. But I do. I feel him. I feel his direction. I don't know how to admit this to my people yet.

One day, I will figure out how I can find him.

I cover many dunes and valleys over ridge-rocky paths. I only pause once by the river.

Sobrealimentado! I am good, strong.

Here, I soak some seeds in the flow for a sloppy drink. I squeeze lime juice and slurp. I carry this always in my running waist-pouch, along with the oil, the seeds and the lime fruit.

I survey wave after wave of sand, rocks and bushes.

Until...

This is my place that I wish to explore! I slow to an easy stop. No blue streak, twinkles or flashes.

And no ticking sounds now.

At last, where I'm ready to stay still for most of this morning, I pray, "Good Earth, please forgive me, should somebody stumble onto my 'digging' and see all my mess." There will be shame in leaving these marks!

Slowly surveying, I catch my footing, lose stealth, and I trip, then I fall. I'm onto my face, but I'm caught by my hands.

And then—a rapid breath in—something is well out of place! I'm straddling a jute coloured strip that does not look like it flows with our landscape.

A sharp glance around. No one is here! I want to examine what this is in the earth. Here I'll spend hours.

"Heck," is another word Reggie has taught me, so I use it, "What the heck is this? Looks like..." I'm now brushing sand from... "Oh! Moon-dancing luck! Look at this thing!"

I scramble up, guessing—it's the jaw of a creature. "I'm touching a skull!"

The eye sockets stare. This gives me some chills. My stomach pulls tight, but in waves of excitement. This could be the moment!

"Hey! This isn't an animal—looks like a human. Or was it—something more? Could he be squashed?"

I feel for more bones, most of them buried. "What part would this be? Is it a he or a she? And intact? It looks like it could be a serious "find". What are the chances? And...it might make me an archaeologist now!"

I have seen 'our' own skulls often in death, and this looks so, so different. Villager skeletons appear even more like adults of our people than this skull reveals itself to me, staring.

"Is this the "Before Folk"— those earlier 'us', but not truly us?" Their faces were thin, and eyes kind of stretched. It's nothing I know, but for certain, "This find will be moon–blessed, I can be sure." I feel this as well.

Our runners notice 'Outsider' bones in cracks and on cliff-sides—but too late for our help, and not very often. Would this be an Outsider or...much better... Could this be an ancestral "find" of our people, right here?

This time it's mine and nobody knows. "I'd have my own "re—search", at last!" My moondance at the fiesta has worked! I knew that it would.

"Mother Moon, you have blessed me! Oh, how I owe you. You've brought me real luck! I will listen to your silver guidance on all of my nights!"

I'm nearly laughing. I'm hopping, unbalanced—keeping back from 'my skull' in the ground.

Gingerly, next, I dig with caution, brushing aside each small clump of sand from the clay as I loosen. I work to calm down.

Embarrassment floats through my mind, though. I thought I had retrieved such a "fossil" before... Then, the elders said it was not what I hoped. They had all laughed about it immediately.

They'll think I'm possessed from disturbing the spirits, I know. "Just when I think I've mastered the customs, I'll find there's a new one I've broken..." I hope not about the Blue Specter this time.

They were angry later, and said I was never to come out here. And I tried to get Reggie to explain about "research", but he waved me off when the elders were looking. They laughed to themselves.

Crawling back so I can approach the find without damage, I churn through sand that seems safe to remove, until it reveals I am close to more objects, hidden below me. More and more small bones now tumble.

But they won't know, so let's figure this out... And pray, they'll be proud when I show them my "skull". I catch fragments that fall, before they can hit others. I slowly expose more of the site.

I get up to stretch and do a small Moondance.

I name my find, "Hueso Amigo", and start up a chat. "How old can you be, Amigo? What were you called? Do you like your new name?"

And then I realize – he's really real!

I am in awe.

~~~/

Thank you for sharing Kai's find!

He's only nine when we meet Kai at this point (although ten years older in our other stories). Do you think he'll be in trouble for digging things up?

Does his excitement seem genuine and merit determined exploring? Or should he handle things differently here?