A Texas girl finds herself admiring a light in the sky only to find out it is indeed an alien, which transports her to another time long long ago in Africa and pairs her with a Neanderthal population in hopes that her descendants will populate Nort...
Dry earth was not easy to find, impossible in fact, but a large flat sheet of sandstone was unmoved by the earthquake and flood and would do fine as a refuge. Julie refused to go anywhere until the water calmed down, as she knew it would. It had to stop, and while we waited, she lay down and closed her eyes; the warmth of my little body in her arms calmed both her and me, and she passed off into a long-needed sleep. Kamrasi stood over his new family, lamenting the loss of his older brother. How would Ujiji take the news, he wondered. Is Ujii still alive? What will they find when they get back home? He held the great cave bear's jawbone close to his chest. He held it tightly. Wishing he hadn't lost his knife, he reached into the pouch he always wore around his waist and found the little white stone his father had given him. He stared at the strange little markings on it.
He had never shown it to anyone. Keep it secret, his father had once told him. There is magic.
Where did it come from, Dada?
Simbabe gave it to me, he said, looking around to make sure no one heard or was watching.
Kamrasi was once in awe of the trinket. He had forgotten all about it until now. And so, he rolled it in his hand. How it shone. He put it to his lips like a honeycomb and rolled it against them. Then he placed it in his mouth and gave it a little bite – hard, too hard. It fell out of his hand, hit the stone, bounced high, and came to rest in a puddle.
It flies, he said quietly. He remembered how, as youngsters, he and Riangi would often see who could skip stones the furthest across the river.
There is much magic in the world.
The lake was still emptying down on them and took on a steady, thick, muddy flow. Kamrasi wondered how long Julie would want to stay where they were. He tried to nudge her awake. She needed to rest. And he let her because she had saved their lives. She said to wait until the water stopped. Why would it, he thought? He couldn't envision the water stopping any more than he could it not being there at all. It is what it is.
She woke up as the Sun set behind the dark black clouds and the distant hills. Everything was covered in thick black ash. The rains had stopped and turned the closed forest into a hot sauna. Steam rose in restless wisps. Bodies were in bits and pieces and strewn everywhere. Kamrasi sat and watched them float by. I was with him. Was this all that was left of the Outsiders?
Kamrasi went to look for food. Little me sat against a tree playing with Acada lizards that had come to lick my scratches. I wondered what they tasted like. They looked tender enough, so I took one by the tail and bit off its head. Julie looked on with disgust.
Was this the beginning of the Human race? Did she know? Did the Taso know?
She wondered what Kamrasi would bring back to eat. There seemed little wildlife around. Out of necessity, she had eaten raw meat before, since her arrival, but this time she would use stones to make a fire.
If water burned.
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