The Mender

Sela and Muni

Either Zura or Esri were always near Grilu, and others from the bode took turns helping them. They sang to Grilu and told him stories. Fortunately for Grilu, Zura was adamant about cleaning away the vulture poisons twice a day until she could see that the healing was going well. 

Nat told Grilu the story of a wise man he knew as a little boy and how this man lost an eye and still went hunting and was a respected Elder in his bode. And others did what they could to lift the spirits of the boy who was forever changed.

Nagar's words did the most to encourage Grilu to accept his fate and be patient with the healing when she told him, "The big cat spared you for a reason. She saw a special destiny for you."

Within a week, Grilu was moving around, becoming accustomed to navigating the world with one eye. Zura insisted that he continue to keep his face as motionless as possible until the next big round Moon-Woman, and she showed him how to mark the days in the Thinking Circle. Bit by bit, he went farther afield, learning more about plants and roots and setting traps and snares for small animals. He particularly enjoyed spending time with Zura in the Thinking Circle, as she guided him through the meaning of the stars in the night sky.

The bode eagerly awaited the return of Piram, Dagan, Grayla, and Jolim from searching for the big cat. Almost two weeks after they left, Riga, Esri, and Grilu were out checking their animal snares when Riga spotted the returning group. "Look, there's Piram and the others, and they found two more people. They're small. They must be children."

"Run back to Flat Rocks and tell the others. I'll walk to meet them with Grilu," said Esri.

"I want to meet them," said Riga.

"All right, but don't run to them. It's still too soon for Grilu to start running," said Esri, and she headed back to Flat Rocks.

Riga and Grilu walked forward to meet the returning group. Piram went running over to them when he saw it was Grilu. It was still a shock to see what had happened to Grilu, but he looked much better than when Piram left. Piram put his hands on Grilu's shoulders. "You are strong again, and the healing is going well."

Riga jumped in. "We're not letting him talk much yet. Zura said he should try to stay quiet until the next big round Moon-Woman. Who have you brought with you?"

"We think they are sister and brother from a place many days' walk away. We don't know their story. They only talk to each other, and only a few words sound like ours. They're hungry. We found them breaking open bones from a kill where all the meat was gone, looking for the food inside the bones."

Riga and Grilu studied the gaunt and wary boy and girl standing between Dagan and Grayla. The girl was older than the boy and both looked older than Grilu. They stared at Grilu, no doubt wondering what happened to his face.

Dagan said, "We're hoping that maybe Barsa, who visited so many communities as a young man, might be able to understand more of their words. We tried to be gentle with them, but they're frightened of us. I think they've seen some bad things."

Grilu reached into his pouch and pulled out some of the nuts he had gathered, and then held them out to the children. He gave them a small smile and said, "Here, for you." The two stared at Grilu. First the girl, then the boy ate the nuts. Grilu understood that his face was causing them distress and wanted to show them that they did not have to be afraid of him.

Dagan stroked Grilu's head. Grilu had come a long way in healing and accepting what had happened to him in the two weeks Dagan was gone. Dagan patted Grilu's chest, looked at the children and repeated, "Grilu, Grilu," several times and then patted himself and said, "Dagan." He gestured toward the children but they remained mute.