||The Legend of Taavi ||

|day 34|

            April 2nd

African Expedition Log: Day 34
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The girl showed up at our base camp again today. This is the third encounter we've had in the three days we have known of each other. She hardly stayed for any interaction yesterday; she just tinkered with Father's equipment for a bit. She approaches us with such reckless curiosity; it's almost as if she has no fear whatsoever.

Today, she attempted to communicate again: moving her lips, discovering her tongue, mimicking my speech, and speaking mostly gibberish. She remembered that her name was Taavi (not a name as much as an identity), and I reminded her of my name. While I had her here, I used body language and facial expressions to teach her some basic words, as I studied linguistics at the University two years ago. I realize there's a difference between teaching someone a different language, and teaching someone a language when they have not heard human speech before. She is utterly fascinated with our speech, but her excitement often gets in the way of her comprehending what the words mean. She's just starting to understand what 'yes' and 'no' mean. She's beginning to comprehend positive feedback, such as smiling, nodding, and the word 'yes'. However, negative feedback is much different for her. Waving my arms and screaming for her to cease ripping the tent apart seems to be a sign of encouragement in her word. Her natural language and body movement seems to be that of a primitive creature, perhaps a chimpanzee or gorilla, much to Father's excitement. Apes are the very creatures we came here to observe and study.

Clayton doesn't think it's a good idea, but Father and I believe that Taavi might be the key to discovering more about these magnificent creatures. She doesn't understand us, so it would be pointless to ask her where she lives and what species she was raised by until we teach her more. Taavi is incredibly eager to learn, which is good news to us, but she has much to discover. As I write this, I feel my exhilaration grow inside of me. Oh, how I cannot wait to show her the wonder and complexity of the world!

~ James Porter


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Author's Note:

The POV will change a bit throughout this story, so make sure to keep an eye out for that. Most of James's POV will be from his travel journals. If you have any questions about the storyline, feel free to comment :) 

~ Clearly Calah