The World is Round

Chapter Two: Start of society

There were times when Maro would climb as high as she could through the canopy of the swamp, only to be disappointed with the sight of nothing but tree tops and the hills which surrounded the swamp and kept all the water and the life forms of the swamp captives within. Never did Maro imagine the day where she would be on top of one of these hills looking across out into her freedom. Alas, that day would be today. The climb upon the mountains was a treacherous one, but nothing the young lady could not handle on her own.

So, without further ado, she made the final stretch onto the hills peak and climbed up to meet her fate. When finally she hit the peak, awaiting her was the most awe striking site she had ever witnessed to that day. Bewildered, she took a minute to take it all in, and yet another moment it realise what she was to do with it.

To the east, lay the coast of which she had planned her journey around. Taking in the ocean was something particularly difficult, for to bare witness on such a body of water without any obstructions was such a contradiction to what Maro was used too. Being raised in a swamp, meant water was everywhere, but the only idea she had of water was the one she had been given by the swamp itself.

Directly north lay grasslands. Rocky and terrain with the occasional small cliff here and there and every now and then lay a tree or some bushes.

In the very distance Maro though she could see a village. 'That has to be my first destination' she thought. Conveniently enough, to the west lay a thin stream that looked like it would go to the village. Maro assumed it was her best bet to follow the stream, because it did not look like the coast would take her to her newly decided temporary destination.

The northern hill face was smooth, laced with grass rather than mud and sharp rocks like on the other side. Maro took one of the large swamp leaves from her backpack and smiled as she placed it on the ground, while hopping onto it.

The ride was sensational. The wind in her her, the sun coming down on her, the rush of the speed. When Maro hit the bottom, she roared with laughter and joy until she could no longer muster any breath. A final tear was shed for Ora as she got her swag together and began her way to the stream.

'This is no waterway...' she thought to herself as she finally made it. It was now around midday and despite all that walking and not having eaten anything that day, she was still energised. And she was right too, this indeed was no waterway. This was a river. And if the moon could make some of the waterways in the swamp flow, then by the spirits, it could make the rivers flow. Such power presented in the water had never been seen by this young lady. She walked by the stream as it plowed through itself, causing currents so strong, it looked like it could have swept away everyone in the swamp all at once.

After walking along side of it for sometime with admiration, Maro was struck with an idea. This idea which was sparked by a lone branch witnessed floating down the river at a high pace. She continued walking along the river collecting large sticks and carrying them along with her. After she deemed she had enough she separated them into two piles and tied them up with vines, along with the leaf she used to get down the hill, neatly lined up between the two piles. She had now constructed herself a little raft.

She grabbed it from either side and held it up in front of her. She took a couple of steps back, and then with a run up, she jumped into the roaring river, face first with the raft underneath her.

She let out a high pitched shriek as she hit the water and was pulled with the force of an angry parent down the river. Terrified out of her wits, her heart raced as the tips of her fingers started to ache from latching onto the raft so hard. She was too scared to keep her eyes open, but to scared to close them, ripping down the river at speeds she never even thought where possible, the world around nothing but a blur. After what seemed like an eternity of being swept away, her worst nightmare came to play before her eyes.