The Way of Water

 

Erthen was so upset that Fallon took him into the trees and away from the beach, hoping that he could distract the boy. The word they used for the pup was like that of a pet that Erthen played with in the home they had left behind. He thought his mother was cutting up his pet.

 When Alpen arrived back with the group, Bebe warned him not to use that word. They had agreed to call it a fish. Alpen pulled some large leaves from the trees, then washed them in the ocean. Using the leaves as wrappers, he folded the meat inside each one and set it aside just out of reach of the water.

As they finished up, Alpen looked back to Bebe and the travois. Fallon was still off in the trees with Erthen. He told Alithea about the Sprints.

Looking out over the endless expanse of water, she set the knife down and washed her hands. “Alpen, you did what you thought was right and we followed your lead.” She looked back at Bebe and the few meager belongings on the two travois. “We have nothing but each other now. You and Bebe are senior but I think we should vote on our next course of action. North to Cawthingi territory, return home or continue south and hope that the tribes are friendly.” 

With his finger, Alpen traced the 3 toed imprint of an Alsace bird in the sand. “I don’t think returning home is an option. Not while Sarten is chief.”

Alithea reached out to Alpen’s arm. “We can decide together.”

To Alpen voting was a lack of command. Shall we attack the enemy? Let’s take a vote. Of course not. He traced a triangle in the sand, then drew lines from each corner to the midpoint of the opposite side. Focusing on the point where the three lines intersected, he went through the sand to the hard rock certainty that lay deep beneath the earth. “We should go north.” He drew a circle connecting all three points of the triangle, then looked at Alithea.

Leaning forward, she drew a square that enclosed his outer circle.”We are four, like the four corners of a square. If we die, and our children, we should not curse you with our last breath. It will be our decision.”

“And what if we find Drindl? Will we have another vote?"

Connecting a triangle to the top of the square to make a pentagram like shape, she said, “We act as one family.” Again, she reached out to him. “We  will live and die together like warriors but vote like women in the bargaining tent. The best of both ways.” She clenched her hands together as she searched his eyes.

“Both ways.” Alpen looked again at the diagram in the sand as a tongue of water licked at the thin furrows. As it receded, tiny channels of water remained. “This is the way of water. It carves new paths. We will be like water.”