The Choice ( a serial work of fiction) Part 11

" It was after one of A-dam's raids that he happened to wander outside his normal range.He found himself alone-neither the entertainment of the previous night nor his friends were near him. It was humid. He was thirsty and sweat stung his eyes. His foot caught the crook of an exposed root and he fell to the ground. He went to rise, making sure that no one had seen his clumsiness. Ahead of him , he could hear the sound of water. Examining himself carefully- he found that except for a few scratches which bled and a bruise on his right knee, he was unharmed. He rose to his feet once more and continued on towards the water. He roughly brushed away a swarm of small almost invisible insects that framed and reframed his face and eyes. He heard a sound in the nearby water , moved forward slightly and listened. If it were an otter- he would trap it. He could use the pelt to trade . It was not an otter. It was a woman, a woman that he had never before seen. She was gliding through the water as if she were an otter. She had hair the color of blood when it dried. Her left arm bore markings of some kind which banded all the way around her upper arm. Her skin was more pale than his- and her eyes were luminous and green. She stopped her swimming momentarily and listened. Had she heard his breathing in the nearby bushes and trees where he had paused? Perhaps, for she swam slowly towards the far side of the deep sapphire colored pond. As he started forward in hunter style, not wishing to scare the prey - she swam more strongly, purposefully. She HAD heard him. He moved quickly down the hill, across the rocks and sand - into the water. He could see that she was young. Conquering her would be his joy and challenge. She was dressing quickly as he passed the halfway point of the pond-she saw him . But, she confused him for she did not show fear of him. It was more like the aversion that he, himself ,practiced when avoiding skunks. She watched him and timed how long she had to disappear. She grabbed a long small bundle from the shore, adjusted her clothing and proceeded up the hill behind her, the dark green brush hiding her path . He could see her movements for a short while as the bushes appeared to part to allow her to pass. He lost her departure briefly as he arrived in water shallow enough to walk the rest of the way to the shore . He listened- there was no sound. He moved forward into the vegetation, and found the tiny path that the woman had climbed so quickly. He smelled the air around him- nothing. His hands parted broad leaves looking for hiding places- but if there were the places, there was nothing hiding. He checked the radius of the area- there was no sign of human life except him. It was quiet-far too quiet. Perhaps this was a place of ghosts as in the stories told to him as a child. He moved forward yet again- anger motivated him. He was better than all of this- how dare the woman not just simper at his feet as the daughters of his own village did when he took them away. He began to push up the path and through the trees and bushes angrily. They did not part for him but seemed to conceal and block his path from his prey. Above him , a lone crow cawed mockingly- it felt like a hard slap. When he found her, she would pay for this insult. . " Marya stopped here and looked at me. "Not quite the story as usually presented, is it?"

" No," I replied " Is the woman Eve?"

" Stories , like lives reveal themselves as they will and as we will to live them." She looked up, " I think that Duncan wants our attention."

I started to object but she brushed my objections away gently. " The story is too long to tell in one night. You will be back" She stood. kissed my cheek . I turned and found my uncle at my elbow.

He smiled. "I knew that you would find Marya fascinating...and she is right, there WIll be other nights. But Duncan wants to speak with us about security . Things change all of the time . We must adjust to the cirumstances as quickly as possible. Its what keeps us safe." And with that , he led me into a large room filled with padded folding chairs. Dark crimson against industrial grey. A large poduim stood at the far end of the hall. Behind the podium , there were four men- all well dressed. They looked as if they could be successful anywhere. Duncan was the first of the men. His jovial manner subdued by focus on business at hand reinforced his request that everyone find seats and come to order.