30 Making a Splash
When Adom went to the village the people walking around looked stiff. They had weary eyes that shifted side to side and were hesitant when moving about. Adom rubbed his head and felt his headache getting worse. He was a warrior and spent most of his time training, but as a prospective future chief he had to get used to interacting with the tribe and gaining their trust. When he spoke, his words had impact. He went up to a group of children and cautious mothers. They all quietly listened to him as he explained the guard's actions and that they were not a danger to the tribe. After all of their energy had drained it was obvious that the guards would be too dehydrated, malnourished, and exhausted to harm the villagers.
And once the warriors returned the guards would be outnumbered and could do nothing. The women wandering around the temporary village excepted Adom's explanation for the most part. No one had been injured. They had just been startled by the suddenness of the stampede that had torn through. It was extremely unusual for foreigners to come into their midst. Curiosity far outweighed any fright they had received. The young girls of marriageable age wanted to learn more of these strange men, and the mothers wished to see what this so-called lady that came from the kingdom of men was like. Some had seen the men from Middle Kingdom who were traders, but never a woman. Some had thought of passing Feme's tent to see if they could catch a glimpse of the girl, but as soon as they spotted the stalwart Launch, looking like he was the last defense to a national treasure, they soon let the idea go. There would be other chances to see her, when there wasn't a foreboding guard with a sword resting on his lap looking like he was ready to skewer someone.
Adom let out a sigh of relief when this was finished and as he was about to return to his mother's tent, he heard a blood curdling scream. When the scream was heard everyone stopped what they were doing. All eyes turned in the direction of the water hole. After the scream, there was silence. The first to break it was the crying of a baby, soon the other children began to cry as well. With frustration, Adom saw that all of his effort to calm the villagers was now ruined. Everyone was now scared of what had caused that scream.
He could feel sweat begin to trickle down his back. The women were now all talking in hushed tones, sending him glances. Their tribe had been peaceful until the strangers came.
"Everyone, stay within the confines of the village. The men will return from hunting soon, in the meantime I will check what the disturbance was at the waterhole. It was most likely a child's prank." With this announcement Adom left. Although the tribe had not experienced any troubles in recent times, they had had some close calls with warring tribes and venomous beasts. The villagers were adept at maintaining a united front and rising to the occasion when trouble found its way to their front step.
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At the Water Hole
Only a few women were still cleaning laundry. When Anis, the woman the guards had bumped into, returned the women scooted over and made space for her. Rae, one of the women washing, looked over at Anis and curiously asked, "Hadn't you finished? What happened to bring you back?"
Anis set down her basket and began taking out her clothes. Her movements paused at Rae's question. She really didn't feel like explaining the incident to Rae. Rae was two years younger than her at 15, and she was already on the brink of becoming an old maid at 17. If Rae was to hear of what had happened and it spread around to the others, it could hurt her chances of a marriage. She had already lost two prospective fiancés. One had died from a snake bite that wasn't treated quickly enough, and the other had ended up leaving the tribe to set up relations with another. It was rare for men to leave the tribe. It was usually women who would marry in. After losing two fiancés, people already thought that she had been born under an unlucky star. If they heard that she had been the one targeted, this rumor would just get confirmed. Even she was beginning to believe that she had been cursed.
"I was just clumsy and tripped. The clothes got dirty so I thought I would come wash them again," Anis said, not meeting Rae's eyes.
"Oh, that really is unfortunate." Rae turned away, losing interest in Anis. The other women were speaking of far more interesting things.
"It's almost been a year since the coming of age ceremony," said one of the women.
"The men will be getting tents of there own soon and setting up families," another spoke.
"Who do you think Adom will take as a wife?" whispered one of the younger girls who was still fantasying about marriage.
Adom was by far the most handsome and accomplished warrior of his age within the village, and as a prospective future chief the unmarried girls were all fighting a silent battle in order to gain his attention. Unfortunately, the promising warrior had yet to show any special interest in any of the girls.
"I heard that the weaver's granddaughter had presented Feme a gift. Maybe the boy will choose whoever his mother favors?"
"Feme isn't one to interfere with her son though. She has always let Adom do as he pleases."
"That's just because she has never had to interfere. He did everything so exceptionally there was no space for his parents to step in, but if he doesn't find a wife soon, they may take action."
Rae listened intently. She was one of the girls who had set their sights on the most magnificent man in the tribe. Like the others, she would watch him train as she went about her daily tasks, and steal glances at him during village meetings. It was hard for any of the girls to approach him though, as he was always busy and had a serious exterior. They were afraid to bother him and leave a bad impression.
The women were focused on their hushed discussion that they all jumped in fright when next to them a loud scream came. Before they could see what had happened there was a loud splash. One of the girls had fallen into the pool and was sinking fast. Water was scarce in the desert. When bathing they usually stood in the shallow end or took buckets. Very few of them knew how to swim.
"She's drowning!"
"Someone help!"
The women called loudly for help. None of them could save her, or they would be throwing their own lives away.
Another splash came. The women saw a shadow dive above them and enter the water. The water splashed up, soaking them. They all leaned over the edge, trying to find a sign of life, but the water was too dark. Time dragged by.
But within a minute the water's surface broke and two faces emerged. One was Anis who was not breathing and the other was an unknown man. The man sawm back to the edge of the pool and lifted the girl out. When Anis was laid down, quickly the women circled her to see if she was breathing. But before they could check her heartbeat, Anis took in a deep breath and threw up the water clogging her lungs. Ignoring their own drenched states, the women ran around in an effort to care for Anis.
"Thank you! I don't know who you are, but thank you for saving Anis!" one of the women said.
Uri got out of the water hole and held up his hands, waving the women off. "It was nothing. It was my and my friends' fault for scaring her," Uri said.
They had been going to ask the women if this was where they could bathe, but before they could speak Anis had seen them. When she had seen them, she had thought that they were coming back for her. Maybe they hadn't been able to find Adom, and thought that she had been lying. She had been convinced by their sudden appearance that they had come to punish her. She had gotten up, ready to run, but before she could take a step she had slipped on her clothes and fallen into the pool. Not knowing how to swim she could only give up herself to the darkness that bore in on her. Her last thoughts being that at least her death would be painless.
But she had opened her eyes again and met the concerned gazes of her tribeswomen. Somehow, she had survived.
"What happened here?" came Adom's voice as he approached the cluster of women. Off to the side the three guards came together and awkwardly stood.
"It was out fault. We came to ask if this was the bathing area, but the girl took one look at us and was almost scared to death," Uri apologetically said.
"I can't blame her of being frightened though. Right now, my own mother would be scared of me," Uzzi joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Adom stared at the guards and then looked back at the women. Everyone seemed fine. It was all just one large misunderstanding. Adom walked over to the troublemaking guards and said, "Follow me." It was his own fault for letting them go alone. He should have known better than to leave them by themselves. This time he would personally show them where to bathe and escort them back. They wouldn't leave his sight until they could be trusted and the rest of the tribe was comfortable around them. Grabbing the guards, Adom and the three left for the bathing area.
Rae watched them go, her heart thumping like crazy. This was the closest that she had ever seen him. And for just a moment, their eyes had met. Maybe…he had taken notice of her.
