41 The Story of Osaze (1)

A-Narah spent the rest of the afternoon with Anis. When evening came, Anis and A-Narah got dressed together. Anis did A-Narah's hair and let her barrow a set of her clothes. When Anis and A-Narah walked to the village center, people were already gathered. The sun was still setting. The men would be bathing at this time, while the women finished preparing the dinner. When the last rays of sun lowered over the sandy hills, it would mark the time to eat.

Anis took A-Narah over to the other women. Food was being cut and meat roasted. "Here take this." Anis handed A-Narah a long, slender bowl and a stick with a rounded end.

"What do I do with this?" A-Narah held up the utensils, unsure what they were for.

Anis took them back from A-Narah. Taking it back, Anis lifted the stick and began grinding and turning it in the bowl. "Use it to pound and grind the herbs. It will be put on the meat for flavor." Anis gave the stick and bowl back.

"Okay." A-Narah sat down and did as Anis showed her. Concentrating she began grinding the mixture of herbs into a fine powder.

A while later Anis came back by and said to her, "Finished yet?" A-Narah handed her the bowl to check. Taking a glance at it Anis kept the bowl and waved for A-Narah to follow her.

"Good. Now with that done it can get added to the meat. We won't put it on ourselves. The ones in charge of the meat will do that. We just help with the prep and serving."

A-Narah followed Anis as she gave the bowl to another lady. The cook was a short, stout woman with a flat nose and strong arms. She wore two long braids over her shoulders that hung past her waist. The women didn't pay any attention to them. She just took the bowl and went about her own work.

The sky had turned a dark red orange casting the surrounding hills into dark outlines that touched the bottom of the sky. "The men will be coming soon. Come on, we will help lay out the seating mats for them."

A-Narah took an armful of mats that were stored in another tent and like some of the other girls, began laying them out as they had been the night before.

"Will there be dancing again tonight?" A-Narah asked Anis.

"Maybe, it depends if Old Deva will speak or not tonight."

"Who is Old Deva?"

"She is the oldest person living in the tribe, no one knows how old she actually is. I heard that she was old even when my grandparents were young. She is an important person though. The chief and the shaman are the tribe's leaders, but Old Deva is the tribe's teacher and story keeper. She is like the tribe's mother. Everyone learns from her."

"Does she speak often?"

"Yes. Usually she will tell stories after dinner. She is really special. Most tribes don't have someone like her. Most tribes don't even have a proper shaman. They all depend on their chief to survive. You could say that we are small, but we prosper."

A-Narah put down her last mat. "I'm done. Let's go look for Feme and take a seat."

Could this old woman be like her? Someone who had lived that long couldn't be a normal human. She had to be a mixed blood. Did that mean that those that had the king scorpion lineage had a way to extend their lifespan? A-Narah thought more about Anis had said but didn't come to any conclusions. The tribe she and her friends had stumbled upon was turning out to be an enigma. Mysterious happenings seemed to be afoot here.

The women sat and waited for the men to arrive. Once the chief had sat and been served the women went to serve the rest of the men. A-Narah carried filled dishes out and passed them off. She saw Anis serve Uzzi and the rest. A-Narah snapped her head away when she felt their gazes wander over in her direction. If Uzzi had berated her earlier for what she was wearing then he really would hate what she wore now.

Launch was the one who spotted A-Narah first, and he hit Uri to get his attention. Uri lifted his hand to smack Launch back but stopped when he saw where Lauch was pointing. Soon the other two had their attention called also. They all looked in astonished disbelief at A-Narah serving out dinners. Uzzi was half up to go stop her when Lael forcefully pulled him back to the ground. "You have done enough today," Lael warned him. "If you want to say something, think it over first and tell her tomorrow. Privately." With a scowl Uzzi stayed as Lael had told him, but his boring stare was kept on A-Narah. If any of those tactless men so much grazed their hands with hers, he would, like lighting, be over there and let them have a short conversation with the end of his blade.

After serving, A-Narah took her own dinner and sat. Anis had whispered to her on the way that Old Deva was here and would be speaking tonight.