The nation

Chapter 9

Harden listened to Westin about the exercises but did not commit fully to them until spring came. All through the winter harden used the ginseng that Westin prepared for him, with scarce and tepid results. Westin told harden that he could not rely on taking something all the time, he also reminded Harden of the stress factor that alone can cause many physical manifestations. To his credit, Harden was trying to follow Davyn’s prescriptions but could never quite get over the hump. He begged Westin for the yohimbine bark, Westin made excuses for as long as he could but eventually relented. He relented on one condition, that Harden commit to the exercises without any resistance. Harden agreed.

In the middle of the third month, after the new year, the rains began. The spring was always the rainy season in Ondu. Traditionally the rains were heavy and intermittent in the third and into the fourth months, this year the rains did not let up at all. Heavy down pours rocked the villagers with sheets of rain that pelted the hide covered homes viciously. Some storm’s brought sleet and hail to the village, the sleet made walking tricky and again damaged some homes. The hail, the largest of which was the size of a man’s hand, punched holes in roofs, hurt unsheltered animals and smashed tools that were left outside.

With the heavy consistent rains, the flooding became worse. Tools, homes, and animals were all swept away in the waters that spring. The People rallied around each other for comfort and support. The flooding again was worse in the southern end of Ondu, especially the farmland. The flood waters rushed through some areas of the farmland so fast that it stripped away layers of fertile soil with it. The winter wheat crop was all but wiped out completely. Hunting too was scarce as the rain and floods drove the animals all to higher ground. The spring seemed to want to overtake Ondu and the whole of the land, drowning it out.

Once the rains stopped and the land began to dry, many of the spiritual healers began talk of too many of The People living out of harmony. These healers began to perform ceremonies to purify the spirit of the village. They blamed the harsh weather on the decadent way some have been living. Some take advantage of others, ill words were spoken about people, some were more wasteful than ever, and the morale of The People was at an all-time low. Harden took this as a challenge.

Westin was one of the spiritual leaders that knew The People were not living Ohweelie. He saw firsthand the actions of some of The People, the unfriendly behavior, and the fear of Lo-ta-lou the Earth goddess, the Mother. Much praying, chanting, and dancing were performed to appease the Mother. The sweat lodges were crowded as The People looked to cleanse themselves of the negative energy, they believe had infected them. Harden took a message to The People.

“It is time to pick up the pieces from winter, ” Harden spoke loudly out in front of the council meeting place, many of The People were there to here from their leader, “I pledge to you that I will not stop until all is right. The homes are rebuilt, the animals that can be recovered are recovered, the farmland will be made right.” Harden glanced to Meda Carrick, who seemed not as confident as Harden was.

“This I pledge to you; that I will work with you as we all work together to heal and rebuild.”

“Heal and rebuild? Rebuild what? The land is flooded and bare now.” Baylie Shamoun whispered to Alayla.

“Shh, Baylie. Stop being negative.” Alayla whispered back.

“I call it reality.” Quipped Baylie.

“I will sweat with you, I will work with you, I will be right in the middle of it with you. This I can promise, we will rebuild better than before. The council and I are working on new plans for irrigation and drainage that will alleviate much of the problem of future flooding. We will remain.” Harden bowed, then removed his shirt and grabbed a shovel. He said nothing as he did this, but the reaction of The People was plain, many grabbed a shovel and followed Harden. Mostly men, some of the women and even a few of the older children were right there behind Harden, walking south towards the farmland.

“Have you seen Indra today?” Baylie asked.

“No, and I have not seen much of her to tell you the truth.” Alayla had mischief in her eyes.

“Rog, Rog!” Alayla saw Rognvald and tried to get his attention.

“Don’t bother him.” Lilly snorted, “He’s going to fix the farmland.”

“Who? Rognvald?” Baylie suppressed a laugh without much success, “Has he ever been dirty?”

“I don’t have time for this nonsense, Claudia, Oren, let’s get back to our home and do our part.” Lilly spat and shooed her children north towards their home.

“Yeah but, isn’t the trouble in the south?” Alayla flicked a thumb over her shoulder as Lilly sped north to her dry, slightly damaged, home.

“So pumpkin, are you going to help your mother and I clean up the shop, or are you headed south to the fields?” Tombold Flistedt asked his daughter Kaya Tasso.

“You know,” Kaya Tasso put one finger to her chin, “I might just run away like that blue eyed girl did. Live off the land, right, like our ancestors did. Follow the buffalo, hunt deer, fish!” she stopped talking, she was not serious at first; she mostly joked, but after saying it aloud the visions of what she had described played in her mind.

“You will do no such thing, Kaya, no such thing. And that blued eyed girl was Sokonan Maja’s only child.” Kathryn Flistedt scolded her daughter.

“Yeah but, isn’t that why she had to leave, her eyes?” Kaya had unwittingly began walking with her parents in the direction of their home, a pottery shop. “I mean it was like a bad omen for the village, right?”

“Many of The People believe that because the blue eye is so rare that it is dangerous or a curse, just because everyone else has brown eyes.” Tombold told his daughter.

“Yeah but, so... it’s not a curse?”

“Kaya Tasso! It is a curse; the people believe it.” Kathryn said loudly as some more traditional people walked by. After the people were out of ear shot, “KT, there are a growing number of people that do not believe in the old ways of thinking.”

“What do you and dad believe, momma?” KT asked quickly.

“Well, Chris, your mother and I saw no curse in Sokonan’s daughter, I believe that Sokonan herself saw no ill in her child. Yet three years ago Rognvald and some of the elders made her leave...” Tombold was interrupted by his wife.

“And that was before all of this harsh weather started, so you tell me Kaya, was the blue eye to blame?” Added Kathryn.

“What was her name? Why can’t we say her name?” KT was about to realize she was headed back home with her parents, “oh, I just remembered.” And Kaya turned and ran south.

“That girl,” Tombold said shaking his head, “she is just like her...”

“Don’t you finish that sentence Tombold Flistedt, don’t you dare!” Kathryn kicked up her feet and ran as fast as she could towards home, leaving Tombold with the cart of pottery and two horses to walk back by himself.

“Mother.” He said when he knew Kathryn would not hear him.

Kaya Tasso, or KT as her friends call her, was sixteen winters old. She was the only child of Kathryn and Tombold Flistedt; two infamous love birds. Kaya has a wide-eyed view of the world in all its wonder, she was a dreamer just as her mother was. KT has two very good friends; Marx Uhlfelder and Callum Brownrigg. Callum was Ustin Brownrigg’s oldest son, Ustin was a council member. Marx was the daughter of Robin and Rayelle Uhlfelder, her and Kaya grew up living next door to each other; their parents were good friends to. Callum was older when his father became a council member, that’s when they moved north to where the elders lived, and he became friends with both KT and Marx.

Marx and Callum went to the farmland to help clean up, or at least that was what they told their parents. Instead, they planned to go to the large boulders that were farther south than the farmland. The boulders were the last place the children should have been. They were not playthings and held something sacred to the people, but the older children sometimes went there to sun gaze and dream of what their life could be like. The ground was hard there, most of the boulders were tall and narrow and were stuck in the ground but a few of them were tipped over. The ones that lay on their sides were the best for sun gazing. They were warm in the sun and flat enough that only the heaviest sleepers might roll off, if they fell asleep.

Kaya ran like the wind, she really enjoyed the feeling of her hair flowing in the wind as she ran, the sweat trickled down the sides of her oval face, and her beads made noise as they bounced off her chest. Her feet padded softly on the dirt path that led south. She ran past all the volunteers working in the fields, diverting standing water and carving new drainage channels. KT noticed that there was a lot of people already working so the three of them would not be missed.

Marx was already at the boulders when Callum came strolling up, Marx was distracted with the carvings on the boulders and did not hear him coming. The markings on the boulders always drew Marx in, she was deeply curious, which often got her in trouble. Marx was trying to feel the carvings, she always closed her eyes as she traced them. The People tell the story of the last days that Ondu was in the village, before he went back to the water, they say that he carved these stones in his language and not The People’s. Marx loved the characters, there were shapes that were familiar and unfamiliar, the pictures were intricate and spellbinding to look at. Marx was fascinated with the stories of Ondu performing magic, she loved that thought of magic.