Chapter 48
The three wooden dugouts floated in the water along the shoreline, the first and second separated by about a dozen canoe-lengths and the second and third distanced closer to twenty canoe lengths. The scene in each dugout looked similar.
Each craft had two rowers with a third person resting in the middle.
And, in each of the boats, the person in the middle looked noticeably uncomfortable, as the two people powering the boat paddled with a purpose to keep the craft from drifting too far away from the shoreline due to the wind and waves looking to push it out to sea.
The difference between the boats was that the three people in the front canoe were engaged in conversation.
“How many days did it take you to discover the first village?” the woman in the middle asked. “And then the next one after that, the one with the mixture of your people and the people from Morocco.” She had noticeably darker skin than the other two, despite both of them being quite tanned from the sun.
“Do you mean how many days after our ship landed?” the woman in the front asked.
“I think she means how long did we have to travel along the river, Luna,” the woman in the back.
“Why don’t we let Cherish decide what she means, Leday,” the woman in the front replied. “Which is it, Cherish? How long after we arrived or how long is the river journey?”
“I guess we have time to talk about both,” the woman in the middle answered. “We can talk about anything, really, as long as it takes my mind away from the waves knocking us over. But I’m really more interested in how far along the river you have to travel to get between the villages.”
“Now that has two different answers,” Leday responded. “Three, is what I would tell people, but we have time for the long way to get to that number.”
“When we left New Seneca, we decided to go up river, since we knew the sea was barely a half-day down-river and we didn’t want to venture out into open water just yet,” she continued. “Rowing upriver is definitely challenging, and we didn’t want to miss anything, so we made a criss-cross path upriver, getting out on either side after rowing for about a third of the day, so we could check out that area for any signs of human habitation. I know we leave quite a mess along the riverbank, and we felt if any village was close to the river, they would do the same. I think we spent fourteen days doing this, getting out along the shoreline, searching for trash or human trails or anything that looked familiar. Around noon on that fourteenth day we didn’t have to find any signs of human habitation. We saw the humans themselves.”
“Well, we barely saw them,” Luna chimed in. “Like now, we were busy talking between the canoes, arguing about when we were going to stop and eat. And apparently the people from Samatal Gaum could hear us before they could even see us. They all hid back in the trees along the shore as we got closer. We almost had paddled on by when that brave boy, Saan, came out of the treeline and shouted at us.”
“I believe his father thought he was being stupid shouting at us like that from what I recall,” Leday said. “He certainly sounded pretty upset when we pulled ashore.”
“Well, I think Saan was brave, and smart, making sure the opportunity to meet people wouldn’t literally pass them by,” Luna answered.
“Saan said the main reason he shouted out is because he thought you looked Indian,” Leday responded.
“I am Indian!” Luna said, and laughed. “One-hundred percent, according to my grandfather.”
“Not that kind of Indian,” Leday replied. “Anyway, am I telling this story or are you?”
“Go ahead, Leday the Troubadour, your audience awaits you,” Luna responded.
“So Saan shouts out and most of us had to turn around, since five of the six of the boats had already paddled past where they were hiding,” Leday continued. “We see an older teenage boy waving his arms, with a man rushing out of the tree line to try and restrain him and pull him away from the riverbank.”
“I start shouting out ‘We’re friendly! We won’t hurt you! Don’t run away!’, and Terry asked me ‘How do you know they speak English?’. So Phoebe starts shouting stuff in Spanish, and Terry is yelling ‘Does anyone speak French? Lot’s of other countries speak French.’ I’m really amazed the entire group of people from Samatal Gaum didn’t run away from fear, with all the nonsense we were yelling. Maybe it was too funny to not watch us. Anyway, a few others came out from the trees, and they could speak some English. So that’s how we met,” Leday finished.
“We’re they struggling with their food supply or any other issues,” Cherish asked.
“No, apparently not,” Leday answered. “They said they had a good source of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. And they only came down to the river every third day, since they didn’t want to overfish and ruin the supply of seafood. So it was lucky we were going by on the day they came to fish.”
“And why didn’t they find your colony first,” the passenger in the middle of the canoe asked.
“Probably for the same reason we didn’t encounter them earlier.” Luna said. “They hadn’t yet started exploring much beyond what a day-trip would involve. They had enough food, and were focused on getting their village built, and I’ve learned that they are a very tight-knit group. They don’t really want to make a lot of connections yet. From what I understand, they were very disappointed that such a large group left them in the first few weeks, and were hoping those people would be coming back. I was told one of the older ladies was afraid that if she left the village beyond gathering food, or water or wood, that she would end up lost and probably die like she felt what had happened to the other original arrivals with them who left.”
“Do they know that those people died?” Cherish asked.
“No, but they haven’t seen any of them either, nor anyone else from Earth,” Luna said. “That’s why it was very much a surprise as well as novelty when the people we met brought us back to their village. Ninety days after landing and not another person from Earth. They said they were on the second ship to leave from Kathmandu. On August second, last year – well, let’s see – 2091 Earth year, is when they left. They were shocked when they didn’t land where the first set of people from Nepal had landed. They didn’t know if all of those people left right away, but I guess none of us knew better back then.”
“And they didn’t go looking for them?” Cherish asked. “We had people looking for others from Gulu as soon as we had our food working well. I’m guessing in another week or two we would have found you if you hadn’t found us ten days ago.”
“No, the people from Samatal Gaum don’t want to split up any more than they have to,” Luna shared. “Almost everyone came with family members on that ship. It was a very big challenge to get anyone to come back with us to New Seneca. Once again it was Saan who offered to go with us. And his aunt wouldn’t let him go alone, so she came along. We had to have four boats stay behind, so they would trust we would come back for us and bring their family back.”
“They still don’t seem that interested in us,” Leday interjected. “When we were going back to their village, she insisted we take them across the river to their side and then let them walk back. It only took us two days to canoe downriver and reach New Seneca and she thought they could make the same time going back on foot. I’m glad Rosa insisted someone from New Seneca go along with them on the way back. Dante was not happy about the whole affair when he made it back to their village after walking for four days. Poor guy doesn’t like to hike, really. And when he heard we made it back in three days in the canoes, he was even more upset. But he did become friends with that boy, and…”
“Saan,” Luna interrupted.
“What?” Leday replied.
“His name is Saan,” Luna said. “You called him ‘that boy’. He has a name and we all should be able to remember it. You were the one who said we shouldn’t get lazy here.”
“Uh, yeah, ok,” her friend replied. “I was talking about not just sitting around and letting one of those flying cats figure out we’d make better food than the smaller animals, but I get what you are saying. So Saan and Dante are about the only two who travel back and forth between our villages now. A three-day trip up-river from New Seneca to Samatle Guam and two days down-river from, oh I know I’m getting it wrong. How do you say it?”
“They pronounce it Samatal Gaum,” Luna said.
“Yes, two days downriver from there to New Seneca. And that is the answer to your question about how far between the villages, Cherish.” Leday said.
“Except you forgot about Tafsut Marrakech,” Luna said.
“I forgot about it?” Leday questioned. “I wasn’t talking about the Moroccans. I was talking about the people from Nepal”
“But Cherish asked about both villages,” Luna countered.
“I’m done with story-telling for now. You can share some too, you know,” Leday replied.
“Well thank you for giving me the microphone,” Luna said. She was then splashed with a paddle-full of water from her friend.
“What was that for?” Luna said with a laugh.
“I’m not hogging the discussion,” Leday responded. “You can talk whenever you want.”
“OK, if that’s what you say,” Luna replied, looking over her shoulder. “Hey, ok! Don’t splash me again. I take it back. Besides you’re getting poor Cherish all wet as well.”
“And rocking the canoe more than I prefer,” the third person noted.
Leday continued paddling and didn’t respond.
“OK, then. Tafsut Marrakech,” Luna started. ” We were excited to have found Samatal Gaum and figured the river must be a good place for people to gather. So after that first month where we got to know the people from Nepal, we continued up-river again. After about a day and a half, the river split. We followed the bigger branch to the right. And then after another half-day, the river split again. We followed the bigger branch, again to the right, but didn’t have to go far until we saw what looked to be a food trash dump next to the river. It was almost sunset, so we found a place a bit further up-river to camp for the night, far enough away that we wouldn’t be bothered by any animals sniffing through the animal bones and fish guts, or by the smell coming from that pile.”
“The next morning, we went back to that area and before mid-morning, we heard a group of people approaching. This time it was us who hid in the woods,” Luna continued. “There were about a dozen people who came through the treeline. At first we were observing them – I felt a little awkward about that, to be honest – and then I recognized a woman who walked to the river.”
“And then Dan popped out of the trees as well,” Leday said.
“Yes, I recognized him also,” Luna said in a less-than-excited tone.
“Who is Dan?” Cherish asked.
“Dan Randolph,” Leday answered. “Luna doesn’t like him. They got off on the wrong foot when our ship was preparing to land. And then he made a big announcement he was going to leave the colony the fourth day after we arrived, like we were all supposed to be so sad to see him go. So this day we saw these people, he steps out of the trees, tosses off his clothes, and walks into the river, butt naked, and starts splashing around.”
“Naked? In front of all those people?” Cherish wondered.
“That seems to be his thing,” Luna said disapprovingly. “Anyway, after we saw the people we recognized, we came out of the trees ourselves to say hello. It was a surprise for everyone involved when we all met. We found out that two groups had actually come together. The first group that ended up in this area were part of the fifty-eight people that left the colony, including Dan and Amy. By the time they got here, they had lost three people on the four day hike. I know they were surprised how quickly a person could get sick and die. From what we learned later, there were a number of people that wanted to abandon the second person that fell ill, since the first person had died within ten hours of when he started vomiting the prior day. A small majority of people argued to wait it out but did isolate the sick man, who did die sometime that night where they had camped. Anyway, a third person wandered off that next day and never came back. So when they finally found what looked to be a good place for food and shelter, they stopped as they were worried people would start dropping if they continued to look for a perfect location.”
“And they actually did very well for themselves,” Luna continued. “Of the fifty-five people that arrived, forty-eight were still living when the group from Morocco showed up. That group consisted of around four-hundred people that had all come from the town of Imlil in Morocco. Like the ones from New Seneca, they left their original drop-off site right away. After traveling cross-country for nine days they came across the river and started downstream looking for a good place to create their settlement. It just so happened that one of the former New Seneca people they met after walking downriver that first day was someone who had a great-grandfather from Morocco. The way it was explained to us is that the former New Seneca people had enough food but were worried they didn’t have enough people to help sustain a permanent settlement. They really didn’t have time to improve their shelter beyond basic huts, they still only had very limited tools, and didn’t see a way to advance their way of life without more people. They were actively thinking about returning to New Seneca when the Moroccans arrived. So it was kind of a benefit for both groups, as the people from Imlil had very good mentors on how to get established.”
“At least that was the idea,” Leday interrupted. “We met them five days after the people from Morocco showed up and joined the people from New Seneca. As we transported some of the people from that village back to New Seneca to meet the rest of our colony, the Americans were already complaining about being overrun by the Moroccans. They tried to get the Moroccans to say the name of their settlement was Greenplace. It had been translated into something different by the Moroccans and it bugged the crap out of the Americans.”
“Yeah, not everyone thinks every day is perfect here, but enough of them are willing to give it a chance.” Luna jumped back in. “The last we heard there hadn’t been any major fights between the two groups. A few of the forty-five Americans decided to return to New Seneca, but most remained in Tafsut Marrakesh.”
“I heard Dan was trying to convince one of the Moroccan women to live with him and be his wife. Or at least have someone he could have sex with and someone to feed him,” Leday commented with a chuckle.
“I really don’t care what happens to Dan,” Luna replied.
“See? I told you she doesn’t like him,” Leday said to Cherish.
“And after you met them, you came and found us,” the woman from Uganda noted, not really responding to Leday’s comment.
“Well, yes, more or less,” Luna answered. “Like with Samatal Gaum, we spent a couple of weeks helping people get back and forth between New Seneca and Tafsut Marrakech. And then our exploration group decided we’d try our hand at the open sea. Very different from going up and down the river, that’s for sure. I think we need to create new crafts. I was thinking…”
Cherish sat up straight, pushing herself up off her seat, causing the canoe to start to tip. She released her grip, plopped back down in the canoe and pointed ahead and to the left. “Is that our village?” the former Ugandan asked excitedly.
“Careful there, Miss Cherish!” Leday said from the back. “I don’t want to swim to shore and drag this dead wood behind me.”
Luna looked ahead and after hitting a few more crests nodded her head. “I believe I see the arms extending out around your bay, but I’m not seeing anything else yet.”
“I suppose that is what I’m seeing as well,” Cherish agreed. “But, yes, the rocks that protect our beach. Those are it, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they could be it. We’ll find out soon enough,” Luna said.
The sun was half way through the afternoon sky when the trio spotted the rocky outcrops. By the time all three canoes made it through the islets and across the water to the beach in the center of the bay, the sun was casting long shadows. Once the canoes beached, Cherish and one of the other Ugandan passengers ran to find the people from their village, while the third person from New Gulu helped the paddlers stow their canoes and gear off the beach far from the wandering tides. It was dark by the time the paddlers and the remaining Ugandan made it to the main part of New Gulu village.
Cherish ran over to them when she saw them arrive. “The people here are very happy to have us return and insist we must celebrate tonight. They have already started cooking some food for us. Promise you will stay with us and enjoy.”
“Here,” she said, taking two wooden mugs from one of the other Ugandan colonists. “My friends swear they found some fermented fruit juice. Have some!”
“Was it on the safe list during the cast on your arrival?” Luna asked.
“I don’t know,” Cherish answered. “But my friend said she saw someone drink it two days ago and yesterday, and he is feeling well.”
Leday took the mug, looked at Luna with a smile and a shrug, and took a drink.
“We can’t be afraid to try every new thing that comes along, Luna,” she said.
Luna smelled the contents of the mug, then also shrugged. “So true, my friend. So true. We all need to taste a little adventure everyone once in a while.” And with that, she took a sip from her own mug.
Cherish handed them two more wooden mugs. “Take this as well. You are to water down the drink so it doesn’t overpower you.”
“But it doesn’t taste like there is any alcohol in it,” Luna said.
“I’m told that is the strange part. It will have a big impact if you don’t mix it with enough water,” Cherish said.
Leday did as Cherish instructed and drank the full cup of water.
Luna took the second mug in hand, had a sip and then carried both mostly-full mugs.
“Some fruits and nuts are already on the serving tables,” Cherish told them. “Come this way and we’ll get some while we wait for the meats to finish cooking.”
The travelers walked over to the shelter in the center of the village that had been constructed over some wooden tables where the food was laid out for the celebration. The villagers had collected some flowers as well to decorate the gathering space.
People immediately crowded around the travelers, asking them about the trip, wanting to know how their fellow Ugandans handled being in the canoes for days, and suggesting which foods to try first.
A person came up to Luna and held out a plate filled with a selection of the fruits and nuts available and said, “This is for you”. Luna looked at her hands holding the mugs, set down the one containing the water. “Thank you,” she said, taking the plate in her free hand.
While the people from New Seneca weren’t intentionally separated, as the celebrities and guests of honor for the evening, they became naturally distanced from each other as the inhabitants of New Gulu wanted to spend time with each of them.
Luna and Leday bumped into each other again when the meats were done cooking and they had been escorted back to the food shelter to start the second course.
“Why don’t we have celebrations like this back in New Seneca?” Luna asked her friends. “We are way too uptight for our own good. Hey, Cherish!” she shouted across the tables when she saw her traveling companion. “Where is that special fruit juice! I’m all out.”
Cherish pointed to a set of large gourds at the edge of the serving area.
“You are normally one of the more reserved people back home,” Leday noted. “Maybe you just need a new group of friends to let you loosen up. Or maybe something else is helping with that as well.”
“Did anyone talk to you yet about the flash in the sky here the morning after we left? And how they think it was a new ship coming in?” Luna said, not really listening to her friend’s comment. “Mukisa was just starting to tell me about it when we were dragged over her. He said there is some land you can see across the water if you go to the top of a hill around here.”
A woman walked up. “Would you like another drink, Miss Luna?” she asked, holding out a mug.
“Is this the fruit punch?” Luna asked.
The woman nodded.
“Excellent!” Luna said, trading her empty cup for the full one.
“Everyone, please gather around!” a man shouted. He was standing by the central fire outside of the food area, motioning for people to come near. “And please have our guests come forward.”
The people surrounding Leday and Luna parted and opened a path between where they were standing and the fire.
The two began walking towards the bonfire, carrying their newly filled vessels of food and drink.
Leday leaned over and whispered to Luna. “Are you drinking any water?”
“We want to thank our guests for bringing our fellow New Gulu colonists safely home,” the central speaker boomed out.
“Shhh” Luna whispered to Leday in response to her question, nodding her head to the man and smiling.
The man continued with a lengthy speech, repeating many of the highlights of their trip since they gathered at the Ugandan launch site on Earth, their preparations for departure, their awakening as they neared Nova, their landing and the struggles of starting the colony in the first weeks, the people they lost, and the excitement of the discovery of others on the planet when the people from New Seneca arrived.
All the while, others would come by where the canoers from New Seneca were seated, offering them additional food and drink.
“And now,” the central speaker paused and looked at the six lighter-skinned people, “we invite our guests to share their thoughts.”
The other five people looked at Luna.
Luna glanced around, smiled and looked at Leday. “Not this time,” she said, shaking her head. “You can do the speaking for us, my dear friend.”
Leday’s cheeks reddened. She stood up, then bent down to take a drink of water, straightened up , brushed off her shirt, and cleared her throat.
“Thank you, everyone,” she said.
“Louder!” Luna loud-whispered.
Leday looked at her.
“They can’t all hear you,” Luna said. “You need to speak louder.”
Leday cleared her throat again. “Thank you, everyone!” she said, nearly shouting. “We are happy that our colonies have met each other and are honored to have you as friends. We look forward to many years of cooperation and peaceful existence as neighbors on this new planet.”
Everyone continued looking at Leday after she was done speaking. Then one person began to clap. Leday looked down to see it was Luna. Others joined in with their own clapping and soon the applause was joined with whistles and yells.
Luna quickly stood up and patted Leday on the back. “Excellent speech! I think people are ready to continue on with the celebration, so thanks for keeping it short and sweet. Now where is Mukisa?” And with that, she wandered off to find her new friend.
Before she could follow, Leday was stopped by the New Gulu speaker “My apologies, Miss, if I said anything earlier that may have offended you.”
Leday looked at the man with a confused expression. “No, you didn’t offend me?”
“I was not sure,” the man said. “Your speech was so short, I couldn’t tell if you were disappointed by what I had said.”
“No, not at all. You had many, many nice things to say,” Leday responded. “I am not used to speaking in front of crowds, and didn’t have anything prepared to say.”
The two had a lengthy discussion wherein Leday continued to explain she was in no way bothered by the words the man had said.
After a long time, both people’s attention were drawn to a group on the periphery of the camp when someone shouted “Absolutely! We must go!”.
“Excuse me. I believe that is my friend and I should go find out why she is shouting,” Leday said to her host, bowing slightly as she turned to walk towards the group making all the noise.
“Is everything okay over here?” Leday asked.
“Leday! Omigosh! Did you hear? There is another one, right over there!” Luna said, pointing out over the sea into the dark.
“Another what?” Leday asked.
“Another colony! I mean, that’s what everybody thinks. Mukisa said they saw one of the morning flashes that went over head right here right after we left. He told me just now that three of the people from New Gulu made a raft and paddled across the water to go find it,” Luna explained.
“Why would someone go on a raft into the middle of the sea not knowing where they were headed?” Leday questioned.
“No, no, no, no, you don’t get it,” Luna said, shaking her head strongly from side to side. “You can see the island if you go up on the hill. What’s the name of the hill?”
“Kilak Hill,” Mukisa responded, taking a sip from his mug.
“Kalaka Hill! That’s it! And you climb right up it and you can see the island right there,” Luna said, turning to point into the dark again, and losing her balance as she spun.
Leday caught her. “How many cups of fruit punch have you had, Luna?”
“I dunno,” Luna said, tipping her own mug to get a drink but finding it empty. “But this one is empty and I could use another one.”
“You could use some water,” Leday said. “Have you been drinking any?”
Luna smiled and shrugged.
“Come on, let’s get you some water,” her friend said, putting her arm around her friend’s waist.
Luna threw her arm across Leday’s shoulder. “Then we’ll go find their friends. They need us, Leday! They need us!”
“I know they do, hon,” Leday said, beginning to struggle slightly to keep her friend upright. “We’ll go look for the island tomorrow. Right now you need a drink and some rest.”
“Yes, a drink!” Luna shouted. “I can’t believe I’m so happy on all these travels with you. Promise me we’ll stay together. We make a good couple.”
The sun was nearly halfway up in the morning sky when Luna slowly walked out of one of the huts on the edge of the New Gulu central village. Someone in a group of people talking in the distance pointed in her direction and another person in the group stepped back from the group to look and then began walking towards her.
Luna noted it was Leday, who walked by a table under the food hut and grabbed a gourd and cup.
“Here you go,” Leday said, holding out a cup filled from the gourd. “You didn’t drink enough of this last night, so no excuses today.”
Luna took the cup, noted it was water, and drank the cup empty.
“Thank you,” she said hoarsely.
“How are you feeling this morning?” her friend asked.
“Rough, very rough,” Luna noted. “Like I worked picking thirty bowls of Nova grapes, then went to chop down three trees for a new hut, and then rowed in the canoe for five hours.”
“So you’re sore all over?” Leday wondered.
“No, not muscle sore. Just like my body expended a ton of energy and it’s drained,” Luna explained.
“Well, that’s an odd type of hangover,” her friend said.
“Why do you say that?” Luna asked.
“Because I’m told you drank more fruit punch than anyone around you, without drinking any water. The people in your group were concerned when we laid you down to sleep last night,” Leday shared. “Mukisa insisted that someone had to watch over you to make sure you didn’t stop breathing, since you pretty much passed out on the walk back to this hut. When none of the women in the group offered to stay with you, he stood outside the hut and would go in to check on you every so often until sunrise, then he finally went to lie down in his own cabin.”
“Oh,” Luna said, looking at the ground.”
“And your head?” her friend asked. “No headache? No nausea?”
“No,” Luna responded. “Just run down.”
“Hmmm,” Leday commented.
“So, what were you talking about with the group over there just now,” Luna said, wanting to change the topic.
“We were about to go to Kilak Hill,” Leday shared. “The people here say the best time to look out over the water is late morning. They were going to show me the island they were talking to you about. It does have my curiosity. They told me the same thing you probably heard last night. The meteor-like trail appeared in the sky early in the pre-dawn morning after we left. The bright path turned into more of a contrail from a jet overhead the village, and this led towards the island when it stopped. After some debate between the New Guluans that day, a very small group were adamant someone should go investigate. They strapped together a raft and the next day three people rowed it out of the bay, through the gap on the boundary rocks. People watched them from the hill, but lost sight not long after they got past the rocks. It’s been nine days and they haven’t returned.”
“And did they say they want us to go find out what happened?” Luna asked.
“Yes,” answered Leday. “They think we would make it to the island since we’re experienced being on the water.”
“But that’s open water all around,” Luna responded. “Canoeing in a river or even along the coastline is a lot different than going out into an open sea or whatever is beyond the bay. Who knows how strong the current is? Or the waves?”
“I said all those same things to them,” Leday noted. “And they still insisted we should go. They said you promised last night that you would go find their friends.”
“Yes, I do remember saying that,” Luna nodded. “So what did you tell them after all the conversation?”
“Well, that’s when you came peeking out of the hut here, so I said I’d ask you what you wanted to do,” Leday said with a smile forming. “I said if you are going, I’m going with you. We travel together, right?”
“Really?” Luna said in surprise. “I mean all those things I knew you would say about the danger of crossing the open water? And who knows what we’ll find there? And why would we do that when there is so much to discover here?”
“Don’t you want to go?” her friend asked.
“I do,” Luna said softly but earnestly. “I really do, Leday. I mean, talk about exploring! But I don’t think a dugout canoe is the right craft to take. Not really stable enough. I don’t like the idea of a raft, however. Way too cumbersome to control in open water.”
“Which is why one of Mukisa’s friends is going to turn the canoes into outriggers,” Leday said. “There is a former boat maker among the colonists. He said he worked on Lake Albert, making custom water craft for rich tourists. But when the aliens arrived and started shipping people off the planet, the tourists stopped coming and his business dried up. He’s pretty sure with some help that he can create a good counterbalance and get it attached to one of the canoes yet today.”
“Amazing!” Luna said. “Can it be that easy?”
“Nothing ever ends up as easy as it seems,” Leday commented. “But, don’t you like to say, nothing ventured, nothing gained!”
“Then let’s go up Kilak Hill and see where our next destination is!” Luna said, starting to walk back towards the group Leday had come from.
That evening, after looking across the water and seeing the island from a distance, and after working with the boat maker and a group of others to turn the canoe into an outrigger, the two friends had gone down the beach to a private inlet to bathe and talk about their trip the next day.
“So we’re really doing this, aren’t we,” Luna said.
“Yes, it seems we are,” Leday said.
“And you are really okay with us going?” Luna asked. “I mean, we couldn’t get anyone else from New Seneca to come along. They all said we were crazy and should come up with a better plan. Or at least wait to build a bigger boat.”
“Like you said, the bigger boat isn’t going to be any easier, since we couldn’t row it, so we’d need a sail. And we don’t have any good materials yet to make sails. And we’re not experienced at sailing boats. And if we can see the island from here, we can definitely row there in less than a day,” Leday said.
“Yes, I said all that,” Luna nodded, washing off her arms with water. “Am I being stupid? Or just ignoring common sense?”
“What do you think?” Leday asked.
Luna floated in the water, reflecting on the question. “No, I don’t think so,” she said. “I feel pretty sure about this, and feel confident we can make it across the water.”
“Then I think you aren’t being stupid,” Leday replied.
“But why are you going with me?” Luna asked.
“Because you haven’t made a wrong decision yet,” her friend replied. “Well, I’m not sure about the fruit punch, but I’m talking about all the other decisions.”
“Yeah, I’m still feeling the after effects from that stuff. My shoulders are starting to feel like I did all those things for real that I mentioned this morning,” Luna commented.
“Really? Here, let me see if I can work out any kinks,” Leday said, bobbing across the water. “Turn around.”
Luna turned to face out over the bay, and Luna started rubbing the muscles on her shoulders.
“So are you sure you weren’t a massage therapist on Earth?” Luna asked. “You have a natural talent.”
“No, not at all,” Leday said. “I told you, back there I was not a people person.”
“So why the change?” Luna asked. “What is it about this planet that makes you different?”
“It’s not the planet,” Leday said, working on Luna’s upper arms. “It’s the chance for a fresh start. It’s a chance to be someone I wasn’t confident enough to be before. And it’s the people.”
“I agree the idea of a new start seems to have inspired almost everyone,” Luna said.
“But it’s really one person that has allowed me to change,” Leday said, her tone softening. “It’s you that has inspired me to be someone new. Someone that couldn’t be like this on Earth.” She moved to Luna’s shoulder blades. “Were you serious about what you said last night?”
“What part?” Luna asked.
“About being so happy on all these travels we are doing, and that you wanted me to promise to stay together,” Leday said.
“Of course!” Luna responded. “I can’t imagine having anyone else with me. I mean, we seem to work together very effectively, and I think we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well. You always make me feel better.”
“I am so happy to hear you say that. And I think I could make you feel even better.” Leday said as she reached around Luna’s front and cupped one of her breasts.
Luna jumped forward and reflexively crossed her arms.
“I thought you were massaging my muscles?” Luna said with a small look of shock on her face.
Leday took a step back. “I’m sorry! Did I move too quickly? I mean, I thought we were getting really close there, and thought it was okay to finally do something about all these feelings we have.”
“These feelings we have?” Luna asked.
Leday looked slightly confused. “Yes! Our friendship, you know? How are we so close and want to be together?”
“Together?” Luna said, returning the confused expression. “Like together, together?”
“Yes, together, together!” Leday said. “Don’t you want to be together?”
“I do want to be your friend. But I didn’t mean it should go beyond a dear friendship,” Luna said, loosening her arms.
Leday crossed her arms, as if she were getting cold. “But you said you wanted me to promise to stay with you. You always seek me out. We sleep side-by-side most nights. You practically kissed me last night before you passed out!”
Luna walked towards her friend. “Leday, I do love you, but not like that. You’re my best friend. Closer to me than I was to my sister on Earth! I do want to share all these experiences with you, but not as a lover.”
“Do you like men or women?” Leday asked quickly.
“I like all people,” Luna said.
“I mean, which would you rather spend the night with? Which are you attracted to?” Leday clarified.
“Well, I suppose men?” Luna responded questioningly.
“So why didn’t you tell me you slept with men before,” Leday said, her shoulders starting to quiver.
“Because I haven’t,” Luna answered. “I’ve not had sex with a man – or a woman. But, yes, I’m physically attracted to men if that’s your question.”
Leday turned towards the shore. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Honey, I didn’t know that was a question. I’m sorry I was so oblivious to things,” Luna said, walking towards her friend and placing her hand on her shoulder.
Leday jerked her shoulder from the touch. “Don’t! Don’t touch me like that. If you don’t want me touching you, then I don’t want you touching me!”
And with that, Leday rushed out of the water, grabbed her clothes and ran off down the beach, away from Luna and in the opposite direction of the village.
The next morning, Luna woke before sunrise.
She walked over to the fire next to the cooking shelter to warm herself.
“Good morning, Miss Luna,” the person tending the fire said.
“Oh! Good morning, Cherish,” Luna responded. “What brings you out so early today?”
“I have morning cooking duties this week and next,” Cherish explained. “The colony council decided that I had a break from duties for twelve days and I needed to make up for some of that time off, so I’m stuck with the food preparation at the time no one else wants. But, to be honest, this doesn’t bother me. I enjoy working on my own and not having others around to bother me.”
“Oh, I understand,” Luna said, “I was just passing…”
Cherish interrupted her, “Oh, not you, Miss Luna! You don’t bother me at all. I’m talking about the people that want to come up and tell me how to do my job. Or try to talk me into taking on some of their cooking duties as well. Please, stay here. I miss our conversations these past couple of days.”
Luna smiled. “I miss them as well, Cherish. But I got up to try and find Leday. Have you seen her this morning?”
“I haven’t seen her,” the New Gulu resident responded. “I heard she didn’t come back last night. Is she okay?”
“She and I kind of got upset with each other and she went off away from the village,” Luna said.
“I heard about that as well,” Cherish said, stirring in some vegetables to start the morning gruel.
“What else did you hear?” Luna asked with a slightly annoyed tone.
“Oh, that’s it! I’m sorry, Miss Luna, but we don’t have any news to talk about here normally, so when Ibique saw you come back alone last night, and you looked sad and when he asked if you were ok, all you could say was to watch for Miss Leday to return, he guessed the two of you had a fight. I hope that’s what happened,” Cherish said.
Luna’s look turned from annoyed to surprised.
“I mean I hope she decided on her own to walk away and that she didn’t get lost or hurt and you just can’t find her,” Cherish tried to explain.
“If I thought she was hurt or lost, I wouldn’t have come back!” Luna said. “Yes, Leday is upset with me. But she is excellent at knowing her way around nature on this world and will come back when she is ready.”
“Then why are you worried about her?” Cherish asked.
“Because she is my friend,” Luna said. Then she added, “And because I don’t want her to be upset with me.”
Cherish nodded solemnly. “I’m sure she’ll return soon.”
“I hope so,” Luna said. “I’m going back to the beach to look for her. If she comes back while I’m gone and you see her, tell her I’ll return soon, will you please?”
“Of course,” the woman cooking the morning meal said.
Luna walked down to the beach where the canoes from New Seneca had been hauled ashore. Behind them was the canoe modified the previous day to prepare for its voyage out of the bay.
Luna continued along the beach towards the inlet where they had their falling out the night before. There was no sign Leday had returned, so she continued down the beach further.
By the time Luna returned to the canoes, the sun had been up long enough that the breakfast time was over. As she began to walk the opposite direction along the beach, a voice called from the path leading back to New Gulu village.
It was Cherish. “Luna! Miss Luna! She came back!”
Luna stopped and jogged back to the trail. “Leday is back?” she asked.
“Yes, and she..” Cherish started to say, but Luna didn’t wait for her to finish. She sprinted down the trail towards the Ugandan encampment.
When she reached the village, Luna saw Leday on the edge of the central gathering area, talking to one of the other pairs of New Senecans that had traveled with them. “Leday!” she shouted, running over to the three.
Leday said something to the pair, both of whom nodded and walked off.
“Are you alright?” Luna said, stopping in front of Leday and breathing heavily.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Leday answered. “Where were you?”
“I was looking for you down by the beach,” Luna said. “I was so worried about you after we separated. Oh, I’m so sorry about how I reacted last night. I just wasn’t thinking straight.”
“No, I think it was me who wasn’t thinking straight,” Leday said. “I just assumed too much and didn’t give you enough explanation before I acted. I’m so sorry, Luna, that I forced myself on you like that.”
“I’m so sorry I said things that confused you, Leday,” Luna said, paused, and then grabbed her friend around the shoulders in a strong hug. “I never wanted to hurt you like that.”
Leday hesitated, then returned the hug, “You didn’t, Luna, you didn’t. And I’m sorry if I hurt you with how I acted.”
“You didn’t hurt me, Leday. You told me how much you care for me,” she responded, continuing to squeeze her friend around the shoulders.
The hug lasted a few more moments then both women stepped back.
“Were you talking to Jack and Dianne about heading back to New Seneca? It’s probably time for us to head home today,” Luna said.
“Home?” Leday questioned. “You aren’t going home until you find out what is on that island. I know that much about you. And I’m not letting you go across the water without me in that canoe with you.”
“I thought you might want to get a new canoe partner, after last night,” Luna said, looking uncertain.
“We had a misunderstanding, and an argument,” Leday responded. “It wasn’t our first and it won’t be our last. Maybe it clarified some things for me, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are my dearest friend and I’m not going to let you do crazy things without me being there to pull your butt out of trouble.”
Luna leaned forward and hugged her friend again. “Oh my gosh, Leday. How could I not love you.”
Leday hesitated again.
Luna leaned back, held her shoulders in her hands and looked at her friend face-to-face.
“Maybe we won’t be lovers,” Luna said, tears beginning to well up. “But that doesn’t mean you aren’t my dearest friend as well.”
“Then we better get ourselves organized for our little trip,” Leday said, tears forming in her own eyes.
It was mid-morning before they finished breakfast, pulled together some extra provisions for the day and that evening, and had gathered together with a crowd down by the beach with people who came to see them off.
“Please, if you find Damba, Namazzi, and John tell them it’s time to come back to New Gulu,” Mukisa said to the two. “They should follow you back here on their raft. If they can’t make it back, bring whoever needs the most help with you on your return here, and we’ll prepare two more craft to bring the other two back.”
“We know,” Luna said. “We promise to not go exploring. If we can’t find them within two days, we’ll be back here before the end of the third day. And you need to promise that if we don’t come back in three days, you won’t send anyone else. There is enough on this planet to challenge us that we don’t need to fight the sea yet to survive.”
Mukisa nodded.
The two gave some more hugs to people, and then got in the canoe being held in the shallow water by others. They pushed the pair out to water that came up to their waists and gave the boat a final shove into the outgoing tide.
The morning breeze had subsided, so the waves were minimal.
The sun had crossed the midday point by the time they were canoeing past the outer rocks that ringed the bay. At this point, the paddlers could see the top of the mountain on the island that was their destination.
Leday took a drink from the gourd holding some water. She capped the gourd and turned around to hand it to Luna, who was paddling from the rear. “I can’t believe how clear the sky is and how smooth the water is out here,” Leday said.
“We are fortunate there,” Luna responded. “And I think the current is pushing us towards the island for some reason. I would have thought there would be a cross-current for some reason. But what do I know about oceans? I lived in Nebraska my whole life on Earth.”
“Do you miss it?” Leday asked.
“Nebraska?” Luna said.
“Well, not just Nebraska. Earth, I guess,” Leday clarified. “Do you wish you were back there?”
Luna finished her drink, set the gourd down and took a few more strokes. “I think about Earth probably every day, still. I don’t know if I’ll ever not think about it. And, yes, I miss plenty of things from back there. But would I want to be on Earth instead of here on Nova? No. It’s tougher here than I ever imagined. And I realize I was a very silly girl thinking I could get on one of those alien ships and they would take me to a place that would be like an extended camping trip. But would I want to return to Earth? No. This is where my dreams took me, and this is where I realize I’m supposed to be.”
“I don’t think I had very clear dreams,” Leday said, matching her friend’s paddle strokes. “So I couldn’t say whether this matched what I expected or not. But I know I’d rather be here as well. It’s made me a better person.”
It was mid-afternoon when the two encountered the cross-current Luna was expecting. They had to put extra effort into keeping their craft aimed towards the top of the mountain. After a noticeable movement of the sun in the sky, they were back in gentler waters, with the base of the mountain now visible and the island shoreline stretching out on both sides.
There was still plenty of daylight by the time the pair were nearing the beach, but the sun was definitely approaching the end of the afternoon.
“Do you see any good landing areas?” Leday asked as they were about fifty canoe lengths from shore.
“Not necessarily,” Luna responded. “But I guess over to the right a bit the trees are a little close to the water line, so we wouldn’t have too far to drag the boat and tie it up.”
“Are you worried about someone coming along and taking the canoe?” Leday asked with a bit of concern in her voice.
“I’m worried we still don’t know enough about these tides and the water will float our boat away without us in it,” Luna said.
The two of them grounded the canoe-outrigger on the beach, drug it up the sloping sand a half-dozen body lengths to the tree line, and tied the outrigger float to two trees, using a vine they brought with them as well as one they found in the trees. They placed the oars in the bottom of the boat hull, and each one grabbed their sloth-skin packs over their shoulders.
“Left or right,” Luna asked looking at her friend.
“Let’s go to the left,” Leday said. “I didn’t see any sign of people or their raft as we came in, but the current was pushing us leftward, and they probably had a harder time controlling a raft than we did on the canoe, so who’s to say they didn’t end up a lot further around the shore.”
“Good idea,” Luna responded. “And maybe we can find a stream or something emptying into the sea along the way. We should fill up with some fresh water when we have the opportunity. Never know when we’ll need it.”
“Always the practical girl, aren’t you?” Leday commented. “So it was a lot easier to get here than I thought. Do you think they made it here on the raft?”
“There were three of them, so they should have had enough muscle,” Luna noted. “Unless they couldn’t get out of the current, or one of them fell into the water, or the raft capsized, they should have been able to make it.”
“The next question is do you think we’ll find them,” Leday asked.
“In two days or less?” Luna said. “I give us less than a fifty-percent chance. If they got here more than a week ago, they would have gone inland. And who knows where they would have started from. If that mountain is in the middle of the island, I’m guessing it will take us at least a week to hike around the perimeter of the island. And that’s if the mountain is in the middle. If it’s on the tip, who knows how big this island is. Or even if it’s an island. And their goal wasn’t just to float over here and float back, so the trio from New Gulu probably aren’t hanging around the beach to go swimming each …”
“Look!” Leday interrupted, grabbing her friend’s forearm and pointing far ahead.
A black-skinned woman was sprinting along the beach, kicking up sand as she ran.
After a few moments, a group of a half-dozen emerged from the treeline and began running after her. The woman had a decent head-start, but wasn’t running as strongly as those chasing her.
The woman looked ahead and saw Luna and Leday.
“Mukádí̧-tíina!” the woman yelled.
“Can you hear her?” Leday asked.
“I can hear her, but I can’t understand her,” Luna said, the volume of her voice rising.
“What do we do?” Leday said.
“Mukádí̧-tíina!” the woman yelled again.
Then one of the people chasing after the woman pulled his arm back and thrust it forward. A small spear whisked through the air but landed well to the side of the woman in front. Another person swung his hand over his head, and released a bolo. It wrapped around the woman’s legs and she fell on the sand. She pushed herself up on her hands, looked behind her, and then turned forward.
“Run! Dear God, run!” she yelled.
Luna and Leday glanced at each other and immediately began sprinting back to where they had left their boat. They were able to slightly outpace the pursuers, but Luna still flung her pack aside so she could run faster, keeping only the water gourd on her shoulder. Leday did likewise.
“We need to get the canoe in the water!” Luna shouted as they reached the boat. “Untie the other vine! I’ll get this one.”
Luna quickly pulled at the vine, loosening the knot and slinging the vine aside.
Leday was struggling with hers, as it wasn’t a quick release knot. Luna hopped over, yanked at the vine and ripped it, causing a small cut in her palm. “Push!” she yelled.
Leday pushed from the back while Luna pulled from the front, the two of them moving the craft towards the water much more quickly than when they had come ashore.
Even though they had a head start, the time loosening the canoe and moving it to the water allowed the five pursuers to come even with them. The men ran down the sand slope as the two women were getting the outrigger into the water.
“Get in and paddle!” Luna yelled, moving to the back to continue pushing.
Leday picked up a paddle, took two strokes and then turned around.
“No!” she yelled, lunging behind her and pushing Luna, knocking her into the water.
Luna quickly came back up, sputtering and jumping through knee high water to get back to the boat. “What are you doing!” she screamed. “Row!”
Leday was kneeling in the rear of the hull, with a shocked expression on her face.
She reached behind her back and then jerked her hand away. As Luna got her hands on the rear of the hull, she saw a deep gash in Leday’s palm. “It hurts,” she said in a monotone voice, and slumped forward.
Luna caught her before she fell out of the boat, and saw a small spear sticking out from where it had landed under her shoulder blade.
“Oh my… Don’t move, Leday.” Luna said firmly. She grabbed the shaft and pulled out.
“Ow!” Leday said weakly. “Was it,” but before she could finish the sentence, she tried to catch her breath and coughed up some blood.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Luna said, trying to get Leday fully in the boat and pull herself up. “Relax, Leday, I need to stop the bleeding.” The sound of panic was now full on in her voice.
“Listen, Luna,” Leday said, flinging an arm and placing her bleeding hand on Luna’s cheek. “I love you,” she whispered, continuing to cough up blood. “If that wasn’t clear, I love you for who you are, not what you look like. Promise me you’ll be true to yourself and continue to look at the stars.”
Leday’s hand fell from her friend’s cheek as two of the men pursuing them caught Luna by the shoulders and pulled her from the boat.
“No!” Luna screamed as the boat began drifting away. “No! Let me go! I need to help her!”
Luna’s captors ignored her demands and her screams as she broke free and lunged forward into the water. Two more of the men grabbed her, and then all four were struggling to pull Luna back to the sand. The fifth man came up, threw his arm around her neck. Luna saw the outrigger float out to sea as she lost consciousness.