Chapter 42

Esteban led the way down the path from the beach to the original housing section of Lejano Pueblo, kicking sticks, rocks and anything that had fallen from the trees out of the way .  

“¡Ay! Dios mio!, Te, it’s like the baby knows the moment we leave the beach,” Isabella said from behind, holding her belly. 

“Maybe she does,” Esteban said, bending over to pick up a soccer-ball sized edible nut in the trail.  “Maybe she likes the sounds of the beach, or prefers the fish over the birds.”

“And maybe it’s a ‘he’,” Isabella said.  “And maybe you need to recruit some people to help you finish our new house, soon.  I want to get the nest ready, but at this rate, I’m afraid I’m going to have the baby on the beach and try to find rest under the cotton palm trees.”

“I promise the place will be ready for us to move in within a month,” Esteban replied, as they came to a section where the trees had recently been cleared, and some new structures were being built.

“Can we stop by, just to take a look?” the expectant mother said.

“It’s not much different than the day before,” her husband said, turning to the left to walk between some wooden frames.  “I finished the inside of the back wall yesterday.”

“And there are two openings?” Isabella asked.

“Yes,” Esteban replied, “but I still think it’s going to be too airy or too hot for the baby.”

“Once I find a good vine to string up the bark blinds, I’m sure that will control air flow and temperature,” his wife responded.  “Just because I can’t lift beams right now doesn’t mean I’m of no use.”

Esteban stopped in front of a structure with four walls and beams where the roof would be.  “Welcome to almost home, Almost Mama Torres,” he said, as he stepped to the side and made a sweeping movement with his hand for her to enter the opening.

“I’m not Almost Mama Torres, you goof, I am Mama Torres if you’ve been paying attention to my belly,” Isabella said, walking through where the main door would eventually be placed.

Esteban followed his wife inside.

The building was ten meters wide and fifteen meters deep.  In the back of the structure were posts placed where future interior walls would create two smaller rooms in the back.  The couple was standing in the main room in the front of the house that people would enter once they came in the front door.

The former owner of a home building company went up to the back of the house to look at the work he had done the previous day.  His former co-owner came up beside him and held his hand.

“Does it pass inspection?” she asked.

“You’ll have to let me know once I’m done with it,” he said.

“It’s lovely – even if it is behind schedule,” Isabella said, leaning over to kiss her husband on the cheek.  “And the safety exit?”

“Here,” he pointed to a wooden hinge under the window.  “Are you sure this is a good idea?  You don’t think the child will be tempted to run out when she gets old enough?”

“Do you really think we’ll be in this same house in ten years when he gets brave enough to wander off?” Isabella said.  “To be honest, I hope we outgrow this house.  But still, I want something  for a quick escape out the back if needed.  No fire extinguisher available at the neighborhood Mundo Artículos, and I don’t want to worry about trying to climb out the window with a baby.  Who knows – maybe there are two inside, with as much bouncing around as I’m feeling.  Here – right here,” Isabella moved her husband’s hand to her stomach.  “He’s going to kick a hole in my side if he’s not careful.  Did your sister ever talk to you about the movement she felt?  If it was ever this much, this early?”

“I thought you would know all these things from your midwife days,” Esteban said.

“My job was mostly at the end, when the women were tired of talking about the baby moving around and just wanted it out.” Isabella answered.  “But I don’t recall any of them really explaining things like this.  And I know your sister was very excited when she got pregnant with their first baby.”

“She didn’t really talk much about it to either of us, Isa,” Esteban said.  “She knew we were trying and I think she felt a bit guilty that she and Guillermo had three children when we didn’t even have one, even though they were two years younger than us.”

Esteban paused. “I miss them sometimes,” he said with a sigh.

“I miss them too,” Isabella said.  “But they said they weren’t moving back to Mexico, even after the aliens arrived.  There was no way we would see them in Argentina.  And after your father died, there was no reason for them to even visit Mexico occasionally.  Who knows what all is going to happen there now.  Aren’t you happy here?”

Esteban focused on his wife.  “I’m much happier here, with you, and our growing family,” he said, patting her stomach.  “Maybe we should get back so you can feed that baby some breakfast.”

“Maybe we should,” Isabella said.  “I am hungry too.”

The couple weaved through the remaining buildings under construction to the fires on the edge of the old encampment.  A number of people were starting preparations for the morning meal.  Esteban took the nut fruit he had picked up on the path and gave it to one of the preparation tables.

“Fresh from the tree from this morning,” he said.

The food preparer didn’t seem as enthused about the fruit as Esteban was.

His wife went to the other end of the table to gather some of the nut fruit that had already been cut up.

“How are you this morning, Isabella?” one of the cooks asked.  “And how is the baby?  Still kicking?”

“I’m doing well, Lilianna,” Isabella answered.  “And, yes, the baby is quite active.  How are you feeling today?  I think you’re starting to show now.  See how the shirt is laying on your stomach?”

“I’m well, thanks for asking,” the other expectant mother said with a forced smile.  “But I can’t feel anything yet.”

“You’re only four months along, dear,” Isabella said.  “It’s too early.  But you will soon!”

“But I thought you were talking about the baby moving at sixteen weeks!” Lilianna said.

“No, it was much later,” Isabella lied.  “Don’t worry.  You’ll be feeling it soon enough and then complaining as much as I do!  I need to get some fruit to have the sugar balance this protein.  Take care, Lili!”

Isabella quickly walked to two tables down the path, and began to gather some fruit in her tunic.

“Here,” the woman at the fruit table said, handing Isabella a small clay bowl.  “Use this for now.  Just bring it back before the big group arrives, please.  And tell Esteban we could really use some more!”

“Thanks, Carolina.  I will!” Isabella said.

She stopped to get some root vegetables, caught Esteban’s attention and nodded to some benches where she went and sat to eat her morning meal.

Esteban was still at the first table, where he was preparing the nut fruit he had tried to pass off earlier.  He had cracked the shell and was cutting out the inside fruit into bit-size cubes for others to pick up when they came for breakfast.

“Well, good morning to you, Senor Torres,” a man said as he walked up to the table, carrying five of the same nut fruits in his arms.  “I didn’t think you were on breakfast detail this week.”

“I am not, Jorge.  I’m just helping prep what I brought in,” Esteban said.

“Ah, so you spent another night on the beach?” Jorge asked.

“Well, most of it, yes,” Esteban said.  “We didn’t go down until second moonrise.  Isabella wanted to try to sleep here, but that only lasts so long.  But, like magic, we get to the beach and within ten minutes of lying down, she is out like a rock.”

“So you got some rest as well, then, eh?” the man asked.

“Oh, no, mi amigo,” Esteban said, grabbing one of the nuts the man had brought in, and beginning to work on it.  “Isa needs to get close to the water before she is comfortable, or before the baby calms down to be more accurate.  But that is too close for my comfort.  So I stay awake since I don’t know all the things that can crawl out of the ocean yet.  In addition, the tides are too unpredictable for me to trust.”

“So why aren’t you crawling into your hut to sleep now?” Jorge asked.

“Because I have work to do,” Esteban answered.

“You have become quite the potter,” the other man said.  “Your bowls are definitely popular.”

“I was thinking of the tiles I want to finish for the roof,” Esteban said.

“So you’re expanding your offerings?  How will you keep up with the demand?  You’ll need to build a second kiln,” Jorge noted.

“Calling it a kiln would be polite but not truly accurate,” Esteban said.  “I couldn’t handle a second one anyway.  It takes too much time to manage just the one, between getting the right temperature, maintaining the fire, moving the bowls around to bake and everything.  And now I need to focus on the house, and I want clay tiles over the roof.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” Jorge said.  “You show me how you do the pottery and I’ll help you finish your house.  I don’t know why you’re not making the construction a group effort all the time.”

“I need to figure out the methods and materials here,” Esteban explained.  “So I can’t keep a crew busy all the time.  I had people help me with the frame, and I’ll have people help me with the roof, once I get the tiles finished.”

“Ok, so teach me how to do the pottery anyway,” Jorge said.  “I need a break from fruit and nut collection, and I’m not a good hunter.”

Esteban finished cubing his third nut fruit and set down the stone knife.  “Meet me at the kiln at noon.  I’ll show you what I can.”

“Fantastic!” the future apprentice said.  “I won’t disappoint you!”

Esteban grabbed some nut fruit, some berries, and some dried meat on the walk over to join Isabella, who was still sitting on the bench.  Another woman had come over to strike up a conversation while Esteban had been talking to Jorge, and the two women were in mid-topic.

“So you didn’t have to do anything special,” the other woman said.

“No.  It was just the standard positions, you might say,” Isabella said.  “You know, we had been trying for a long time back on Earth.  I’m convinced it was the fact that here we weren’t as stressed and didn’t have expectations on us here.”

“Well, Guillermo and I have been trying for thirty days now, and nothing has happened yet.  But I don’t even know if it can happen.  My periods haven’t gotten into a normal cycle yet since we landed and they aren’t as heavy as they were back on Earth.  Normally I’d be happy about that, but I would think I don’t want light periods if I want to get pregnant.”

Esteban, appearing a bit uncomfortable with the conversation, broke into their chat.  “Why are all those people crowding around Roberto?” he said, pointing over to the group now gathering by the  food tables, with more people joining in as people were coming in from their cabins to get the morning meal.

“I don’t know,” Isabella said.  “He’s your friend.  If you’re so interested, go find out.  Eva and I are having a good conversation.”

“He used to be your friend as well,” Esteban said.

“Not since he left Celestina,” his wife replied.

“I thought it was a mutual separation,” her husband responded.

“He found that woman in the Ivory Coast colony and he left Celestina.  I don’t think he consulted with Celestina about bringing a mistress into the relationship,” Isabella said.

“I thought he didn’t find the Ivory Coast woman until after they split,” Esteban said.

“Go talk to him, Esteban,” Isabella said.  “Just stop interrupting Eva and I.”

Esteban shrugged and left the two ladies to join the ever increasing crowd.

As he approached, someone shouted from the middle of the pack, “And how many people were on the ship?”

“I heard it was around one-thousand, just like ours,” Roberto loudly replied.

“Did as many people die en route?  And did the robots carry them away?” someone else asked.

“Yes, although when I saw what was happening, I left the landing site,” Roberto said.  “Too many painful memories from that day.”

Many heads in the crowd nodded in agreement.

Esteban turned to the person beside him.  “What is he talking about?” he asked.

“Roberto said a second ship landed at Neuva Marfil,” the woman said.

“Another ship of people from Costa de Marfil?” Esteban continued.

“No, from Los Estados Unidos,” the woman said.  “From Kansas!”

“Kansas?” Esteban questioned.  “Why Kansas?”

The woman put a finger to her lips.  “I want to listen to what he’s saying.”

Roberto was answering another question.  “I don’t know how many decided to stay and how many left.  This group didn’t seem as interested in exploring away from Nueva Marfil.  I think they saw how much the colony had developed and wanted to understand what it had to offer before leaving.”

“So the Marfilos were willing to take them in?” came the question from the crowd.

“I don’t know for sure,” Roberto said.  “My French, well my creole French, isn’t that good.  So it’s hard to tell exactly what they were saying to each other.  Mathilde told me that there were lots of varying opinions about how to treat the new arrivals.  But she said most of the Mafilos felt it would be good to have fresh bodies in the colony, especially to replace the people that died.  Mathilde guessed there are probably three-hundred of the original people on the ship from Costa de Marfil left in the colony.”

“Are the Americanos coming here?” a woman said with a worried tone.

“I don’t know,” Roberto said.  “But think about what it was like for us.  They are disorganized.  They didn’t get any of their own supplies, so they’ll be looking for anyone that can offer guidance or help.  I’m not afraid of them.”

“Why didn’t they land here?” the woman standing next to Esteban asked him.

“Good question,” he said.  “Why not ask Roberto!”

The woman raised her hand, but Roberto didn’t notice.

“I think you’ll just need to shout it out,” Esteban said.

Barely before he finished saying that, the woman belted out in a voice three times louder than what would normally come from a body that size.

“WHY DIDN’T THE SHIP LAND HERE!” the woman shouted.  “WE ARRIVED BEFORE THE OTHER COLONY.  WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN OUR SECOND SHIP FIRST!”

The crowd hushed, at first because of the volume of the speaker, and then because of the processing of that question.

Roberto looked at the lady.  “I actually had that very same thought, Ramona.  But the aliens didn’t appear, and the people on the ship thought they were going to be dropped off with others that came from Kansas.  Mathilde guesses it’s because there are fewer people in Nueva Marfil compared to here.  But to be honest, that’s just a guess.  I’ve shared all I really know for sure.  And, if you don’t mind, I need to get something to eat, since I didn’t get anything before I left the other colony.”

Roberto started moving towards the food table, but it was a slow slog, as people kept asking him questions.

Esteban walked back to where Isabella was still sitting with Eva.

“Why was that woman yelling about a ship landing?” Isabella asked.  “Is that what Roberto was talking about?”

“Yes,” Esteban said.  “Apparently a second ship landed at Nueva Marfil yesterday.  With a group of people from Kansas.”

“From Los Estados Unidos?” Eva asked, sitting up straight.

“Yes,” Esteban said.

Eva quickly stood up.  “I have a cousin who moved to Kansas about ten years ago!  I wonder if he was on that ship,” she said, starting to walk away from the couple.  “I’ve got to talk to Roberto!”

“Good luck!” Esteban said.  “Everyone else wants to talk to him as well.”

Isa looked at her husband.  “Why didn’t the ship come here instead of Neuva Marfil?  We’ve been here almost two months longer than they have.”

“That was the same question Ramona asked,” Esteban asked.  “Roberto didn’t have an answer.”

“Bouncing baby.  Second ships.  Women worried about their periods.  This is too much for me right now!” Isabella said.  “I don’t feel I got enough sleep last night, and I don’t want to think about all this right now.  I’m going to go lay down in our hut.”

“I’ll go back with you,” Esteban said, holding out a hand to help his pregnant wife get to her feet.

The couple walked through the old housing section to find their building.  Esteban helped his wife lie down on the animal pelt placed over the moss-like material they gathered every week to create a cushioned spot on the ground.  Esteban himself sat with his back against a wall and closed his eyes.

After some time, Isabella was still shifting her weight on the moss cushion, trying to get comfortable.  “This is awful!” she finally said.  “Why would any woman enjoy being pregnant?”

Esteban hopped up.  “I have an idea,” he said as he went to the door of the hut.  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Where are you going?” Isa asked.

“To see if my intuition is correct,” he replied over his shoulder.

Esteban jogged down to the beach, passing by the food preparation area to pick up some small scraps of nut fruit, the collective tool area to grab a vine net, and then by his mud kiln to pick up a bowl he had finished the day before.

Once at the shore, he filled up the bowl with water, set it in the sand, and waded out to where the sea came up to his knees.  He dropped one of the nut fruit scraps on the water and put the rest in his mouth.  Then he stood very still.

Before too long, a red baguette fish swam by to investigate the floating morsel.  As it swam up to eat the nut fruit, Esteban scooped the net into the water to catch the fish.  The fish got the morsel, while Esteban missed the fish.

He pulled out another nut fruit leftover from his mouth, dropped it in the water and waited again.

After the sun had moved a full length in the sky and three more attempts to snatch a passing prey, Esteban was able to snag and hold onto a fish on the fifth try.

He went back to the sand, dropped the fish into the bowl, and wrapped the netting over top of the bowl so the fish wouldn’t flop out.  The expectant father hurried back to his hut, carefully carrying his catch.

Esteban walked into the wood shack to find it empty.  He scanned the corners of the dimly lit structure, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the lower light level, but Isabella was not there.  He knelt down to set the bowl and it’s content on the dirt floor.

“What are you doing?” a female voice asked sharply.

Esteban startled and sloshed some of the water out of the bowl he was lowering, the fish bumping up against the net.

“¡Ay! Don’t scare me like that, Isa!” Esteban said as he stood up, shaking the water from his hands.

“OK,” Isabella said, softening her voice, “Hello dear, may I ask what you are doing?”

“I’m going to help you sleep,” Esteban said with a self-assured smile.  “Where did you go just now?  I thought you were trying to rest?”

“I can’t with the baby doing gymnastics,” his wife said.  “And then I had to go pee.  So off to the latrine I went.  Why were you gone so long?  That didn’t help me either, since I wondered what you were up to when you left.”

“I went to get this,” Esteban said, pointing at the fish, darting around in the bowl now half-filled with water.

“I’m not hungry.  And I definitely am not in the mood for raw fish, so I’m not sure how that will help,” Isabella responded.

“No, you won’t eat the fish.  You’ll lie down next to it.  Like at the beach!?” Esteban said.

“What are you talking about, Te?” Isabella said, placing her hands on her hips.  “Do you think I’ll imagine myself hearing the waves and that will make the baby calm down?”

Esteban walked over to his wife, and took one hand.  “I think the water or the things in the water have something to do with it” he said, leading her over to the moss mat.  “I think if the baby is near the water, she’ll sense it and calm down.”

“Oh, wow!  I thought the woman was supposed to have pregnancy brain and get crazy thoughts, but you seem to have caught that condition as well,” Isabella said.  “How is the baby going to know what’s sitting outside of my body if it’s not making any noise?”

“Just try it for me, Isa,” Esteban said,  “Please?”

Isabella shook her head.  “Help me lie down,” she said, holding out a hand.  “You should be the one catering to my requests, you know.  Not the other way around.”

Esteban helped his pregnant wife to sit on the pelt.  Then he brought the bowl and fish and set it next to her.

They both looked at the bowl, watching the fist continue to swim around frantically.

“So do you need to make sounds like the waves, or what?” Isabella said.

“Shhh,” Esteban replied softly, not looking up from the bowl.  “Just wait a bit.”

Isabella returned her gaze to the bowl as well.  After a few moments, the fish calmed down, then pointed itself towards Isabella, it’s tail and fins maintaining it in a steady position.

The expectant mother’s expression went from annoyed to surprised, and her hands rested on her belly.

“The baby stopped moving!” she whispered.

Esteban smiled and held out his arms in satisfaction.  “Problem solved! Now lay down and rest, Mi Amor.  I need to get down to the kiln to start another batch of roof tiles.”

He put one hand behind his wife’s back and took hold of her elbow with his other hand to help her lie back.

“Oh, bowls!” Isabella said, as Esteban walked to the door.  “People want you to make more bowls!”

“OK,” Esteban said.  “I’ll add some to the batch.  Jorge wants to be my apprentice, so I’ll have him form some today.  Now rest while the baby lets you!”

Isabella nodded, turned to her side where she was more comfortable, and closed her eyes.

Esteban stood at the entryway until he could see Isabella breathing deeply and soundly, which didn’t take long at all.

The former builder had to pass through the food preparation area again on the way from his hut to his kiln.  Even though it was late-morning by this point, people were still gathered around Roberto, engaging him in conversation.

“Esteban!” shouted Roberto, waving at his friend to come over.

“I need to get down to the kiln,” Esteban called back.

Roberto shrugged, but Esteban continued down the path.

Along the way, the self-taught potter went off the path, looking for some good kindling sticks and other fire-starting materials.

When he arrived at his mud kiln, Esteban’s first task was to clean out the baking area of any debris that had floated in since his last batch finished two days prior.  He also cleared out the cooled ashes from the fire pit.

Esteban next began creating the fire nest, placing the bundles of cottongrass tree droppings on top of a few sticks, forming a cone over top of that with some additional twigs.  When he stood up to stretch his legs and back, Esteban heard someone walking towards the clearing in which his kiln was placed.

“I was hoping to get here before you,” Jorge said, appearing through the trees.  “Did you get any rest after breakfast?”

“No,” the father-to-be said, “but I was able to help Isa fall asleep.”

“You can show me the tricks to pottery before noon and then you can take a long siesta,” Jorge said.  “And like the shoemaker’s elves, I’ll do all of your work while you sleep.”

“Ok, you can begin by starting the fire while I get some wood from the stack,” Esteban said.

Roberto grimaced. “I’m not as good at starting fires as you are.  It will take me at least fifteen tries.  Can I be your errand boy and gather the wood and anything else you need while you start the fire.”

“You’re not turning out to be a very good elf,” Esteban said, walking over to a small pile of palm-size stones.

“I guess I am not the right size,” Jorge said.  “Any special wood you want me to gather?”

“Anything dry,” Esteban replied while he picked up two stones, one speckled and the other black.

He went back over to the pile of fire starting material, swiped the stones together and on the third strike got a spark to catch the cottongrass enough that he was able to blow it into a small flame.  With careful attention and a delicate touch, Esteban turned the flame into a fire large enough that by the time Jorge came back with the first armful of wood, he placed two small logs on the fire to allow it to last for a bit.

“Before you get the next load of wood, let’s get some clay over here to shape a bowl,” Esteban said, grabbing a third log to add to the fire.

“OK, where is the clay?” Jorge asked.

“Hanging from those vines on that cottongrass tree over there,” Esteban pointed to a tree on the far side of the clearing.

“Why over there?” Jorge asked as he started walking across the clearing.

“So the smoke doesn’t bake them into hard clay balls,” Esteban explained.

“They already look like hard clay balls,” Jorge said as he was approaching the tree.

“No, the clay is inside the…” Esteban started.

“¡Maldición!” Jorge exclaimed as he jumped back from the bundles handing from the tree.  “What are those?”

“Perezoso alado,” Esteben said, as he began chuckling.  “Well, at least their skulls.”

“I thought you said you had the clay hanging from the tree?” Jorge said, approaching the row of animal skulls tied upside down to numerous vines.

“It is,” Esteban explained, as he went to the other end of the structure to organize the stones where the smoke and heat were escaping from the rudimentary kiln.  “The clay is inside the skull.  The heads of the winged sloths are just the right size to hold a decent sized ball of clay that can drain all the way through but not get a hard exterior.  And the top of the skull has a natural crack in it that I can slightly expand and it allows the water to drain out.”

“Do I have to use animal heads to dry my clay?” the trainee asked, walking back with two of the makeshift tools held at arm’s length.

“Use whatever you want,” the teacher answered, pulling his hand back from where the heat was getting too intense.  “I know what works for me.  Now hand me those skulls and get two nut fruit shells.”

Jorge eagerly handed over both clay-filled skulls and went to retrieve a husk from the stack next to the kiln.

Esteban shook the winged-sloth skull to get the clay to come out, handed one ball to Jorge and took a husk from his apprentice.

“First, work the clay a bit to ensure the ball is loosened and the drier parts are mixed with the wetter parts,” the potter explained, demonstrating with the clay in his hands. “Then give the clay a firm throw into the center of the husk, and finally use your fingers to spread it from the bottom center to the sides.  I turn the husk to give the inside a bit of overlap with the material on the outside to add a bit of additional wall strength.  Then, tap the completed bowl onto the stone you’ll put into the top of the furnace, but not don’t knock it so hard that the bowl collapses.”

At the end of the demonstration, Esteban held a stone in one hand with the formed bowl sitting upside down on top of the stone.

“You make it look so simple,” Jorge said.  “How many of these have you made so far?”

“I’ve made probably four- to five-hundred,” Esteban said.  “But only maybe two-hundred actually made it to a finished product that stayed in one piece for more than a day.  You’ll get the rhythm of forming the bowl before long, but it will take plenty of practice to get it to come out of the husk just right.  And even more practice before the bowl is successfully baked in the kiln without crumbling or breaking.”

“Go ahead,” the former builder said as he stood up and carried his creation to the drying level of the kiln.  “Give it a try with yours.”

Jorge mixed his ball of clay a bit and started to shape it into a ball.

“Mix it more,” Esteban directed.

The student plied the clay again, looked at Esteban, who nodded.  Then he formed the ball and tossed it into the husk he was holding.

“The clay is too much off center,” Esteban observed.  “Take it out and try again.”

“It looks pretty good to me,” Jorge said.

“Trust me,” Esteban said.  “Remember you said you wanted to learn.  So it’s best to listen.”

Jorge took out the clay, reformed it into a ball, stared at the center of the husk, and tossed it in again, just slightly closer to the midpoint.

“Better, but not exactly where it needs to be,” Esteband said.  “Still, give it a try to spread it out.”

Jorge put his left pointer-finger in to push the clay around.

“Two fingers, preferably both hands at the same time on opposite sides of the bowl,” Esteban instructed.

“How do I hold the husk?” Jorge said.

“You balance it on the ground, on your thighs, or in your lap,” Esteban replied.  “Whatever you are most comfortable with that day.”

Jorge sat down, crossed his legs, and placed the bowl in his lap.  He then spread the clay around with both hands.   After he was done, he sat the husk down to stand up.

“It’s not even enough,” Esteban said without emotion.  “You’ll need to try again.”

“How can you tell?” Jorge said with a bit of exasperation in his voice.  “I don’t even have it on the rock?”

“I can tell from looking at it that the side nearest to you will pull away from the rest and the whole thing will fall apart as soon as you tip it upside down,” Esteban said.

Jorge didn’t respond, but got up to fetch a rock, bent down to pick up the husk, and turned it slightly over ninety-degrees to prepare the tap.  But before he knocked it against the rock, part of the clay pulled away from the husk wall like Esteban predicted.

“Dammit!” Jorge said.

“Try again,” Esteban said without emotion.

Jorge pulled the clay out of the husk and started shaping it into a ball.

“Hello!” a man called from the edge of the clearing.

Both teacher and student looked up to see Roberto Cervantes walking towards them.

“Hello, Roberto”, Esteban said.

“I am certainly happy to see you out here,” Roberto commented.

“Don’t tell me – you’d like me to make you a bowl,” Esteban said with a disappointed tone.

“What?  A bowl?,” Roberto replied.  “No, I don’t need a bowl.  I’m just glad you’re working so far from the main camp.  I’m tired of everyone crowding around me.”

“Is this about right?” Jorge asked.

“What?” Esteban asked, matching the confused tone Roberto had just used.

“Is this the proper thickness?” the apprentice potter repeated, holding up the hollowed shell and pointing to a portion of the clay he had formed.  “Right there is where I’m talking about.”

Esteban took the shell and examined the clay.  “Yes, that’s good.  Now smooth it around the rest of the way,” he said and handed the shell back to the student.

Jorge nodded and started working the material.

Esteban looked up and walked over to where Roberto was standing.  “Do you want to learn how to make bowls as well?”

“What is this fixation you have on bowls?” his friend asked.

“I thought you came out to see the work we’re doing,” Esteban replied.

“No, I said I’m glad you work so far from camp.  I just needed to get away for a bit,” Roberto repeated.

“Oh,” Esteban said.  “Too many questions?”

“I don’t mind the questions,” Roberto responded.  “I just don’t like to be crowded.  I need some space.”

The two were quiet for a few moments, watching Jorge work the clay.

“So, um, did you see the alien ship land?” Esteban said, breaking the silence.

“No, I was in Karidja’s hut and we heard a loud sound like a very strong wind or an extremely large wave coming ashore.  We stopped…, well, by the time we got outside, the ship had already landed,” Roberto explained.  “Some people that were already up at that point said they saw it come down like it was a large rock that had been tossed from out over the ocean and it dropped faster than anything they imagined.  And it landed in the exact same spot as the ship that brought their group, from what Karidja said.”

“So you saw the people leaving the ship?” Esteban asked.

“Yes, and that certainly brought back memories,” Roberto said.

“Done!” Jorge said, interrupting their conversation.  “Look at this before I try to remove it.”

Esteban walked back over to the third man, and examined the proto-pottery.  “Very good!”

“OK, show me again how you get it to come out, and I promise I’ll get the next one out myself,”  Jorge said.

Esteban walked over to get a stone, tapped the shell, and the bowl came out, with one lip a bit lopsided.

“It clung to the side too much,” the potter noted.  “You’ll have to have a lighter touch when smoothing out the clay.  Let’s try it again.”

“No!” Jorge said urgently, stopping Esteban from collapsing the wobbly clay structure.  “Put it in the kiln, please.  I want to set it in front of me when it’s done.  Then it will bother me so much I’ll pay attention to my shaping.  Call it a motivation piece.”

“Ok,” Esteban said, chuckling and carrying the work over to be baked.

“I’ll get some more and keep going,” Jorge said, walking towards the tree where the clay balls were drying.

Esteban went back over to Roberto and watched Jorge grab two more skulls from the tree branch.  “I guess he’s enthusiastic about the work.  Definitely more interested than I was when I got started.”

Esteban turned back to Roberto.  “So, you were saying that watching them get off the ship brought back memories?”

“Yes, definitely,” his friend replied.  “They looked apprehensive and curious at the same time.  People started coming up to talk to them right away.  My English is awful, so I didn’t join in.  But then I saw a man step off who looked like us.  So I walked over to him and, guess what, he spoke Spanish!”

“You don’t think anyone else spoke Spanish on the ship?  You went purely by skin color?” Esteban asked.

“It’s a bunch of Americans.  What do you think the chances are that they speak Spanish?” Roberto replied.  “Anyway, yes, I was profiling.  And he didn’t seem to mind.  He said he grew up in Durango, moved to the United States fifteen years ago, and was tired of working in a hothouse farm and thought it would be better here.  He didn’t sound so sure once he got off the ship, but there’s no going back now!”

“We’ve all had second thoughts,” Esteban noted.  “Anyone else interesting that you met?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Roberto said.  “And that’s partly why I came to find you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we saw a family come off the ship.  Two families, as a matter of fact, or really I guess an extended family.”

“So they had brown skin as well?” Esteban asked.

“Black skin, actually.  But they walked by talking to one of Karidja’s friends.  She introduced them to us.  Karidja speaks English, so they were talking for a long time,” Roberto shared.  “They are two adult sisters and their families, along with the grandfather.  Can you believe it?  They brought children here!”

“There are children in the Shanghai Number Four colony,” Esteban noted.

“Two children.  And they are both teenagers,” Roberto noted.  “They brought seven children with them.  And from what I’m guessing, all of them are under twelve years of age.  They even have one with them that can’t talk yet!”

“¡Guau!  That is surprising,” Esteban noted.

“¡Maldita sea!” Jorge exclaimed from his spot next to the kiln, picking up the collapsed clay he had just tapped onto a rock.  

Esteban waited for any additional reaction from his apprentice.  Jorge didn’t look up, but just began rolling the clay back into a ball.

“But that isn’t the most surprising thing about them,” Roberto said, ignoring the wannabe potter.

“And what is that?” Esteban asked.

“That is they are both doctors!” Roberto exclaimed.

“Why in the world would they leave Earth and come here?” Esteban asked.  “Did they kill someone on the operating table?”

“No, they said they are fulfilling a mission their mother gave them,” Roberto said.  “I didn’t fully understand that whole explanation.  But they are doctors, Esteban!   And one of them is a family doctor.  We don’t have anyone in Lejano Pueblo with proper medical training.  And the family doctor can help people with families.  Like you and Isabella.”

Esteban turned from watching Jorge and looked at his friend.

“Now do you understand why I wanted to find you?” Roberto said.

“¡Si!” Jorge shouted.

Both men looked over and saw Jorge holding out a flat rock with a bowl-shaped piece of clay sitting on top of it.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this!” the apprentice potter said.

Esteban remained with Jorge for the afternoon.  The apprentice had indeed gotten into the rhythm of shaping the bowls, so Esteban focused the remaining lessons for the day on baking techniques.  The potter had created a sand-chandelier-clock that would drop sand from a top container to subsequently lower level vessels that would trip the weight-sensitive catch and tip to the left or right once enough sand had fallen.  Consequently, the items in the rustic kiln would bake for a consistent amount of time, as long as one would pay attention to when the bottom tier of the sand-clock dumped its contents.

Esteban left the kiln when it was nearing the evening meal time, leaving Jorge to monitor the final set of bowls baking in the heat.  The expectant father went straight to his hut, hoping to find his wife.  Isa wasn’t there.  Esteban looked in the bowl next to Isa’s cot, and noted the fish was no longer moving.  He picked up the bowl and tossed the dead fish into the trees outside of the hut.

He then went to the main gathering area where the majority of the colonists were starting into their evening meal.

“Pearla, have you seen Isa this afternoon?,” Esteban asked a woman walking away from a food table, her hands holding two bowls filled with fruits and root vegetables.

“No,” Pearla replied.  “Shouldn’t you be more aware of where she is, considering how big she is getting?”

Esteban ignored the comment and walked along further.  He approached a couple deep in conversation with each other.

“Ola Susie.  Ola Martin.  Have you seen Isa lately?” the husband asked.

“I was pretty sure I saw her an hour ago,” Susie replied.  “Hey, are you okay, Esteban?  You’re looking pretty worn out.”

“I’m fine,” he said, looking around the crowd.  “She was resting earlier, and I’m worried that the baby woke her before she had enough sleep.”

“I’m sure she’ll find a way to get rest,” Susie said.  “She knows the importance of good sleep now for the baby’s development.  It’s important for you to get rest as well, my friend, if you want to be a good partner for her.”

“I said I’m doing fine!” Esteban snapped.

The woman looked at him without reply.

Esteban’s cheeks reddened.  “I’m sorry.  Perhaps I do need more…”

“There,” Susie interrupted, pointing to the edge of the clearing.  “There’s Isa.”  She turned to her husband to continue their conversation.

Esteban jogged over to where his wife was, waving his arms.

“Where have you been, dear?  I was worried when you weren’t in our cabin,” he said when he caught up to Isabella.

“You left hours ago, Te.  I woke up when the baby started kicking again, and came out here,” the expectant mother said.

“How long did you sleep?”

“I don’t know,” Esa said.  “I woke up a bit before they started cooking the evening meal, so not that long ago.  I totally missed any berry picking I was supposed to do today.”

“So you were able to sleep longer than usual?”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

“And where were you just now?”

“I had to go to the bathroom!  What is with all the questions?”

Esteban sighed, not sure what all to say.  “Roberto visited me at the kiln this afternoon.  He said some doctors were on that ship that came from Kansas.  And one of them is a family doctor.  I just want to make sure everything is okay with you and the baby.”

“You’re not making any sense, Te,” Isabella said.  “Let’s get something to eat.  Then I want to go down to the beach again to relax.  I need it.  The baby needs it.  And I’m thinking you need it as well.”

The couple went through the various lines to collect food from the different stations.  They then sat down with a small group of colonists that had been collecting fruits and vegetables that day.  The conversation was focused on the reduced volume of ripe produce appearing in the area, and the concern people had about the impact of the new arrivals likely to encroach upon their food collection area.

After they were done eating, but before the conversation ended, Isabella leaned over to her husband sitting beside her.  “Let’s go,” she said quietly in his ear.

Esteban stood up and held out a hand to help his wife rise.

“Sorry, all,” Isabella said to the group.  “The baby isn’t letting me sit here to finish off the discussion.  I need to go for a walk.  We’ll talk to you later!”

Esteban assisted Isabella to stand.  He then gathered the utensils they had used.

“You can start towards the beach.  I’ll rinse out the bowls and catch up with you before you get there,” Esteban said.

Isabella nodded and started down the path leading out of the main encampment.

Esteban walked over to the rinsing station and cleaned out the bowls.

“Hey, Esteban,” another colonist greeted him, as they were both setting their utensils on the drying table.  “When are we getting the next set of bowls?  It’s been a week since we’ve gotten a batch, hasn’t it?”

“Hello, Luis,” the potter replied.  “I think you’ll be getting some from Jorge tomorrow.”

“Jorge?” Luis wondered.

“Yes, he might be taking over for me,” Esteban said as he walked away.  “He seems to be a natural!”

Having said that, he started trotting down the same path his wife had taken moments before.  He found her stopped in front of some tall grass, looking off to the side of the path.

“Is everything alright?” Esteban asked his wife as he approached.

“Do you remember when we arrived?” Isabella asked.

“You mean when our ship landed?” Esteban responded.

“Yes,” she said.

“I do,” he answered.  “What portion are you thinking about?”

“Remember this place?” Isabella said.

Esteban glanced around then focused on the direction Isabella was oriented.  A look of recognition came over his face, and reached over to take her hand.

“I do,” he said softly.  “What a wonderful way to be introduced to this planet.”

“Maybe if we need to move into a bigger place, and we want some space from the rest of the colony, we could build next to the clearing where we started our family,” Isabella said.

“Do you want to rest there now?” Esteban asked.

“No, I need the breeze down by the beach,” Isabella explained.  “But I never want to forget how to find this spot.  Promise me you’ll help me remember.”

Esteban leaned over to kiss his wife’s cheek.  “I promise, Isa.  This will be a place we’ll call home some day.”

The couple walked quietly, hand-in-hand the rest of the way to the beach.

“Can we go back to the place where you rolled out that log for me to sit on?” Isabella said.

Esteban nodded and led the way along the sand to where a portion of a tree trunk, about the length of a very tall person, was laying, facing the water.

Isabella sat on the log, arms holding her belly.

Esteban stood behind the log, looking up and down the beach and back into the treeline.

“Relax, Te!” Isabella said.  “It’s dusk, so nothing is going to come out of the woods looking for fish.  You’re making me nervous watching you pace.  Just sit down and watch the sunset with me.”

The expectant father went to the sea-side portion of the log, next to his wife, and sat on the sand with his back against the trunk.

Isabella put an arm around her husband’s shoulders.  “I said to relax,” she noted, leaning his head on her thigh.

Esteban felt a small shake on his shoulder.  “Te!” a familiar voice said softly but urgently.

He opened his eyes and looked around, startled.  The sky was black, the breeze had quieted and the only sound was the waves.

“I’m sorry, dear,” Isabella said.  “You were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to wake you.  But the second moon is rising behind us, and the top tide is coming in.  You’re about to get a rude awakening from wet feet.”

Esteban looked down and saw a wave come within a half-arm’s length of his where his heel marks had been.

“The second moon is rising,” he said, still slightly groggy.

“Yes,” his wife replied.

“So it’s the middle of the night?” he asked.

“Yes,” Isabella answered with a small giggle.  “I told you I thought you needed some rest.  I guess you find this a good place to relax like I do. Anyway, even though the baby is calm right now, I think we should go back to our hut.”

Esteban scrambled up to a standing position as another wave was coming in, this time looking like it would make it to where he was sitting.

Isa giggled again, which, in turn, made Esteban smile as he turned to face his lover.

“I’ve not heard a laugh like that from you in quite a while,” he said.  “I’m happy to hear it.”

“I’ve not seen you sleep that soundly in quite a while,” she replied.  “I’m happy, relieved in fact, to see it.”

The next way approached and washed over their feet.

Esteban held out his hand.  “May I help you rise, kind lady?” 

Isabella took his hand.  “Thank you, kind sir.”

The couple walked along the beach to the path heading back to the colony.  

Almost as soon as they passed into the trees, Isabella’s free hand went to her belly.  “There he goes again.”

“So you didn’t get any rest at all?” Esteban asked her.

“I told you the baby was calm the whole time we were on the beach,” Isabella said. 

“You sat on the log for half the night?” her husband questioned.

“No, the baby might have been calm enough, but I needed to move,” Isabella explained.  “I was a bit jealous of you sleeping so well, to be honest.   But I didn’t like the idea of laying my head on the hard tree bark.  So I went and found some puff-palm fronds, put a pair under your head, and used a pair for myself.  I saw smallmoon pop up over the water, but was asleep before it got very far.  By the time I woke up, smallmoon had set, or at least was behind the trees, and I had a nice quiet time thinking about us, about the baby, listening to the waves, and daydreaming about our future here.”  

“I know it’s been tough, Te,” she continued.  “And I know there will be plenty of struggles going forward.  But I really felt we’re in the place we should be.  I mean back on Earth we had so much stress with the business, finding new clients, keeping good employees, dealing with all of the challenges of finding materials that had been truly recycled and not some fake product that said it was recycled but came from new content.  Always worried about what was happening with the environment, with the government, with any new disease the casters kept bringing up as the next thing that would wipe out humanity.  No wonder we couldn’t get pregnant!  My body was probably listening to my subconscious self saying ‘You don’t really want to bring a baby into all this.'”

“But now we’re here!  It’s physical, but we can handle that.  We have before.  And we have a baby on the way.  And we are treating this planet the right way.  And we’ve figured out how to get along in our little village.  I mean, don’t you think this is truly where we are supposed to be now?”

The two continued walking hand-in-hand now the dark but well-worn path dimly lit with moonlight.

“Te?” Isabella asked.

Esteban gently squeezed his wife’s hand.  “Yes, Isa.  This is where we are supposed to be now.”

“But you don’t sound as sure as I do,” she said.

“Like you’ve told me, I worry too much,” he replied.  “Sometimes I think about…”

“Oh!” Isabella stopped, interrupting her husband’s sentence and gripping his hand very firmly.

“What is it?” Esteban asked.

“Wow!  He just had a little karate kick that landed against a muscle,” Isabella said, her grip loosening.  “I’m okay now.  Just a bit of a surprise.”

Esteban looked at his wife, then his eyes opened wide and he let go of her hand.  “Wait here!” he said, and started jogging back towards the beach.

“Where are you going?” Isabella said.

“I’ll be right back, Isa.  Really!” Esteban said over his shoulder.  “Just stay right there, please.”

“Like you leave me much of a choice?” Isabella said to herself.

The expectant mother paced along the path, peering into the trees on either side.

“He’s concerned about me sleeping on an open beach with no creatures around that will jump out from the water,” she continued talking to herself.  “But he’s quite content to abandon me in the middle of the jungle in the middle of the night.  If he wanted to take away all those happy thoughts, he sure found a quick and easy path to do just that.  I mean he knows what lives out here and what might crawl out from the underbrush or drop from the trees.  Does he think I should just wait for him wherever he leaves me?  Like a good, loyal wife waiting patiently for her man to return from whatever wandering he decides to do?  Well, I can decide things too!  Maybe I’ll just head back to the hut and leave him out here looking for me.  Maybe I’ll….  Who’s there?  Esteban, is that you?”

The footfalls of something running towards her got louder.

“Esteban?” Isabella said louder, starting to move backwards along the path.

“Yes,” a voice answered as the dark shape came running up.  “It’s me,” Esteban confirmed, panting heavily and bending over to put his hands on his knees.

“What crazy thing do you think you are doing running off and abandoning your pregnant wife alone out here at night like that?” Isabella said.  “And why are you carrying your shirt like that?”

“I had to get something from the beach,” he said, his breath easing as he stood up straight.  “You said the baby was acting up again, and I thought since that fish seemed to help yesterday, we could try again.”

“Oh, Esteban, why did you get another fish?  It will die before we get back to the hut,” Isabella commented.

“I didn’t get a fish.  I got something else,” Esteban explained.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You’ll see,” he said.  “I’ll show you back at the cabin.”

“You’re loco,” Isabella said as she turned and began along the path towards the colony.

“Ah, but it’s a good kind of loco,” Esteban said, quickly catching up to her.

His walking partner didn’t respond.

He reached out to take her hand, which she quickly pulled away.

“Isa, I’m sorry,” Esteban said.  “I shouldn’t have run off like that without explaining what I was going to do.  I just get so excited sometimes that I don’t think before I act.  I promised you earlier this evening that I would remember our special clearing.  I promised you yesterday I would have our new place ready by the time the baby arrives.  I promised you when we got married that I will be your husband for as long as we live.  And I’m promising you right now I will never, ever abandon you.  Forgive me for being a jerk and let me hold your hand on the walk back so you don’t trip over anything in the path.”

They took a few more steps in silence, then Isabella reached out to the side without looking.  Esteban quickly took her hand.

“Now, about that new house of ours,” Esteban said.

The former home-builder spent the remainder of the walk talking about the remaining details to get their new cabin completed.

When they got back to their current hut, Esteban found the bowl that had held the fish the previous day.  He reached into his shirt that he had been carrying like a bag, pulled out an orange star-shaped shell, and placed it in the bowl.

“A star-crab?” Isabella noted.

“Yes,” Esteban confirmed.  “It can survive in the regular air, but comes from the ocean.  We’ll see if it’s fish that Baby Torres wants to be around, or will he be friends with any creature from the sea.  Go ahead and lay down on the cot, Isa.”

“Loco,” Isabella said as she eased herself down.  “Muy loco.”

Esteban brought the bowl with the crustacean next to the cot and set it on the ground.  After a few moments of not being jostled around, the star-crab’s four legs extended.  The legs reached around and then its head slowly appeared.  After another moment, the star-crab frantically scrambled up the side of the bowl, and fell out over the lip of the bowl and onto its back.  The legs and head were pulled in, and scratching sounds could be heard.  Esteban quickly bent down and as he was picking up the shell, the legs were extending again, as the crustacean had righted its body and was preparing to scramble away.

“It might be able to survive out of the water, unlike the fish,” Isabella noted.  “But, also unlike a fish, it has legs and can run away when it doesn’t want to be somewhere.”

“Just a moment,” Esteban said.   He grabbed a grass-net, picked up the bowl, and took both items and the star-crab over to the jug of water in the corner of the hut.  He shook the star-crab so it would pull in its legs, placed the shell in the bowl, poured a small amount of water around the shell, and folded the grass net over top and around the bowl.

“OK, let’s try again,” the father-to-be said, placing the bowl and its occupant next to the cot.

Again, after a few moments, the star-crabs legs extended, and the scramble to run away repeated.  But the resistance from the net prevented a quick escape.  The star-crab began feeling for the grass, but before it pulled open a hole large enough to get its shell through, the crab relaxed, oriented itself towards Isabella and remained still.

“And Baby Torres?  What is she doing?” Esteban quietly asked his wife.

Isabella felt her belly.  “He stopped moving as well,” she said.  “You are definitely loco, but I guess it’s a good loco.”

“So can you sleep for a while now?” Esteban said.

“I’ll try,” Isabella replied.  “I’m not a big fan of crawling things inside.”

“The star-crab isn’t doing anything at the moment,” Esteban said, helping his wife lay down.  “And if it does get out, the last place it wants to go is near you, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“You have a way of not making me feel comfortable, Te,” she said.

“Close your eyes and try to relax anyway,” he replied.

Isabella did as he suggested, and took a deep breath.

“Oh, and don’t be alarmed if I’m not here when you wake up,” Esteban said.

Isabella’s eyes popped wide open, “What?”

“I’m going over to Neuva Marfil to find those doctors,” Esteban explained.  “I’m going to get them over here so they can check to make sure things are going well for you and the baby.”

“Loco,” Isabella said as she shook her head and closed her eyes again.  “Bueno loco.  You should sleep some before you go.”

“I’ll try,” he whispered.

Esteban sat on the ground with his back against the wall.  He watched his wife fall asleep.  After a few attempts to close his own eyes, he watched over his bride and their child inside her until the darkness started fading from the sky.

Esteban got up from the floor and checked on the star-crab as he walked past the cot where his wife was sleeping.  The crab was still, with only its nose whiskers twitching as it felt the slight bump from the human’s steps walking by.

The potter went to the corner of the hut, took two of the nicest looking bowls and put them into a grass-net, and walked out the door, towards a less-well trodden path in the opposite direction of the beach, a look of firm resolve on his face.

< Chapter 41 Chapter 43 >