War in an age of innocence: 2

Link to Chapter 1

 When Kiri woke the next morning he was in his bed. He remembered that he had fallen asleep listening to Samo’s music. Today there would be stories. He got up, dressed, and went to the kitchen. No one else had woken yet so he ate a piece of bread and drank some water sweetened with honey. After he finished his breakfast, he went outside and was pleased to see that there was no rain. It often rained early in the morning on their part of the coast, although it would clear later, when the sun got higher. One of the sheepdogs greeted him and he played with it for a while: he ran off in one direction, and then another. Each time the dog would chase him, sometimes nipping at his heels, sometimes rushing to get in front of him where it would stand with its legs stretched wide, ready to spring at an instant if need be. If he stayed still for a while, the dog would lie down and watch, intently, for any sign that Kiri was thinking of moving again. Kiri ran off again, this time, he kept changing directions as fast as he could. The dog barked at him excitedly. Mara appeared at their doorway.

“Kiri! Keep that dog quiet. You’ll have them all barking next, and everyone is still asleep. The tide is out. Go down to the sandy beach and dig me some clams”.

She handed him a basket and a small bone spade and he set off along the path between the fields to the other side of the headland. The path went through the bog at the bottom of the gully just past the last field. Kiri spent a little time jumping on the sticks that had been laid along the path, and watching the mud bubble up from between them. He didn’t want to waste too much time, and he ran the rest of the way to the beach. Today would be a big day for him. Normally, he would collect some lugworms, along with the clams, but he knew there would be no time for fishing today. After everyone visited the circle of stones, the stories would start. Then there would be more music, dancing, and everyone would see the Danai off on their journey home, or to other villages down the coast. There were a lot of clams that morning and it didn’t take too long for him to fill the basket.

When he returned home everyone was about, preparing for the days’ festivities. Mara was making honey cakes in the kitchen and Boro was stringing amber beads for her necklace. He had obtained some beads already made and some small pieces of amber for making more later. It was a time-consuming task to make the beads and there would always be some breakage, especially when the hole was bored. He took pride in his skills, for he never wasted too much of the precious material. He had enough amber for several more necklaces, and he would take these, with the green stone axes to the southerners next month.

There was a scuffling, and a grumbling from the passageway to the guest rooms, and one of the Danai emerged at the opening and stretched when he entered the kitchen.

“Good morning everyone”

“Good morning, Urho” Mara said, “You remember Kiri, don’t you.” Kiri smiled at their guest.

“Indeed I do. My, you have grown since I was last here. One day you will be as tall as me!”

The Danai never missed an opportunity to tease Kiri’s people about their short stature and this was even funnier coming from Urho, as he was very tall, even for a Danai. He had long, shaggy, blonde hair and a full beard and moustache to match. He was wide, as well as tall, and had a great, booming voice that almost echoed off the stone walls of the kitchen. He was one of the storytellers, and Kiri’s favourite. Vara had been sitting on the bench by the wall combing her hair. She liked to look her best when visitors came, or when they all went to the circle of stones. She put the comb down on the small table near the bench, and looked in the stone oven to see if Mara’s last batch of honey cakes were ready. Then she stared at Kiri’s feet.

“Would you look at yourself!” she exclaimed, “Your feet, they are covered in sand and mud. You had better go outside and wash them. We will be leaving soon, and you can’t go looking like something that just crawled out of the bog.”

Kiri did as he was told, and by the time he was finished, the household was starting to leave. Samo was the first to leave, helped along by Kata, Mara’s mother. He moved slowly because of his great age and needed a stick to walk at all. Looking at him, you would never believe that he could produce such lively music. Boro and Mara came next, followed by Vara and Urho. Kiri joined them. They soon passed Samo and Kata, slowing down to exchange pleasantries as they did so. It didn't matter who arrived first or last at the circle of stones. The path to the circle was lined with some smaller upright stones. Families were dotted along the path, in front, and behind them. A large group was already waiting at the last stone, and some had started back again. The ritual had been going on for as long as anyone could remember. Samo had told everyone that his grandfather had helped build the circle, but most did not believe him.

Only one person could stand in the circle at a time, and the rest would wait patiently for their turn. No one took longer than the time it takes to have a couple of thoughts. There were exceptions to the custom of one at a time: babies that had to be carried by their mothers, or those who needed help. There was also the case of twins. Twins were very rare, there was only one set living in their village at that time. Vara had explained things to Kiri last year:

“When we all started to leave the Oneness, we knew that we would become lonely, so we did not divide singly at first, but in pairs. That way we could share our thoughts with another. Before that was only one thought. As we became busy with the universe and the bodies that we created we began to drift apart from our pair. We learned how to communicate with others and sometimes shared interests with them as well. We all became different, but we were always connected with our pair deep in our hearts. As the wonder of everything started to fade, the loneliness returned. We could be with three times thirty people, and yet still feel that loneliness. Those of us who were the oldest souls felt the loneliness more keenly. We would look for our pair.”

“So are twins those pairs”

“Yes, we are certain of that. That is why they enter the circle together”

“But what if you find your pair, can you then go into the circle together”

“Only if you know that you will be together forever, even past death. Twins are at that state because they are even born together”

“But how do you know you will be together forever if you are not twins?”

“The Oneness is great, and the pairs, when they first reunite, share a glimpse of that greatness. Together they build something great for everyone. Everyone knows when such a thing happens. It was a pair that first made fire. One with the other produces something greater than either could produce alone. We all know this deep down. We all long for it. This is why we left the Oneness. The Oneness could not create.”

“Are my parents a pair”

Vara laughed, “I am sure of that. Perhaps one day it will be revealed that the greatness they created is you. Then they will enter the circle together.”

Kiri decided that he should do something very great one day. He was thinking about that conversation as they drew closer to the circle of stones. He suddenly became aware of the fact that he didn’t understand what the circle was for. He had been going there his whole life, and all his parents had told him was that when he entered the circle he was to be very quiet, stand there for a few minutes, and then leave. He knew that they did this on the shortest day of the year; on the longest day of the year; on other days that he didn’t understand, and whenever visitors came. He walked alongside of Vara, and took her by the hand.

“Aunt Vara, what does the circle mean?”

“The circle is nearest the centre of the Universe, the place we all started from.”

“So we are really lucky to live here. I bet that the Danai wish they could live here too!”

“The Danai have their own circles, and they are nearest the centre of the Universe as well”

“How can we all live nearest the centre of the Universe?”

“You are still too young to understand that. When you get a bit older I will explain it to you, or your parents will. All I can say now is that there is a quietness in the centre of that circle. It is a quietness that is felt by your mind, not ‘not heard’ by your ears. The clever ones, a long time ago, knew how to find such places. A few can still do it, but it is a talent that is getting rarer. I’m not sure why. It bothers me and I often worry about it. I am afraid that a day will come when no one will be able to find that quietness for the others. I don’t know what we will do then.”

“How can you ‘not hear’ something with your ears? Hearing things is what ears are for. I can’t hear things with my feet”. He lay on the ground, and pointed the soles of his feet toward Vara. “You’ll have to speak up Aunt Vara, my feet can’t hear you!”

Boro and Mara stopped in their tracks and started to laugh.

“What have you been telling the boy now, Sister” Boro said.

“Aunt Vara’s being silly” Kiri replied.

“I suppose I am,” said Vara, and she began to laugh too, but there was a sadness in her eyes that Kiri noticed. He hoped he had not hurt her feelings.

It was Kiri’s turn to stand alone in the circle. He tried to feel the quietness with his mind, and then he tried to not hear it with his ears, but it was all too confusing for him, so he just stood there quietly for a few minutes, and then he left, just as he was told. He thought some more about it on the way back. He decided that he did not like not hearing with his ears, or, at least, he thought he might not like it if he knew how to do it. He wondered if feeling the quietness with his mind was like not thinking. He tried not thinking, but found that he thought about not thinking instead. He gave up. He didn’t want to not hear. He wanted to hear. He wanted to hear Urho tell one of his stories in that big, booming voice.

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