"Mother - 2.The Elders" by Aida Vicens

The Elders

            - Rûth! Where have you been?

            The girl raised her head and blinked. Then, recognizing Donna, smiled and got up, removing the ashes from her skirt. She was young, just eight years old, but tall, like her mother had been. Her hair was the colour of moist earth, and her eyes were dark as the inside of a deep cave. Even though she was dressed in pelts like everyone in the elven camp, her keen intelligence and arguments made her stand out in the tribe.

            Not that she was the best in everything, that seemed to be an unimportant thing for her, just that she seemed much older than she was. Sometimes her spirit seemed older than the one of the oldest Elder. Everybody knew Rûth was special.

            - I’ve been here all the time, mother. Thinking. – Rûth realised Donna seemed worried. – Have you been searching for me?

            - Yes, I have. We all have. – Donna’s voice was tough – Tonight all the acolytes will be examined by the Elders, didn’t you remember?

            - I did, mother, that’s why I went out the camp alone. – then came one of those moment when even Donna had to turn her eyes away from her. She was doing it again. Seeming accusingly older. – I don’t need you to tell me how the Mother’s designs go. I know how does She show her desires, I know how to please Her. Donna is part of myself as I am her child, she’s my Mother as she is the Mother of us all. I don’t need you teaching me all those things that I know, neither I need the Elders to tell me if I’m ready. It’s been long since I first was ready to stand by Her side. I can learn no more from you, momma. So, are we coming back to the camp now, mother?

            Donna said nothing, just shook her head and started to walk. She knew Rûth would follow her, she knew she would be the best of the acolytes. But she had been worried. It was dangerous to be alone outside the camp, with all those beasts and Ômai warriors walking around. But Rûth seemed not to care.

            All the way back they said nothing. They walked looking around, smiling at the great amount of things Earth gave to them. There were bushes full of red tasty berries, many trees were on blossom, seeds found purchase easily in that soil. Lots of animals, birds, rodents and some bigger mammals, like boars, lived there, providing them meat and pelts. The great trees gave them wood to construct huts and shelters, and many of the herbs that grew there had medicinal properties.

            They were lucky to live there, they missed nothing. A stream ran near the camp where they used to bath and play, and in the upper stream there was a pool where they used to go to get water. And, not so far to the south, there was the sea. Wide and blue, the great sea was full of fish and seafood, and on the cliffs near the water there were colonies of gulls, and now their nests were full of tasty eggs.

            The Mother was generous with them.

            - Donna! Rûth! It’s near sunset! You have to get ready for tonight’s ceremony. - a young woman, nearly a girl, run towards them and took Rûth by the hand. – Come on, they’re all waiting for you.

            - Can’t you wait a moment, Yaide? I need to…

            Yaide did not answer. She just kept on walking, dragging Rûth behind her. They entered a small hut, where the other acolytes were waiting for them. All were older than Rûth, and they already had their ceremonial robes on. Paintings of red and ochre were on their faces: lines and spirals, triangles, circles and squares. Their hands and feet were painted in black.

            While Rûth was taking out her clothes, Yaide took a bowl dyed red, and dipped her forefinger inside the mixture it contained. The girl stood naked in front of her, and she drew a line upon the scar that was in Rûth’s back. It was the only sign of her strange birth: still inside Leith’s womb, the ceremonial knife Donna hold had cut her smooth skin.

            She painted her body after the manner of the other acolytes, and then brushed her hair. Rûth got dressed, changing her dirty pelts for others dyed white and put on her reddish belt. Outside, a voice started to sing. The Sun was disappearing on the horizon, it was time to start the ceremony.

            All acolytes came out the hut. The Elders were sitting in a semicircle, dressed in red, waiting for them. Rûth knew she would be the last to be questioned, so she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate in all she had learnt from the Mother.