3.49.

  The village gathered around the bonfire for the announcement. Most of them didn’t know what was about to happen, as Towari’s spirit quest was spoken about only to the elders, who had promised to keep it silent until Enidi had finished speaking with the other ‘gods’ like her to ensure that it would take place.

  The bonfire was not lit, and it would not be lit until dark. But the announcement would take place now, in the morning, so that everyone who wished to would have a chance to prepare a gift for Towari to take on his pilgrimage to the stars. The deadwood was stacked as high as a Mokoari man, and it would likely burn all night. The village knew that this meant a celebration was coming, but not what was being celebrated.

  So they were eagerly awaiting the village elder’s pronouncement. When he stepped in front of the massive bundle of wood, the villagers grew quiet. When Enidi and Towari stepped up next to them, the village grew excited.

  Was their resident ‘god’ expecting a child?

  Or was, perhaps, Towari pregnant instead? Some of the whispers suggested as much and there were hushed giggles that ran through the audience at the suggestion.

  “It has been several months since Enidi came to live among the Mokoari,” the village elder said. “We did not know at first that she came to us from beyond the stars, and until the day when the enemies of all of the people of this world came and she helped us to drive them off with her powers, we would not have believed her had she told us. But from the beginning she wished to become one of the Mokoari. When she was given tasks, she performed them eagerly and without hesitation. She worked hard, and earned the respect of the village women.”

  There were nods among the villagers as they all recognized the truth of these words. Enidi had distinguished herself from the start as a tolerable outsider. The idea of welcoming her into the Mokoari had been widely accepted for those very reasons, which is why the marriage to Towari had been suggested by the village women.

  “When she married Towari, we did not know that she was a mighty warrior. We would not have believed it should we have been told. She does not boast of her prowess, as many men do, but hides them behind humble kindness and an eagerness to be useful. However, it is undeniable that she is a warrior. While she sees no issue with continuing to watch our children and spend her time with the village women instead of hunting or scouting the valleys of the Mokoari, she must have a husband who is worthy of her.”

  This got a number of nervous nods. It was reasonable that a female warrior would need a husband who was her equal, or better.

  “If we had known before we married her to Towari, then the wedding may not have taken place. If the wedding had not taken place, then Enidi would not be Mokoari, but an outsider who was living among us. I, for one, am glad that she is Mokoari and wish for her to remain Mokoari. So I and the other village elders have been working our minds in the pursuit of a way to make Towari worthy of her. It is a daunting task. Not because Towari is not a fine young man. He is a good hunter. For any other woman he would be a good provider and defender. But we are not talking about any other Mokoari woman but the Warrior who saved the Mokoari and many of the other nearby tribes. To make Towari worthy of her is not simply the matter of making him stronger or better at hunting. Quite frankly, we despaired at giving Enidi the honor she deserves for some time, until she presented us with the way.”

  The elder paused to allow his words to process among the villagers and their excitement to build.

  “Towari must go on a Spirit Quest. However, rather than wander the jungles and the valleys in search of his answers, he must travel to the lands where his wife came from and learn the secrets of her people. Towari must travel to the heavens, my friends. He must go to see the outsiders and learn from them their secrets. By making this journey, perhaps Towari will become a great warrior like Enidi, capable of wielding weapons so powerful they are like magic. Or perhaps he will become a great trader, wealthy beyond belief. Perhaps he will forget the Mokoari people and never return. Perhaps he will perish, and his spirit will never return to rest with his ancestors. We do not know. We only know that Towari must make this journey.”

  The village elder paused again. He smiled. “I am certain that Towari will return to us as a man worthy of standing beside Enidi as her husband. To those of you who are his family, and to everyone else who may wish to say farewell, know that it has been decided that Towari will depart for the heavens tomorrow. If you wish to assist Towari on his journey, Enidi has suggested that you prepare for him handmade gifts and crafts, as the people of the heavens will value the art of the Mokoari in trade. That is all this old windbag has to say at this time. Where is my wife? I need someone to rub my back, for it is very sore from trying to stand up so straight for so long.”

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  The villagers laughed at his little joke, and then everyone began talking excitedly about Towari’s future. They paused when Enidi stepped forward to speak.

  “I wish it to be known that I will miss Towari while he is gone. I never once thought that he was unworthy to be my husband, that is only your beliefs at play. But I wish to be Mokoari, and so I must follow your ways. If I need a husband who had great honor, I can think of no other way for Towari to earn great honor than by representing the Mokoari people to the people of the stars. He will take with him the stories and traditions of your people, and they will learn from him the wisdom of the Mokoari. And he will learn from them the way that the world is on worlds aside from this one. When he returns, if I hear anyone say that he is not a man, then I will tie them to a tree and cover them in ants. And that is all I have to say.”

  It was Towari’s turn to speak, and the boy nervously scratched his side as everyone waited for him. He finally said “I am very excited and nervous for my spirit journey. I promise that I will bring pride to the Mokoari and return a man worthy of my wife.”

  And he stepped away from the bonfire.

  The villagers dispersed, with many of them searching for gifts and trade goods to give Towari for his journey to the heavens.

  The village gathered again when dusk fell and the bonfire was lit. There was music and dancing; drums and flutes and singing. The many gifts that were prepared for Towari were presented to him. It had been clarified at some point that he would be traveling in ‘a boat’ to the heavens so they could give him much more than he could carry. That was good, because the pile of clothes, tools, instruments, art, and other artifacts was taller than Towari.

  He sat nervously smiling before the bonfire all night as people came to see him off and add their gifts to the pile. They told him a little bit about the gift that they were giving; where they had gotten the material, how they had decided to make it into what it was now, and other minor details to explain that, whatever it was, a significant amount of thought had gone into the gift.

  Or not. Some of the villagers just threw junk in the pile, as though mistaking it for a midden heap.

  The party lasted all night. The children fell asleep out in the open and were carried home by their parents, many of whom then promptly returned to sing and dance some more.

  After all, it wasn’t every day that one of their tribesmen made a journey to the heavens.

  The ‘boat’ arrived three hours after dawn the next day. It was very large, and it had to land in the river nearby because the trees were all too close together for it to land anywhere else. The children ran to see, as did many of the adults.

  A young white man stepped out of the giant ‘boat’ and waved nervously at the people of the Mokoari. While they avoided them, this boy was not the first white man that they had seen. The black woman who followed him, however, was a little unusual, but they decided not to make a big deal about it.

  The young white man held out a hand and showed that he had one of the magic eggs that Enidi carried with her. He spoke in a language they did not understand, and then a moment later the Egg spoke in Mokoari.

  “Hello. My name is Vladislav Sokolov. I was told that this is the land of the the Mokoari people, and that you would be expecting us. I am here to take the warrior named Towari on his spirit quest,” the egg spoke in an inhuman voice.

  Some of the children were afraid of the way that the voice sounded and they turned to run. Others thought that it was funny and they laughed. The adults all turned when Towari and Enidi appeared, carrying many of the items from the pile of gifts, and realized that they needed to help or it would take all day to get the gifts into the ‘boat’ so that they could leave.

  So they pitched in, and the people from inside the ‘boat’ also helped carry the items inside. Vladislave did not mind when the children dashed inside his ‘boat’ and went exploring, nor when their parents dashed inside to bring them back out. He stood on the shore of the river next to his ‘boat’ and spoke with Enidi and Towari until all of the gifts were stored away and all of the children were under control.

  “Goodbye everyone! I will return!” Towari said, and he followed Vladislav inside the ‘boat’, which took off a short time later, flying into the sky. Everyone watched it disappear into the distance. Then they collectively realized that there were other things that they needed to be doing, and so they started doing those other things.

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