[50024 Years Ago (Based on the year 2026)/ Northwest Africa]
She walked and skipped through the tall grass and wondered what her new name would be. Her tribe was gone but she'd been adopted by another; one migrating from the east. This tribe was called the River Tribe, but they'd left their river far behind when it became a trickle of muddy water after years of drought.
They'd taken her in, but by their tradition her old name was never to be known. Her new name would be chosen by the matrons of the tribe—eventually. Until then, she was to be called Girl.
Girl looked to the mountains behind her, then to the blue line of water on the far horizon ahead, then to the dozens of people around her, scattered and walking through this vast, brown, and dusty plain that was striped with fences of tall, yellow grasses.
The people moved in little groups of two or three or more, chitchatting as they went. Girl skipped along and smiled to these people who were all part of her new tribe, her new family.
They were small of stature and dark, made darker by the sun that beat down from a cloudless sky. They had jet-black hair in mounds of ringleted strands. Some were naked and some wore loincloths, dyed red or green or were bleached white.
The men carried long spears with stone tips, and on their leather belts hung stone knives with handles of polished antler. They each had backpacks of rawhide bulging with supplies, and waterskins bounced against their legs as they walked.
The women wore bracelets and necklaces with beads of bone and stone and shells of many colors. All of the women and girls had braids with a complexity proportionate to their age and their standing in the tribe, with the matrons—the women with more than two children—having the most exquisite designs.
Each woman in the tribe carried something, pelts, stone tools, or pouches of food. Many of the women carried sleeping infants. Girl was carrying a pouch packed with fruit she'd dried herself. She dropped the pouch on accident with all her skipping.
"I don't know how you did things in your tribe, Girl," an older woman said, coming up behind. This was Tagi. She was the wife of the chieftain and head matron of the tribe. "But our girls ready to marry don't go skipping about, and we don't throw our food on the ground."
"Sorry," Girl said, laughing and picking up the fruit. "I'm still learning the strange ways of your tribe."
"Now it's your tribe, too, Girl."
Girl smiled to this and soon she was skipping again with the pouch on her head. Tagi had to chuckle despite herself.
Girl went skipping out from the tribe and through a band of grasses.
"Careful," Tagi said, pointing to the west.
Girl looked to a low and distant hill where a pride of lions was resting in the shade of a tree. They gazed out to the tribe as it was going by.
There were calls of warning, and the people drew closer together with the hunters taking up positions on the side facing the hill.
Girl turned to see a young man who had not come closer. He walked with the tribe yet was walking alone. She found it interesting he could do that.
He didn't carry a spear or a knife though he was old enough to be a hunter. He only carried a backpack that was slung over one shoulder. He walked with an easy, carefree stride and looked ahead to the water. He seemed to be daydreaming. Girl thought him handsome, and she looked too long. Then he was looking at her, smiling. Girl smiled too.
There was a hand signal from the chieftain who was leading the way. He signaled twice more, emphatically, before the man realized he was being summoned. He jogged ahead to see what the chieftain wanted.
"Who is that man?" Girl said to Tagi.
"Leave that one alone, Girl, he is a dreamer."
Girl could see the man walking with the chieftain now and in deep discussion.
"Is he a sub-chieftain?" Girl said.
The matrons laughed, then Tagi said, "No, he is a lazy fisherman and that is all he wants to be, though truth be told, he seems good at anything he tries, when he tries, which is rare. I wouldn't show him any interest, Girl."
"I don't have any interest in him," Girl said, blushing. "I would just like to know all the names of the people in my new tribe."
The matrons smiled their knowing smiles, making Girl blush more.
Tagi looked Girl up and down. "Your hair is unruly and you have that odd accent, but both of those can be dealt with. On the positive side, you are pretty in a strange way and have a good body, and your tribe grew tall women." She pointed ahead. "Now there is the one you should try for." She was indicating the largest of the men. "That is Pult. He is young and has no wife and he is a great hunter."
Girl frowned. Even from her distance she could tell he was very full of himself. "I don't like him," she said.
"So, you'd rather be with a lazy fisherman than a strong hunter? If all your people showed such poor judgment, it's no wonder your tribe is no more."
Girl blinked at tears. She had kept the horrible memories at bay, but the deaths of her people—dying from poisoned water—these came back to her. She wiped her eyes, then was startled by screams all around her.
"Conn!" This was Dora, one of the matrons. Her young son had slipped away to the east and was being stalked by a lioness sneaking through the grasses there.
The people of the tribe screamed and clapped their hands making a great noise to scare the lioness and warn the boy.
The hunters, finding themselves on the wrong side, pushed their way through the mass of people, but Girl could see they wouldn't be in time to save Conn. He had turned back to the noise and held a confused look on his face until he saw the predator ready to strike.
He gave a shriek heard across the plain, then collapsed in fear. The lioness misjudged her prey and leapt over him, then whirled around for the kill, but instead was hit with a blast of yellow dust. The dreamer was there casting the dust in her face.
The lioness yowled and swiped frantically at the air as the man picked up the child and brought him quickly back to the safety of the tribe.
The hunters formed around him and the child, and several men went forward creating a wall of spearpoints.
The lioness growled and moaned, then spun about and darted into the grass and was gone.
The chieftain called out orders, and all the children were picked up and held, whether they wished it or not, and the tribe moved on at a quicker pace. The hunters swarmed around the tribe keeping watch on all sides.
"Why didn't he kill it?" Tagi said. "He throws dust at it? What's wrong with him?"
The other matrons agreed with this criticism. Only Dora showed great happiness for what the man had done. She rushed forward to reach her son. The man held up little Conn who was quiet, his eyes draining tears. When he saw his mother, he reached out his hands.
Dora was there taking the boy. She hugged him and wept as the boy hugged back. She thanked the man profusely, then hugged her son tighter.
The man smiled at them, then fell into his easy, carefree stride again.
Girl was walking right behind him now. "Is the boy all right?" she said.
"Sure," the man said. "He'll be fine. The lion barely scratched him."
"I'm glad," Girl said, then looked back to where the attack had happened. "What did you throw at her?"
The man seemed surprised that anyone would ask. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a leather sack and handed it to Girl. "It's a powder I made from a root. It's very irritating."
Girl put her nose to the open sack and sneezed, much to the man's delight.
"That's horrible," Girl said, handing it back.
"Yeah, and it takes a while for it to wear off. We should be outside of the lions' territory by then."
Girl sneezed again before saying, "Why not use a spear?"
"It didn't seem necessary," the man said. He studied Girl for a moment. "You're that new one we picked up a couple days ago, right?"
"Yes," Girl said.
"What was that song you were teaching the children?"
"My tribe just called it the Walking Song. It helps pass the time on journeys. Did you like it?"
"Yeah," the man said, "it's catchy."
"I think it's a strange song," Tagi said, "from a strange tribe."
"There aren't any strange tribes," the man said. "People are people. We're all the same."
"Don't be absurd," Tagi said.
The man smiled to Girl, who smiled back. "My name is Mike, what's your name?"
"I'm . . . ."
"Mike," Tagi said, "you know the rules. She has no name."
"Well, that's a shame," Mike said.
Girl chuckled.
"She is Girl until we give her a tribe name."
Mike nodded, then dashed off and was lost in the tall grasses to the west.
Girl thought this very strange behavior.
"He is so flighty," Tagi said. "He's like a little boy."
Dora came back to the matrons. She hefted her son who was dozing.
"Is he all right?" Tagi said.
"Yes," Dora said. "Only a single scratch on his bottom."
The women all looked to the mountains and spoke words of gratitude to their gods who lived on the highest peaks.
"It's too bad the scratch isn't somewhere he can see it," Tagi said, "then it would be a constant reminder to pay attention."
"It's in a place that can remind everybody else," another matron said.
The women laughed.
Mike was suddenly back. Girl yipped in her surprise, then she smiled at the bouquet of wildflowers Mike held out to her. They were beautiful and bright purple blossoms.
"Welcome to the tribe," Mike said.
"Thank you, Mike," Girl said, smelling the wonderful scent. "I've never seen this type before. What are they called?"
"Heba flowers," Mike said.
Dora grinned to this interaction, then said, "Let's call her Heba."
"Heba?" Tagi said. "That's not a tribe name."
But already the other women were giving signs of their approval.
"Fine," Tagi said. She gave a gesture and all the women stopped and gathered around her and Girl. The rest of the tribe stopped as well.
The chieftain looked back in irritation as did the other men, but they knew the women were performing the naming ritual, and none would interfere with that.
Tagi came to the newest member of the tribe. She put her hands softly against the sides of Girl's face and said, "Your tribe name is Heba. Heba is your name forever and forever and forever. So be it."
"So be it," the women said.
"So be it," Heba said, grinning and looking to Mike, who winked.