[50024 Years Ago/ Later that Day/ The Lake]
Heba looked to the vast expanse of water. She'd never seen anything so big, so daunting. The surface of the Lake was like the rippling hide of some massive beast, and she was terrified of it.
This humbled her as she watched the rest of the tribe splashing about in the water. Some were going so far out into the Lake that they were swimming.
Swimming! Heba could barely imagine water so deep she couldn't touch the bottom. In the forest of her first tribe, there had been a single creek she could easily jump over and rose only to her waist.
She looked along the shoreline. A few people hadn't yet gone into the water: the chieftain, the shaman, a few of the older matrons, and Mike. They all stood beneath the dense branches of the mushroom-like evergreens called blood trees that formed a large ring near the beach. The camp was to be constructed within this ring. The blood trees would provide shade and shelter from the rain, and the deep red sap could be used in many forms of medicine.
Heba saw Mike walk over to a strange white tree that stood alone. This tree had two trunks rather than one, with each trunk having four flat sides. The rest of the tree was without branches, but the two trunks held up a flat rectangle that seemed like a thin piece of stone. It was as white as the trunks.
Heba found this tree familiar, though she couldn't imagine how.
Mike was staring up at the side of the rectangle facing away from Heba.
"What are you doing?" she said.
"There are a whole bunch of scribbles on this side," Mike said.
Heba came around to see that the white surface held blue-green curves and slashes and dots. "That's really weird." She reached up to touch them and found they were part of the surface rather than painted on, as if this strange white tree had grown this strange way.
Then she stepped back as a huge man with golden skin was suddenly there and pressing a shiny stick into the side of the tree. Heba stared at the giant as he focused on whatever it was that he was doing. Oddly, he was whistling as he did so.
"Dominic?" she said.
Then the golden man was gone.
Heba fell back into Mike's arms.
"Are you okay?" he said, helping her to stand.
"What?" Heba looked around, feeling faint. "I don't know. I mean . . . ." Then instantly she felt fine.
"Do you need the shaman?" Mike said.
"No, it must just be the heat. I'll be okay."
Heba looked up to the blue-green scribbles as the image of the golden giant faded from her memory. "How could something like this have grown here?"
"I don't know," Mike said. "Maybe it's from the gods."
The shaman was nearby. He came over to look. "It is from the gods," he said. He pointed his shaman's staff to the mountains. "They are happy we have changed our name to the Lake Tribe and they welcome us with this beautiful sign. That is clear."
Both Mike and Heba smiled to this idea.
The shaman smiled too, then pointed his staff outward. "You both need to get into the Lake. We must all bathe in the water the gods have provided us. They'll be upset if we don't show our gratitude."
"Yes, Shaman," Mike and Heba said.
The shaman walked off toward the water.
"Ready?" Mike said, crouching to take a running leap into the Lake.
Heba was silent. She was looking with great trepidation at the waves rolling in.
"What's the matter?" Mike said.
"I can't swim," Heba said.
Mike laughed.
Heba scowled.
"I'm sorry," Mike said, "but since you're part of the Lake Tribe, it seems strange you can't swim."
"I was of the Forest Tribe," Heba said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We didn't have lakes. Or rivers."
"Then I'll teach you. C'mon."
Mike took Heba's hand and led her down the slope of white sand, and then a few steps into the Lake. Heba felt the sand between her toes; she felt the cooling water rise to her knees.
"So far, so good," Mike said. "Now, let's keep going."
"But I'll sink to the bottom."
Mike looked down and pointed. "No, you won't. You have big feet like a duck. You'll be fine."
This irritated and amused Heba and her fear faded. Then she laughed, and she and Mike went further into the water.