Ivory Carver 02 - My Sister the Moon (32 page)

"You are still a boy, not a man," Samiq's inside voice told him. "You are not ready to make a man's decisions. Your father is right; you are wrong." 

But then once again Samiq remembered the horror in Small Knife's eyes after he returned from his parents' destroyed ulaq, and he saw the sorrow in Dying Seals face. Should he let what had happened to the Whale Hunter village happen to his own people? And if his father did not agree with Samiq, then at least Samiq had a responsibility to Small Knife and Three Fish. If Kiin were alive, he would do anything to save her. Could he do less for the boy who was his son, the woman who was his wife? 

It was early morning. Samiq had crept from his sleeping place, leaving Three Fish, her mouth open in deep snores. The night before, Samiq had asked Small Knife and Three Fish to meet him outside the shelter in early morning before the others had awakened. 

But now he wondered at the wisdom of his request. "You have no choice," he told himself, speaking the words into the morning fog. "You have no choice." 

Samiq had spent the last two nights with Three Fish, and now she was taking her share of the work, and also 
was not so ready to dishonor him with apron flipping. He hoped she would be willing to help him when he explained his plan. 

When Three Fish and Small Knife came from the cave, the boy squatted beside Samiq; Three Fish stood in front of them, her arms crossed over her breasts, a sleeping robe flung around her shoulders. 

The ground shook and a rumbling seemed to come from the rocks. Three Fish covered her mouth with both hands. And Samiq, leaning one hand against the ground to hold his balance, said, "You both know that we must leave this island." 

The rumbling stopped and Three Fish wrapped her sleeping robe more tightly around herself. "Yes," she said. "We must leave." 

Small Knife said nothing, but he moved closer to Samiq, the two with arms almost touching. 

"We cannot return to the First Men's island," Samiq continued, "and each day, Aka's anger grows. Perhaps Aka will send more waves, more fire. The last time, many died. Perhaps this will happen again." 

Samiq turned to look at his son and saw that Small Knife's face had paled, his eyes grown large. 

"Small Knife," Samiq said, "you and Three Fish have lost the most to Aka. My people have lost only their homes. And they think by waiting that they will be able to return." 

"We will all die," Three Fish said. 

"No, we will not die," said Small Knife. "Samiq will not let us die." Then he asked, "Have you spoken with your father?" 

"I have tried," Samiq replied, surprised but pleased with the boy's confidence in him. 

"We should leave. The three of us," Three Fish said. "We have Samiq's ikyak and the ik. And Small Knife now has an ikyak." 

Her words angered Samiq. Did she care so little for his people that she would leave so easily? But then he thought, Why should she care? She does not know them. Finally he said, "Perhaps we can make the others understand." 

"There is not much time," said Small Knife. 

"You are right," Samiq replied. "But we must try. Three Fish, you must speak to the women. Do not speak urgently. Perhaps even the first time, speak with laughter about your fears. But speak often. Tell them again what happened to your village and your people. Then you must do the most difficult thing." 

Three Fish straightened and gave a quick sideways glance at Small Knife. 

"Tonight when the men sit by the fire, you must come to me. Pretend you are frightened and beg me to take you away." 

Three Fish blinked her small eyes. "I can do that." 

"For a little while, I will speak to my father and the others," Samiq said. "Do not come until I give you a sign." 

"What sign?" 

"I will stand and stretch, then sit again. Come soon after that. And during the evening, act as though you are sad. Keep your eyes lowered when you serve food. Cover your face when you sew. Pretend to cry." 

Three Fish laughed. 

"And what should I do?" Small Knife asked. 

"You must speak to First Snow and Big Teeth," Samiq answered. "Tell them your fears about Aka. Then tonight, if you have the opportunity, if you are strong enough, tell of the deaths in the ulas of the Whale Hunters." 

"I am strong enough," Small Knife said. 

Amgigh watched from the shadows of the cave as Small Knife and Three Fish left Samiq. For a time Samiq stood outside, his eyes on the sea. He had grown some in the year he had been with the Whale Hunters, but he was still not as tall as Amgigh, though his shoulders were wider. 

Amgigh had heard Samiq speak to their father, two, three times about leaving the island, about following the land east, away from Aka. 

Away from whales, Amgigh thought. Away from any chance my father and I will have to learn to hunt the whale. 

Amgigh's anger was like a chunk of lava rock chafing inside his chest. Samiq comes back with a wife and grown son, Amgigh thought. He comes back knowing how to hunt the whale. I have nothing; no wife, no son. Now he wants to tell our father what to do. 

Then Waxtal's words came back to him: Samiq did not care about Kayugh, did not respect Kayugh's power. Samiq would try to become chief. 

Perhaps it was time to tell the other men about Samiq's true father. It seemed that what Waxtal feared was true. The evil that had been in Samiq's true father had come to Samiq, was forcing its way into Samiq's spirit, telling Samiq what to do. Why else would Samiq, more boy than man, seek to take his father's place as chief of the village? 

Small Knife came to Samiq after the night fires had been lit. "There was no need to convince," Small Knife said. "Big Teeth and First Snow feel as we do. 

"And Three Fish says, that of the women, only Chagak does not want to leave. Chagak says without Aka there is nothing. And Little Duck gives no answer. She is too near death to care." 

That night, Samiq was one of the last to come to the fire. He sat facing the cave so he would know when Three Fish was ready. Small Knife sat beside him and on the other side were Gray Bird and Big Teeth. 

Samiq had thought of many ways to bring up the subject of leaving, and finally decided to speak directly as soon as the customary time of silence had passed. 

Samiq waited, squatting on his heels, his hands clamped tightly over his knees. He had a sudden fear that his voice would sound like the voice of a boy, high and cracking, and he clasped his amulet. There was, he reminded his spirit, the power of two tribes in the amulet. 

Then to give himself courage, he whispered into the damp night air, "I am Samiq, father of Small Knife, caller of seals, hunter of whales, alananasika among my own people. What other man has as much?" 

Samiq closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating on the powers that were his, and when he looked up, he was ready, the pulse of his strength deep and sure in his chest. 

"I want to speak," he said. 

He saw that his father's eyes were on him. Seldom did anyone other than Kayugh break the silence of the evening fires. But Samiq did not allow himself to think of Kayugh's power. Always in some small way, a man was a boy in his father's eyes. But now, to all, Samiq must be a man. 

"Speak," Kayugh said. 

But before Samiq could say anything, there was a loud roaring and the island shook, throwing rocks from the shelter walls. Over the roaring, Samiq heard Three Fish's low wail. 

The shaking subsided and the dust settled. "Is anyone hurt?" Kayugh called. Samiq stood and looked into the darkness of the shelter. 

"We are not hurt," Chagak said. 

But then, Three Fish came hurtling out of the cave. Her face was streaked with tears and dirt. She ran up to Samiq and knelt at his feet. "Go back," he hissed, but Three Fish wrapped her arms around his legs, and her shoulders jerked with sobs. 

"Take me back to my people," she cried. "Aka will kill us all. We must leave. Do not make me stay here! We will all die!" 

Chagak came from the cave and knelt beside Three Fish. "Come with me, Three Fish," she said. "You are safe." 

"No!" Three Fish screeched, clinging more tightly to Samiq. 

"Be still," Samiq said. "Be still. Go with my mother." 

But Three Fish would not release her grip. "You must go," Samiq said. Then raising his voice, he called Crooked Nose. 

Crooked Nose came and helped pull Three Fish up. The three women walked together into the shelter. Samiq looked across the circle of men to see that Small Knife's eyes were on him, but Samiq did not say anything. 

He turned back to the fire and closed his eyes, rubbing the dust from his face. The men spoke in whispers and suddenly Kayugh's voice was loud among them. "You wanted to speak, Samiq?" 

Samiq looked at his father. "Yes," he finally said. "I want to say what should not have to be said." He paused, studying the faces around the fire. "We must leave or we will die." 

In the murmur of voices, First Snow turned to Kayugh. "He speaks the truth. I and my wife and our son will leave, even if we have to go alone." 

"You are a fool," Kayugh said. "Soon we will return to our own beach. We will hunt the whale. We will never be hungry. If you leave now, where will you go?" 

First Snow looked toward Samiq and Samiq answered, "We must get away from the sea. Aka's shaking makes waves tall enough to cover all but the mountains." 

"There is nothing away from the sea but ice," Kayugh said. 

Then Amgigh stood, Samiq feeling a sudden relief, knowing his brother would support him against their father. 

But Amgigh said, "Who are you to argue with my father?" 

The words, cold and hard, settled into Samiq's chest and, though Samiq opened his mouth to speak, he could not. 

"Your mother Chagak told us your father was one of the First Men," Amgigh continued, "that he had been killed by the Short Ones, but there are some of us who know the truth." 

Samiq's eyes traveled over the faces of the men. Each man looked surprised. Big Teeth even shook his head to disagree with Amgigh, but then Samiq's eyes fell on Gray Bird. The man was smiling. 

Samiq saw a quick movement at the entrance of the cave and realized that his mother was there, her face pale. 

"Samiq's father was a Short One," Amgigh said, his lips drawn back from his teeth. And Samiq looked at Kayugh, saw that the man's eyes were wide, his mouth open, and Samiq realized that if what Amgigh said was true, Kayugh had not known. 

Then Samiq looked at his mother. Chagak held a bola in one hand, an obsidian knife in the other. He remembered the scattered bones in the death ulaq and knew that his mother was strong enough, fierce enough, to have killed the man who was his father. 

Samiq stood and stared at Amgigh. Refusing to let the anger in Amgigh's eyes make him look away, Samiq said, "We have always been brothers." 

"I am not your brother," Amgigh said. 

"You lost no one to the Short Ones, Amgigh," Samiq said. "My mother lost her whole village and there were many lost in Small Knife's village. They are the ones who should take revenge. They are the ones who may seek my death." He looked back at Chagak, his mother now closer to the circle of men. 

"You are my son," she said. "I am not a hunter or a warrior, but if anyone here seeks to take your life, I will kill him as I killed the Short One on the Whale Hunters' island. As I killed the Short One while Gray Bird cowered behind me." 

Gray Bird sneered at her, then laughed, but said nothing. 

Small Knife stood and walked around the circle to Samiq's side. "I am your son," he said quietly. "If any of these men want to fight you, they must fight me, also." 

Samiq looked at Kayugh, hoped to see some caring on his father's face, but Kayugh's eyes were on Chagak. 

"I leave tomorrow, then," Samiq said. "I and my son and my wife. Tonight we will take our things from your cave and stay outside." 

He turned toward the cave, saw that his mother stood there, her hands still tight on the weapons. Samiq was man now, had no right to touch his mother, but he reached out to her, took her in his arms, felt the wetness of her tears against his neck. And he felt no shame. 

"I would have stayed in the cave one more night," she said. She tucked the tail of her hair into the collar of her suk and turned her back against the wind. "It is too cold here." 

"You wanted to leave," Samiq said. "We will leave. Sleep now. Tomorrow you must paddle the ik, alone." 

They had already packed their few belongings into bundles. Chagak had given them three seal stomachs of dried fish and a container of oil. Big Teeth had given them several seal hides. 

They would leave after both Samiq and Small Knife had a chance to sleep. Now Samiq watched, his eyes on the paths that led to the cave, and Small Knife slept. But Samiq's thoughts were on Amgigh. Why had his brother come to hate him? They had had no choice in which one of them went to the Whale Hunters, which one stayed in the village and was husband to Kiin. 

Kiin, Samiq thought. Kiin, dead. These days with his people had also been days of mourning, mourning that he could share with no one. He had not been Kiin's husband; he had not suffered the loss that Amgigh suffered. But how many times during his stay with the Whale Hunters had he imagined himself telling Kiin some story of his life there? The foolish ways of the Whale Hunter women, always fighting, always angry. The lazy way they rendered seal oil: stuffing strips of fat into a sealskin turned hair side in, the women leaving the fat until it melted itself into oil. How a man, 
wanting a good meal of fish and seal oil, in eating would find his teeth full of seal hair from the oil. He wanted to tell her that the women who were so lazy with seals could flense a whale in only three, four days. He wanted to tell her the Whale Hunters' jokes, their stories. But now he would share none of these things. 

He remembered how frightened he had been that he would find Kiin's body in the destroyed ulas, but then when Amgigh told him of Kiin's death, it was as though the words were only words in a dream, as though Amgigh did not speak the truth. 

Now, he would lose not only Kiin, but all of his people. But then he told himself, You suffer no more than Small Knife or Three Fish. They have lost their people, too. 

Samiq slept while Small Knife watched, and while Samiq slept he dreamed, dream piling on dream, the dreams pushing into one another like broken pieces of ice at the edge of a river. The dreams were so strong that when Small Knife shook him awake, the shaking became part of a dream, became the shaking of Aka, and Samiq woke angry at the spirits of the mountain, those spirits that had taken so much from a people who honored them. 

"Your father, your father," Small Knife whispered. 

Samiq's first reaction was gladness, but then he remembered the evening before and reached for his spear. He was a Short One. Any of the First Men might decide to kill him. 

He stood and slowly his father approached him, hands outspread. "I am a friend. I have no knife," he said, and Samiq saw the sadness in the man's eyes. 

Samiq set down his spear. 

"Come with me. I need to talk to you," Kayugh said. 

Warily Samiq's eyes swept the beach, the rocks and grasses 

that bordered the paths from the beach, then he turned and 

i said to Small Knife, "Help Three Fish load the ik." Then 

he followed his father to a place among the rocks that was 
sheltered from the wind. 

For a time Kayugh said nothing and Samiq studied his father, seeing what he had not seen before—that there were changes in the man: strands of gray hair that blended with the black, lines around his eyes, a new scar across the top of his left hand. 

"I spoke to your mother last night," Kayugh finally said. "What Amgigh said was true. Shuganan had no son. Your father was a Short One. He forced your mother to be wife to him. She was wife one night. Only one night. That night she and Shuganan killed him and left his body in the ulaq." Kayugh cleared his throat, ran both hands through his hair. 

For a long time, Samiq said nothing. The wind whined as it buffeted them from between the rocks, and waves crashed against the beach. Samiq felt old, older than his father, older than any man had ever been. "So I am grandson only to Many Whales and son to a Short One," Samiq finally said, and he suddenly felt as though his spirit was something unclean. 

"Samiq," Kayugh said and laid his hand on Samiq's arm. "Leave us if you think this island is not safe. Do not leave us because of what your brother said last night. His sorrow over Kiin's death twists his words and dims his spirit. 

"A man is not what his father or grandfather was. A man is what he himself does, what he thinks, what he learns, his own skills. You are a hunter of whales. You are good to your mother. You are patient with your wife, good to your new son Small Knife." Kayugh picked up a handful of beach gravel, released it slowly from his fingers. "Samiq," he said, "you will always be my son." 

Samiq felt Kayugh's voice wash through his spirit like something clean, something good, pushing away the ashes of his anger, the blackness of Amgigh's words. 

"I am glad my mother chose you to be my father," Samiq said, then looked away, afraid that Kayugh would see the tears that stung his eyes. 

They walked back to the beach together, Kayugh's hand on Samiq's shoulder. Samiq heard the calling first. Big Teeth's voice. Then Kayugh turned, waited until the man was beside them. 

"Little Duck," Big Teeth said. He lowered his head, closed his eyes. "She is dying. She asks for Samiq." 

"Samiq?" Kayugh said, surprise in his voice. He looked at Samiq. 

Small Knife came up to Samiq. He carried a knife in one hand, stood slapping it against his palm. 

"I will go," Samiq said. "Gray Bird is not strong enough to kill me, and Amgigh . . ." He hesitated. 

"Amgigh will not kill you," Big Teeth said. 

"I go, too," Small Knife said, still slapping the blade of his knife against his palm. 

. They went together to the cave; Samiq and Small Knife walked between Big Teeth and Kayugh. When they came to Little Duck's bed, Samiq squatted beside the woman. She did not look like Little Duck. Her face was wrinkled, her hands gnarled and bent like eagle's claws. She opened her eyes, the eyes moving until they were upon Big Teeth, then she said in a thin voice, "I am sorry that I leave you no son." 

She closed her eyes again and Big Teeth knelt beside her, drawing one of her hands to his chest. "You have been a good wife," he said. 

They were silent then as Little Duck walked the thin line between two worlds. And Samiq thought, Perhaps there will be some small sign, one thing she will see and tell us before she becomes one of the spirits. There was always that hope with the dying. 

Her eyes opened again and Samiq thought that perhaps she had died, the lids opening to free the soul, but she looked at him and he saw she was still alive, still seeing as a woman. "You did not die, Samiq," she said. "We thought Aka killed you." She coughed. A drop of spittle sprayed from her mouth and settled on Samiq's cheek. "You are too strong. You are stronger than Aka. . . ." Suddenly she gasped, and Samiq realized that her eyes were now on Small Knife who stood beside him. 

"My son," Little Duck said softly. Tears began to run down her face. "My own son. Samiq brought you back to me." She tried to sit up, her arms pulling against Big Teeth's hands. 

"Samiq, Samiq," her voice was urgent, "you must take him away from here. This is a place of death. Take him to a good place. A safe place. You must leave. Please, Samiq, you are stronger than Aka. You are stronger. . . ." Her words ended with a soft sound of choking, and she fell back on her mats. She closed her eyes, and when they opened again, they opened to release her spirit. 

Crooked Nose began to wail, and Chagak looked at Samiq. "You are right," she said. "We must leave this island." 

But Kay ugh turned and walked away.