Give Them Wineby Mary Brunini McArdleBook I
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General Synopsis |
| Chapter 16 |
In the mid-22nd century, a mysterious apocalyptic event has destroyed the world as we know it. In the Mississippi delta country, survivors reorganize in isolated enclaves and live in primitive conditions with little knowledge of their own history.
Donas, a beautiful, bright, curious girl on the verge of womanhood, discovers that her community is hiding a terrible secret: drug-induced conformity. She flees, taking her younger brother Mak and sister Rani with her. They make their way south and find a new life with a new people. They find hope, love and maybe some trace of their own past that might point the way to the future.
Barrett sent Lionel to fetch Tolk. “Invite him to the betrothal dinner, Lionel. Afterwards he can talk to Donas about her story.”
She turned to Donas. “We’re going to have a special feast for the evening meal. It’s for you and Lionel, so you stay here in the sitting room with Alfreda and Mak. Sewella and Rani will help me in the kitchen.”
“Know what I did today?” Mak boasted.
“What did you do?” Alfreda asked, smiling.
“I rode the fastest horse in the stable. ‘Cloudchaser.’ He’s a big, big stallion.”
“Oh, I will be so glad when I can ride again!” Alfreda exclaimed.
“How long...” Donas began, then hesitated, not certain if she was being mannerly or not.
“About four weeks.”
“Do you wish for a boy or a girl? Where we came from, girls were always preferred.”
“We’d like a boy first. Although it would be wonderful to have a daughter to carry on my work.”
“Know what?” Mak said.
“What, Mak?” Alfreda was very patient with the eight-year-old.
“I hope you have a boy first too. Boys are better.”
Donas and Alfreda laughed. “Well, Donas will.”
“Huh?”
“You, silly. You and Rani will be Lionel and Donas’s first children.”
Mak grinned widely. “That’s right! And know what else?”
“What?”
“Lionel says the next time a horse is born, it is to be mine. My very own. I’m to give it a name. And I have a new friend, too. Another boy who works in the stable.”
“That’s lovely, Mak.”
“Only thing... only thing... my friend’s not sure if he wants to be a Horseman or a Shepherd. I hope he’ll be a Horseman, because that’s what I’m going to be.”
“What is a ‘Shepherd’? Donas asked. “Such an odd word.”
“The Shepherds take care of the cattle,” Alfreda explained. “It’s an old word, from some of our stories. Shepherds looked after animals but we don’t know what kind. We think long ago there were animals called ‘sheeps.’”
Just then, Lionel opened the front entrance. With him was the same dark-skinned man who had told Sebastian’s story at the three refugees’ first bonfire.
‘Oh, I’m glad it is he,’ Donas thought. ‘I will feel more comfortable with him than someone I have never seen.’
Barrett called them to the dining room. The mood was festive; the group lingered a long time over cups of tea and other sweet drinks. Donas ate little; she was still excited from the betrothal ceremony and a bit apprehensive about her interview with Tolk.
At length, Lionel suggested he take Tolk and Donas back to the sitting room, so that she could tell her story in her own words.
“There is no need to feel awkward,” Tolk began. “Nor any need to go into details you feel unnecessary. Stories are best when they are kept simple. And I have a good memory.”
Donas looked at Lionel, who nodded.
“Well... it’s hard to know where to start.”
“Wherever it seems right. Once you begin, it will become easier.”
Donas thought for a moment, then said, “I became curious about the way we lived, and I wondered why it seemed so wrong. We did not have families, and our mothers cared nothing for us. We could not talk or sing or ask questions.
“As I learned more, I discovered I had put myself and my younger brother and sister in danger. There was one good person there who cared about us, but we didn’t know it until the night we tried to leave. It was he who furnished us with a cart and a pony.”
“And so you left. Did you know about the dangers — the Lonely People and the wild animals? Did you have enough supplies?”
“We didn’t know about the Lonely People or the animals, but we knew it was dangerous. I was not quite fifteen and had never been outside the gate. And I was responsible for two little ones. But I also knew if we didn’t leave, we would be in even more danger. I had prepared dried food ahead of the departure.”
“What happened on the way?”
“It was very hot in the forest, very uncomfortable. We were bitten by nibblers — I mean flyers, and once Rani and I thought we had lost our brother. That scared me. Food wasn’t a problem, but I was never sure we would have enough water.
“We didn’t know how far we had to go, or what we would find. At first, we didn’t even know if we were going the right way. But we explored and we discovered water sources. I don’t know what would have happened to us if Lionel hadn’t found us when the pony fell. We wouldn’t have been able to save him. I don’t know if we could have walked the rest of the way or not.”
“You would have, Donas,” Lionel said. “You don’t give up easily.”
“I know I would have tried. I would have tried until I couldn’t take another step — for Mak and Rani.”
“Katera’s name is known to us, and to other communities in the north,” Tolk said. “It is unfortunate that we could not help. But we feel we must leave the affairs of others alone, and concentrate on our own survival. That in itself is enough for every man, woman, and child here — keeping our own community safe and thriving.”
Tolk stood. “I think I have enough to prepare a story now. I must go.”
“Thank you for coming,” Lionel said, getting up.
“You are most welcome. I thank you and your mother for the delicious meal.”
Barrett brought Sebastian out to the sitting room to bid the Storyteller good night. “Now, husband, let us retire.”
So the older couple left the younger to themselves in the sitting room. Lionel and Donas talked far into the night, holding hands and exchanging kisses.
“We shall wed in the winter, and I shall give you a ring made of woven threads,” Lionel declared. “It will be a golden color — my mother will make it for me. And we will find or build a house for you and me and Mak and Rani. It may be cold, but our new family will be warm and safe in a home of our own.”
Lionel kissed her again, a light, lingering kiss, and Donas thought of long winter nights and Mak and Rani growing up and a multitude of little boys with sandy hair and deep blue eyes.
She did not know that Lionel was dreaming of girl-children with olive skin and chestnut curls. But she knew that every time he kissed her she became warmer and warmer, and she didn’t expect that the winter would be much of a problem.
To be continued...
Copyright © 2011 by Mary Brunini McArdle
