"He's awake! Mum! He's awake!" she screamed as she ran out of the cave.
The man opened his eyes, tilted his head sideways, and tried to understand where he was. It is warm. He could hear the soft crackle of firewood and see the flickering shadows on the wall, and his throat is as dry as dust.
Before he could sit up, soft footsteps shuffled into.the cave.
“Oh, praise the stars,” said an elderly woman. She crouched beside him, her hands trembling as she placed another damp towel on his forehead. The man felt goose bumps all over his skin.
“You’ve been out for hours Hero. We’ve been praying you'd wake in good health.”
He stood up and sat on the mat. He looked around the room, and then at the old woman, she seems to have lost more than half of her teeth which are deep brown. Her eyes are as sharp as a hawk's, he immediately looked away and cleared his throat in fear.
He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice came out in a rasp. “Where… am I?”
The old woman smiled gently, brushing his hair from his face. “Safe. My granddaughter found you in the forest. You must’ve wandered too deep into the Hollow Woods.”
Hollow woods? He frowned. He's never heard of such a place, his late father taught him all he should know about hunting, told him about the deserts but has never mentioned a place like Hollow Woods.
"Oh! Don't look like that. We are a small tribe. Many people don't know about us," said the old woman.
"My name is Eliot" he said. But the old woman seemed to be more interested in his skin. She stretched out her hand to touch him but he shifted unintentionally. The old woman smiled and turned her head toward the sound of hasty small feet walking into the cave. The little girl stood in the dim light, holding a bowl of steaming broth.
“She wouldn’t leave your side,” the old woman said with a fond glance. “Even when I told her to rest, she said, ‘Heroes shouldn’t be left alone".
Eliot frowned faintly. “Hero?”
A chuckle came from a darker corner of the cave. “Aye. You saved us, young hunter. That antelope you killed fed the tribe tonight.”
Eliot blinked, puzzled. Then suddenly, he remembered carrying the biggest kangaroo he's ever seen, when he tripped and fell into a hole.
The man stood up and walked towards him. His face is carved with scars, wrinkles and years.
He lowered himself beside the fire. “You’ve been asleep for nearly a day,” the man said. “We’ve not seen real meat in three years. The famine has swallowed our rivers and fields. Even the sky seems stingy with rain."
Eliot took a spoonful of the broth and frowned. "This doesn't taste like a kangaroo, nor does it taste like any meat I've eaten before," he said, slowly dropping the bowl. "I should return to my family. They’ll be worried.”
“Not yet,” the old woman said with a concerned look on her face. “The sands are not safe when the moon rises. Stay till morning. Then we’ll see.”
He nodded, but couldn't sleep a wink throughout the night. He tossed and turned upon the wooly mat. The wind outside carried strange whispers, the kind that slid beneath his skin.
At dawn, he stepped outside the cave. There were very few people. Scattered around were caves, some hidden at the foot of huge, dead trees. People eyed him with silent gratitude. They offered him water drawn from a hollow tree trunk; it was thick and murky.
At night, curiosity got the better of him. When all were asleep, he took one of the lanterns and slipped out of the cave. The mist clung to him like a damp cloth. He wandered farther until a giant rat rushed out of a thick cover. He walked closer and pushed away the cover; there, was a hidden trunk from a cut tree.
He knelt and poked at it with his hand.
The trunk flew open, and he tumbled through the darkness, landing hard on a hard damp soil. He noticed a dimly lit lantern and walked closer.
And then he froze.
He saw bones, hundreds of them, lining the walls. Skulls stacked like furniture. Earthen pots. Rusted slaughter knives. Wooden tables stained dark. The air reeked of metal and death.
He looked up and saw something that made his stomach twist: a human skin, stretched and dried like animal hide.
He staggered back, the lantern shaking in his hand.
“You shouldn’t be here,” a trembling little voice said. He turned to see the same little girl from the cave.
He stepped back. “What is this place?”
Her eyes darted to the hanging skin. “Please, don’t scream. Don’t let them know you've seen this place."
“Your tribe…” his voice cracked, “—they're cannibals ”
Tears welled in her eyes. “You don’t understand. They’ll kill you if they find out you saw this. You must pretend… please.”
He stared at her, his heart pounding. “How long before they bring me here?”
“Forty-eight hours,” she whispered. “Then they’ll say the prayer of gratitude… and lay you on the slaughter table.”
He clenched his fists, trembling. The girl looked up at him, and said softly “I don’t want them to hurt you, but I can’t stop them too.”
He looked into her bright, shiny eyes, and all he could see was fear and longing. She doesn't look like his enemy. He followed her out of the cave.
Throughout the day, he pretended to be weak, grateful, and friendly. But inside, his mind was in constant fear and chaos. He watched where they fetched water, where they cooked, how they prayed. He remembered the broth he ate that day and had the sudden urge to puke.
In the early hours of the next day, he stood before the old man and his tribe and said, “I know where you can get flowing water for your tribe. It’s a day journey from here, but I will only take you there if you let me go afterward.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
“There’s a spring just after the eastern ridge. I followed the rocks. You’ve been drinking from trees when a river still breathes under your feet.”
Murmurs rippled through the tribespeople. The old man looked at his wife, who nodded in approval of the deal.
Eliot led them, though he had never encountered a water source, nor did he know where to find one. His heartbeat doubled, but he kept his shoulders straight hoping to conceal his lie. However, he could look for the direction of the songbirds and bees which usually gives a hint of the water body. He looked for the type of vegetation, like reeds and willows which can indicate the closeness of water.
Many hours later, his eyes glowed in excitement when he heard sounds of flowing water. He hasten his steps towards it.
When the people saw the clean water flowing from a rock down to a small stream, they fell to their knees and wept.
"Greenland!" he said, pointing across the river. The people looked at the virgin forest that stared back at them. They could see wild animals watching them from behind trees and shrubs. Eliot could see the bewildement in their faces.
"Do you know what we eat?" the old man asked him, frown lines crossing his forehead.
"No. But I believe you eat animals, though they went extinct in your part of the desert."
The man stared at him. Then, turning to his tribe, he raised his staff and shouted, "Hero!"
The people hailed "Hero! Hero! Hero!" And rushed towards the water.
The little girl snuggled beside him and touched his hand. Eliot looked down at her smiling face and held her hand.
"Do you know why we call people like you 'Hero'?" she asked.
Eliot shook his head.
"Because we pretend people like you sacrifice your life for us."
"But that's not fair," he said.
"I know. We were never cannibals, but at some point, we had no choice. We couldn't even grow food," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She immediately wiped them away, looked up at him, and asked, "But you've changed that for us. You've given us a new home. Now you'll leave, won't you?" She asked, sadly.
He smiled faintly and rubbed.her shoulders. "Yes, I have a family waiting for me. What's your name?" he asked.
"Seda."
"Seda," he called, spreading his arms wide. She stepped into his embrace and he held her briefly, not with sadness but gratitude.
"You'll be remembered, Eliot," she said.
"That is all I need," he replied, smiling as he turned away.
All the images are generated with WhatsApp Meta AI.
A very interesting story to read. Elliot's adventure in the tribe is very striking, as is the mystery of cannibalism. Very good work.
Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Excellent day.
I'm glad you found it interesting. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Thanks to Elliot, who acted heroically, they were able to eat animal meat and drink river water. Have a good night.
I appreciate you for taking the time to read
Best regards.✨