Cave Dwellers (16 page)

   “It’s a lot more strenuous than I realized.” Zaac rubbed his thighs.

   “As you progress, the workout gets more intense. There weren’t many classes that I left without my Gi being completely soaked with sweat. The test for the purple belt is close to two hours whereas the black belt is about four hours,” Ramira added.

   “Yikes.”

   “You need to remember that you’re testing for both Karate and Jujitju. Upon completion of each test, your belt will be for each field.”

   “That’s pretty cool. Will we be learning weapons?”

   “Yes. The weapons become a part of your training as you become more advanced. You aren’t allowed to learn the sword until you receive the black belt. I had to be sixteen before my dad let me test for it. Most people look forward to getting their driver’s license at sixteen. I couldn’t wait until I got my black belt.”

   “I think that I’ll go take a bath now. I can use one,” Zaac said, getting up and grabbing his jacket.

   “Good idea,” Ramira joked. “I wouldn’t want you to have to sleep outside the cave.”

   “Now that you mention it, maybe I should wait another week or two before I take one.” Zaac set his pack down and walked toward her with his arms open. “Come and give me a hug.”

   Ramira stepped back holding her arms out keeping him away. “You can have a hug when you’re nice and clean.”

   “I’ll hold you to that.” He started for tunnel number four.

   He built a fire in the circle he made for Ramira’s bath. Unknown to him, he went through precisely the same ritual she did, including plunging into the cold water to get it over with and washing his clothes under the falls. While he knelt by the fire waiting for his clothes to dry, he checked out the rocks that had been hollowed by water. The largest was big enough to lie down in.

   Zaac knelt beside the smaller one. He ran his hand over the top and down along the interior. He started to think, if he could build a fire under it, it might serve as a pot allowing them to cook. The rock was thick enough at the base to absorb the heat without cracking. It was worth a try, he thought.

   When his clothes were dry, he got the smaller hollowed out rock and carried it with him to the cave.

   As he set it down, Ramira asked, “What are you planning for that?”

   “I hope we can use it for cooking.”

   He went to the rock pile and got enough stones to build a kind of stand. After placing them in a circle
with an opening for a fire, he rested the cooking rock on top.

   Standing back, he asked Ramira, “What do you think?”

   “It looks great. Do you think it will work?”

   “Let’s hope so. It would be nice to eat some cooked vegetables.”

   Ramira dumped some water into the cooking rock and washed the inside with her hand. Then Zaac dumped the water outside the cave.

   Once he had placed the rock pot back on its supports, he turned to Ramira with a broad grin. “Now for that hug.” 

17

   The next morning, watching the megapetomeinon fly over the lake, Zaac wished that he could get closer to them. He would love to be able to touch one. It would be fun to play with the younger ones. He was sure they wouldn’t mind, except for their parents—that was another matter entirely.

   Ramira joined him.

   “Good morning,” Zaac said.

   “Good morning. How did you sleep?”

   “Like a log. The workout really zonked me out.”

   “I know. I always sleep well after working out at the dojo.”

   “Let’s see if we can cook a meal in the pot today. We can try the pottery oven and see if it works. I also want to try and make a fishing line.”

   “That’s a full agenda. I have one suggestion that you may not like. I don’t really care for it either, but I think we might need more protein.”

   “What are you suggesting?” He knew what she was about to say.

   “I think it might be a good idea to add some insects to our diet until we find something else.” Ramira waited for his retort.

   “Yuck!”

   “If it’s any consolation, I was planning to cook them and mix them into our salad. It might make them a little more tolerable.”

   Zaac knew she was right but he still didn’t like it. “We could probably use the nutrients. I’ll wash off the rock and build a fire while you go gather bugs.

   Zaac had the fire going before she returned, so he went down to the pottery oven to see if it was ready for use. The mud looked like it had dried properly without any cracks. Holding his breath, he removed the rocks and bones that he had used for support. Nothing fell. Thank goodness.

   When he returned to the cave, Ramira was roasting insects on the flat rock, using a couple of the spoons to flip them over.

   Zaac started preparing salads in two bowls. With the addition of the insects, their bug salad was complete.

   He had to admit that the salad did make eating the bugs more tolerable. Barely.

   After they were finished, Zaac took one of the large bowls and went to get clay for their creations. Ramira gathered some of the reddish brown dirt she thought had given color to the pottery they found.

   As Zaac was returning with his clay, he stopped in the tunnel under the falls. He went to the large hollowed out rock and studied the layout for his plan. The rock had a slight extension on the side away from the wall. It should support part of the weight of the contraption he hoped to make. Figuring out the length of each piece in his head, he took the clay and went back to the oven.

   Zaac and Ramira mixed the dirt with the clay, adding the water as needed. Ramira fashioned a casserole dish in which to bake. Zaac made a large bowl to transport coal. They set them aside to dry.

   “Do you have anything else you want to make?” Zaac asked

   “I want to make another large spoon.”

   “I am going to try and make three pieces to carry the moss.”

   Zaac started fashioning the clay into a piece that was six inches wide and ten inches long that curved inward from either side. They made two more similar pieces and set them aside to dry.

   “I have a couple more small pieces that I want to make with this batch.” He stated. “I want to make a pot to keep bugs after I catch them.”

   “You liked your bug salad that much?”

   “Very funny. I guess you’ve heard of a minnow pail. These bugs are for fishing.”

   He formed the pot and used the rest of the clay to make a small lid.

   “I want to get one more batch to make three more pieces.” Zaac stood up.

   “What else are you planning on making?”

   Zaac grinned at her, “It is going to be a surprise.”

   “While you are working on your surprise, I’ll go get some vegetables and see how your rock cooking pot does.”

   When Zaac reached the other side, he stopped by the bones and searched through the pile. It took him a couple of minutes, but he found a small bone and a larger bone. Taking them with him, he got his clay and returned to the oven.

   Zaac took the small bone and punched holes in the bait pot so the bugs could breathe. He used the
larger bone to make a hole in each corner of the three similar clay pieces he had created, and another hole on either side of the center. He planned on using the center hole to tie the moss in place and use the other holes to attach the piece to the bones for carrying.

   Then he made three funnel-like sluices, using the bone to pierce holes in the corners at the top and the bottom. When all of the pieces were thoroughly dry, they would place them in the oven to fire.

   Zaac took the bowl down to the lake and washed it out. Then he went back up to the cave to see how Ramira was doing with the cooking pot.

   “How’s it going?” He glanced into the pot and saw potatoes, carrots and onions.

   “It seems to be working. What I’ve put into it is cooking,” Ramira responded stirring the vegetables. “It should be done in a few more minutes.”

   “It seems like forever since I’ve eaten a hot meal.”

   Zaac took the lichen he had gathered to the boulder and started separating the tiny strands. As he was finishing this task, Ramira brought him a bowl filled with the vegetable concoction.

   “Be careful. It’s very hot.”

   He reached for the bowl, brought it up to his nose and took a deep whiff. “It smells delicious.”

   She passed him a bottle of water and a spoon. Taking the spoon, he dipped it in the bowl, blew on
it less than a second and popped it in his mouth. Bad mistake! He cranked his mouth open wide, blowing out and sucking in until the mouthful cooled down.

   “It’s hot,” he gasped as he swallowed a gulp of water.

   “I did mention that.”

   Zaac looked up from the bowl at her, “Are you one of those ‘I told you so’ people?”

   “No, I don’t think so. But I did tell you.”

   Zaac started blowing on each spoonful waiting a little longer for each bite to cool. “It tastes like potato soup.”

   “Potatoes are the main ingredient.”

   Zaac finished that bowl and got another. He slowed down on the second bowl, savouring each mouthful.

   Ramira watched him out of the corner of her eye with a smile. She liked cooking for him. Seeing the expressions on his face as he devoured it was a treat for her.

   After Zaac was done with his second bowl, he picked up the tiny strands of lichen and gently tied the ends together. This was tedious work and it required dexterity.

   Several of the strands broke as he was trying to tie them and he tossed them aside in frustration.

   It took a couple of hours, but finally Zaac had completed the job. He lifted his arms in the air, placed his hands behind his head, interlocking his fingers, and stretched his neck. Removing his hands, he continued to arch his neck backwards,
then moved his head from one shoulder to the other.

   “Doing that kind of work will put a cramp in your neck.”

   Ramira nodded.

   Zaac launched the task of interweaving the strings he had created. He took three strands and tightly interwove them. He had to be careful. It would be easy to snap one of the strands while crisscrossing them.

   Every couple of inches, he would take each strand and gently pull it, ensuring all of the strands tightened together more firmly. When he did this at first, the strands snapped apart between his hands.

   Ramira was watching him. “You need to be extra careful now. Before, you might have been able to do it without thinking, but now your strength will make it more difficult.”

   “Thanks. I guess this he-man quality will take a little getting used to.”

   After about an hour and a half, he had a string close to twenty five feet long. Given the time he had spent, Zaac felt as though he should have 250 feet
of line. He held it up for Ramira to see. “What do you think?”

  
“Looks great. Let’s hope it will hold a fish.”

18

   The next day, they decided to fire the pottery. Ramira helped Zaac to set up the supports and placed their creations in layers in the oven. They built a small fire within the openings on either side and gradually increased it. When it had reached the temperature they thought would work, they added a few more coals and sealed off the openings with the large rocks.

   Most of the rest of the day was spent digging and carrying out coal. In between trips, they checked the oven and added coal as needed for the firing. Since
neither of them had any experience, it was all guess work.