The Mender

In the Ravine

In the last few weeks, Esri's Toronto awake times had been consumed with thinking about what was happening at Flat Rocks, where life was increasingly intense. Growing the bode had gone reasonably well for a long time, but trying to blend in Ulun and his group was a struggle and threatened to destroy their peaceful community. Esri worried that all the months of her Mending might end up unraveling.

Everything was building toward tonight, her last night at Flat Rocks and then the Parting in the morning. Because it was Saturday, she would be able to sleep late tomorrow - hopefully until after the Parting happened. Esri needed time alone with Clea and Thomas this afternoon, and made arrangements with Ada to pick up Jilly and look after her until Joe got home from work.

"Hey, Ada, thanks for doing this," Esri said when Ada arrived at Clea's.

"But I want to stay here!" said Jilly.

"I need some quiet time with Clea and Thomas. We're talking about some complicated stuff. Trust me, you'd be totally bored," said Esri.

"Oh, okay. Ada is nicer than you anyway" Jilly took Ada's hand, "Bye, Clea, bye Thomas, bye Willa, bye boring Esri."

After they left Clea said, "Did anything further happen with Children's Services? How is your Dad doing?"

"The CS worker called and stopped by a week ago and said she'd make no further visits. She talked to my Dad alone, and he seemed way less tense after she left. I hate to think what Randi might have said about him. Are Disruptors even human?"

"Good question," said Clea. "I'm not sure. When my Mending was done, I looked for my Disruptors and couldn't find them or anyone who knew them or remembered them. It was as though they never existed, or had moved onto someplace else."

"Or went fallow until the next Mending," said Thomas. "But that won't happen yet with Randi or the Tall Man. Your Mending is not over."

"But it could be after tonight," said Esri. "It's the last bodefire and then The Parting in the morning."

"And how are your Flat Rocks people?" asked Clea.

"Everyone is pretty anxious. Ulun and many, though not all, of those around him are not nice. They keep putting off pledging to live by the Agreements. Many people at Flat Rocks are angry with those of us on the Elders Council who were pushing to bring him and his group into the bode. But I also think there're too many of us now at Flat Rocks. It was better when we were smaller."

Clea said, "And the Parting will fix that. How are you feeling about being able to divide Ulun's group?"

"I'm worried. I do think that Riga and Hanu want to go, but Ulun will freak out for sure. Zura told me not to worry. She said she'll take care of Ulun and others in his group and I should concentrate on ensuring that Riga and Hanu are ready to go tomorrow morning."

Thomas grinned, "I wonder what she has up her sleeve?"

Esri laughed. "Except she doesn't have any sleeves."

Clea said, "It's quite a dramatic Parting. Many of the old ties that predate the Ash Rain are breaking apart: Kai, Riga, and Grilu are parting from Tars and Piram; Barsa and Nat parting from Wilki, Grayla and Jolim; and you from Zura. It's a good division of the bode, and it hinged on you and Zura splitting up."

"I haven't even allowed myself to think about leaving Zura. She's been my anchor throughout everything. But then, if this is the end of my Mending, won't it also be the end of my Flat Rocks dreams?" asked Esri.

"Yes, all the signs point to this being the culmination of your Mending. But still, we never know with Mendings," said Clea.

Thomas said, "Esri, I believe that your Parting group will walk a long distance to form a new bode. And a few generations later they will be that first group of homo sapiens to leave Africa and through the millennia populate most of the planet. The Flat Rocks bode will then spread out across other parts of Africa."