Everyone agreed that Kit was not the one watching and following them in Port Town. Their precautions, therefore, remained in place. As soon as high tide backed away enough to let them pass along the beach, Ilika left with Kibi and Rini.
Those who remained at the beach used the middle part of the day to collect wood, bathe, play in the sand, and wade in the retreating tide. Not yet knowing where they stood with Kit, they brought all their things out to the beach with them.
As lunchtime neared, Kit came out of the cave and approached the group on the beach slowly, dragging Neti’s pack behind him, ready to run if anyone raised a hand against him.
Instead Neti hugged him, slowly and gently. “Thank you very much, Kit.
Would you like that other sweet biscuit we saved?”
He
nodded.
“And now you are a true friend, and welcome to eat lunch and dinner with us.”
The boy’s eyes sparkled, but he wasn’t finished. He opened his hand and held out Buna’s comb.
She hugged him, and didn’t tell him she had already replaced it.
No one said anything about the carrots.
The three shoppers arrived soon after. They shared their finds, including
two more canvas rucksacks, which they presented to Toli and Miko.
Kit was amazed at the bounty they brought out of their packs, including more spices, several pieces of fruit, fresh bread, and a pie. With the addition of the last of their cheese, they feasted on the beach as seagulls eyed them from the cliffs.
Moans came from several students when Ilika brought out writing paper.
“Now you can appreciate the work that went into our hand-written book about Godi and Tima.”
“Really appreciate it,” Mati agreed, nodding.
“Today we are doing the same thing, but using our left hands.”
“Won’t that be like starting all over?” Toli whined.
“Yes, but each hand is connected to a different side of the brain, and both sides need to express themselves.”
With thoughtful frowns, they got their writing surfaces ready. Kit looked over their shoulders awhile, but soon vanished again.
Most of them had an easier time than the day before, even using a different hand. Ilika went from person to person, making suggestions about holding the pencils and constructing the letters.
When they all arrived at Z, Kibi took a deep breath. “Since Kit has disappeared again, we have something we want to talk about . . . you know . . .
about him.”
“Yeah,” Buna jumped in. “We don’t want to get any big ideas without hearing your side, Ilika . . . like we did with Kora.”
“Okay,” Ilika said, collecting the pencils and paper.
“As I remember,” Neti began thoughtfully, “the main problems with Kora were . . . she didn’t have her parents’ permission, and she would slow down our lessons.”
“With Kit,” Mati continued, “there are no parents, and he’s not interested in lessons and could never catch up.”
“So we’re just wondering,” Sata added, “if he can travel with us.”
Ilika lay on his back, hands behind his head, gazing up at the scattered clouds. “He seems to be bonding quickly, learning to help out, and has promised, by his actions, not to steal from us anymore.”
“We know he’d have to be free to choose,” Kibi said.
“Yes. And when we split into two groups in the fall, his only option would be staying here.”
“We understand,” Mati said.
“Let’s all sleep on it, decide tomorrow. So far, I don’t see any big problems with the idea.”
Several students let out the breath they had been holding.
Kit was back in time to help clean mussels, dig grass clumps for Tera, and carry driftwood for the fire. Everyone saw the look of sheer contentment on his face as he ate stew and bread, and later on, plum pie.
“Please teach us about our brains,” Rini begged after all the dishes had been washed and the fire built up.
Kit snuggled close beside Buna to listen.
“What we call our brain is really three large brains, each divided into several working regions.”
As Ilika talked about each, he pointed to its location in his skull.
“The most primitive, which all complex animals have, is the cerebellum, connected directly to the spinal cord. It controls many things without conscious thought, like breathing and blood pressure.”
“Even when we’re asleep?” Miko asked.
“You’d
die if you didn’t breathe at night!” Toli blurted.
Miko gave him an icy stare. Toli dropped his gaze.
Ilika waited another moment, then went on. “Above the cerebellum are the two halves of the cerebrum. The left half does most of our thinking and short-term memory. It’s the brain that’s working the hardest when we’re doing lessons. The right half does feelings, intuition, creativity, and long-term memory.”
“So that’s why we remember best when we feel things!” Kibi said with sudden understanding.
Ilika grinned at her. “The connections between the brains are almost as important as the brains themselves. Some people, mostly men, have poor connections between the left and right brains. That’s why men are better at simple tasks that need focus. Most women have much better connections, giving them the ability to do several things at once. Also, men tend to develop
the left brain, and women the right.”
“So . . . are women’s brains better?” Rini asked.
“In a sense, yes. Their right brains are more developed, and their connections are better. But you must remember that ‘better’ is a tricky concept. Right now, in your kingdom, the ability to focus on simple tasks, combined with men’s bigger muscles, gives them all the political power. On the other hand, in the Transport Service where I come from, most of the ship captains are women, because women are better at paying attention to many things at once.”
There was a long silence. All the girls looked very proud.
“I must point out that we are only talking about typical men and women.
Rini, Boro, Miko, and Toli are not typical men. They have well developed right brains and good brain connections. They wouldn’t have passed my tests otherwise. Same for you girls and the left brain.”
All the girls glanced at their favorite males and smiled. Miko received a kiss.
Kit stayed through the entire lesson and the discussion that followed.
Kibi, Buna, and Neti made a bed for him with their cloaks in an unused sandy space, and it made him smile, but for the moment he was content to sit by the fire with the others.
Eventually the students started yawning and getting ready for bed, and still Kit sat listening to conversations, or gazing into the flames.
Deep Learning Notes
In your opinion, would Kit have been more likely, or less likely, to return Neti’s pack if the group had expressed anger and demanded he give it back?
Ilika was very clear that his general statements about brains did not necessarily apply to individuals. Like with most things, what we DO with what we have is often more important than what we start with. Brains grow, just like muscles, if given good nutrition and exercise.