Kibi, Neti, and Miko sat on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The blue sky before them and green trees behind showed no trace of the smoke or fire. The dancing green light had led them out of danger, then disappeared. Neither of Kibi’s charges made any mention of having seen it, so she said nothing, still not sure if it was anything but her imagination.
Neti tried to speak, paused to cough several times, then found her voice.
“Where do we go now?”
“To the emergency meeting place,” Kibi said, still gazing at the open ocean,
“the village of Fish at the inside of the bay, five or six miles south of here.”
“But that was the meeting place when we were at Port Town!” Miko protested.
“It still is. We haven’t made another one, and it’s close.”
“But Ilika wouldn’t have gone that way! That would be going backwards!”
Neti sat quietly, just listening to the exchange.
“Going backwards a few miles is the price of finding our teacher and our friends,” Kibi explained using every bit of her remaining patience.
“Ilika would go the way we were planning to go!” Miko asserted in a strained voice.
Kibi had no more to say.
“He would go up the north road into the hills,” Miko said, trying very hard to sound sure of himself.
“The tide will be high soon,” Kibi announced, standing on a rock and
shielding her eyes. “It looks like a creek cuts through the bluff not far from here. We should be able to get down to the beach there, and then we’ll have all day with the tide out.”
“We’re going up the north road,” Miko said flatly.
Neti looked at him for a long time, her expression changing slightly every few moments. “I’m . . . going with . . . Kibi,” she said softly.
Miko turned away, clenched his fists, and roared. For the next few minutes, he stomped up and down the edge of the bluff and threw rocks toward the ocean. Finally, he could find no more loose rocks, so he ripped a small bush out of the ground.
All the while, Kibi and Neti sat silently, gazing out over the ocean, careful not to look in Miko’s direction.
About a quarter hour later, Miko suddenly sat down by himself, hugged his knees, and didn’t let anyone see his face.
Neti walked over and sat down beside him. “I love you, Miko. But Kibi is right. Do you want to earn those three great gold pieces?”
Miko peeked out with tear-stained eyes and looked at the ocean. “Yeah.”
“Me too. And I want to marry you, and follow you anywhere you lead, and have your children. But right now, I am Ilika’s student, and Kibi is our leader.
I know you’re scared. I am too.”
“When Kibi tells Ilika, he’ll kick me out.”
“Will you tell, Kibi?” Neti asked without turning her head.
“Nope. Don’t like snitches. Not gonna be one.”
Neti stood and held out her hand to Miko. He hesitated, then took her hand and stood up.
After a moment to reflect and deal with her own feelings, Kibi announced that she was tired, and asked Miko to lead to the bottom of the creek, and Neti along the beach.
Miko immediately brightened as he shouldered his rucksack.
Thinking it through step by step and announcing his decisions, Miko took his new task to heart. He led them slowly and carefully, not wanting to arrive at the beach until the tide was part-way out. They drank at the creek, but found nothing in their packs to eat.
Since none of them knew the wild foods of the area, both Kibi and Neti tried different berries as they descended toward the beach, spitting before the terrible taste got anywhere near their throats. But not far from the beach, Neti found a dark purple berry, a little dry but quite tasty, and they all started picking their first meal of the day.
With the sun out in a clear sky, and no more creeks or berries to refresh them, the miles of walking southward seemed to take forever. Twice, where the surf pounded against sheer rock walls, they waited for the tide to recede farther before continuing their journey.
Dinnertime was at hand when the three walkers finally dragged themselves along the beach toward the innermost point of the bay. From a distance they could see four figures sitting in the sand beside the eatery. As they crossed the narrow wooden bridge over the mouth of the river, the figures stood up and waved.
But Kibi knew, from the color of their hair, that Ilika was not among them.
Deep Learning Notes
The male need to be in control, if possible in command, is sometimes very useful, and sometimes a great hindrance to good leadership. The key word is
“need,” showing that this tendency is based on emotions and driven by hormones.
Although not developed in this chapter, the female tendencies to nurture and communicate, equally based on emotions and hormones, are also sometimes very useful, and at other times completely ineffective forms of leadership.
What was Kibi doing when she asked Miko to lead them down to the beach?