Dec 17th, 2025
17000 Y.A.
I remember the grasses clearly.
It was this dark, yet pale green interspersed with yellow-grey blades.
It never got very high, only a foot or two at most, so it was easy to walk on.
That’s why we lived there.
There were hills, but they were gentle slopes. Nothing particularly rocky or mountainous.
There was a forest, but it was a long walk away. We didn’t go unless we needed something from it, but you could be there and back in less than a day.
There were twelve of us in our group, not including the very young children.
We weren’t all related, but it was something like a family.
We lived in the same small area, shared resources, ate together, and took care of each other.
There were others nearby, only a few minutes of walking away, but they weren’t part of our group. However, there was not conflict between us. If you needed help, or food, they’d do what they could for you.
Likewise, us for them.
We socialized together, but more rarely. It wasn’t a regular thing to visit each other.
We lived in a sort of animal-hide tents.
They were arranged in an L shape around the communal gathering area. We’d have fires there.
I remember the slow drying of meat by hanging it over the white ashes and embers from the previous night’s fire after it had gone out.
There was a particular fondness for days that we hunted, because then we’d have fresh cooked meat for a day or two before having to dry the rest.
I remember my best friend.
His name was Em-Garda or Em-Gaurda. We did not write things, so the spelling is just based on the sound. I’m not sure we had any form of writing, though we did paint designs onto objects. Especially the tents.
He was called this, because as a child he would run around putting his fingers up to his head and make “mooing” noises like a Gaurda.
A Gaurda is something like a small, medium haired bull, bison, or buffalo. It had short horns.
Children weren’t given specific names until they were up and running about and talking at least a bit. Kids like to mimic animals.
I was about 13, him 14. We were adults.
We had been hunting something similar to a deer. Taller, but a stocky appearance. I remember the larger ones had antlers.
We had sticks that were sharp on the end, and we’d throw them to hunt. There was a particularly brittle wood that was perfect for this, because you could break off an end to get an already sharp point, and use a rock to somewhat straighten the rest of the pole.
We were celebrating, because Em-Gaurda had snuck very close to the herd, and when he threw the spear he’d caught a big one through the neck. We didn’t have to chase it, because it went down after only a few steps.
I wasn’t as good at hunting as he was, but no one expected me to be. He was considered exceptionally good.
As we were carrying the carcass home, walking side-by-side with it half draped over our shoulders and half dragging, Em-Gaurda cut a huge gash on the inside of his left foot. There was a sharp rock hidden in the grass.
We didn’t have shoes, we were completely barefoot.
I left him with the deer-thing to keep birds and such away from it, and went back to get help.
A few of the others came and carried the kill back, while I helped walk back by leaning on me.
I remember sitting at the fire that night.
Someone was scraping the inside of part of the skin with a flat-edged rock. I think it was meant to be used as a drum.
Em-Gaurda was sitting cross-legged while we were eating. He had the antlers in his hands. He held them up to his head, made a sound like the animal, crossed his eyes, and fell over. No different than when he was a child.
Everyone laughed.
The next few days Em-Gaurda had trouble walking.
His “foot got sick”.
I was the one who was looked to for help. I can’t say why, but this was the normal thing for us.
We went into a place that was somewhat communal for the various local groups of people.
Here was a larger tent-structure. It had a large open front, and a space for a fire in the center. There was no ventilation at the top, so it would get somewhat smoky inside.
At the back, there were tall stones that had basic animal faces carved into them. They were painted as well. A red-brown color to highlight parts of them. Strips of hide were used to tie them to the back of the tent, somewhat supporting it.
A woman, who I believe was Em-Gaurda’s actual mother, poured water over the wound on his foot.
I then took some clay-like mud, mixed it with some water to make a paste, and used it to create a shell over the wound and more of the foot.
We held his foot over the fire, in increments as long as he could bear it, until the clay hardened and began cracking.
Then, it was covered with green, but dried, leaves. They were tied on with little cords woven from the grasses.
Em-Gaurda had to leave this on for days, disallowed to walk during this time.
We would drag him in or out of his tent every day, and he sat doing small tasks like twisting more cords from the grass.
After the right amount of time, we cracked the shell off of his foot with little rocks.
His foot was completely healed.
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