Showers
"What
died?"
Simple
words echoed up to Hunter as she squatted in an air vent. She was exploring new territory. The cave she looked down into was full of
'chairs' and 'tables'. It was a large,
dimly lit room. Three cave people sat at
one table in the middle.
Garbled
words answered the understandable words.
Hunter
sniffed the air, not smelling death. She
listened carefully to the cave dwellers. They were laughing and putting their hands
over their faces. They punched each
other playfully and talked about 'bad smell'.
Again,
Hunter sniffed and smelled nothing different.
She
climbed out of the vent and cautiously approached the three, sniffing, trying
to discover what caused their reaction.
They
saw her and stopped laughing. She stood
still. Maybe one was leader and wanted
her submission. She watched their faces
for signs of their rank.
They
whispered to each other. One reassured
the others. It smiled at her and spoke
softly.
Hunter smiled back. Encouraged by their calmness, Hunter moved
closer, running her
hand over the smooth 'tabletop'.
She said these words to herself.
Gods spoke
to her in the dark, telling her the names of things. In light, she touched the items she'd learned
and said the words mentally.
One
day, she would say the words out loud.
The one
smiling pointed to its chest.
"Mark." It pointed to
her. "Hunterock. Hun-ter-og."
Did it
sign 'same'? Hunter came closer, about a
table away. She recognized the sound of
her name. Mark nodded and repeated its
signals.
"Mark. Hunter Rogue."
Hunter
slapped her breast. It sounded muffled
against the material of the green outfit she still wore.
"Yr
Hunter Rogue." The cave dweller
tapped its chest and smiled. "Im
Mark."
Hunter,
Mark -- same! Hunter was surprised. She smiled and leaped onto the chair next to
her new friend.
"Dear
God!" The cave people at the table
covered their faces and made strange noises.
They puffed out their cheeks.
Hunter
was scared. She jumped away from
them. Mark was making sounds of anger.
Hunter
signed 'same', but as she bent to slap Mark's chest, it jerked away from her.
Hunter
slowly crept back up to her air vent.
She
returned to her troop empty-handed and angry.
First
New was there. Hunter bowed to Bigfeet
and then walked over and sat down next to her friend.
First
New touched her hair and hummed, "Hunter?" Hunter grabbed First New's hand and held it
to her nose. She sniffed.
First
New had no scent.
Hunter
sniffed up First New's arm to her armpit and neck. Her hair smelled like trees in summer. Nothing else about First New smelled. Hunter pried her mouth open and smelled. Even her breath was nice.
"Same," Hunter signed. "Same," she repeated, hitting hard.
"Same,"
Vivian signed gently.
Hunter
curled her lips and puffed her cheeks.
She took First New's hand and pressed it against her nose. Then she pressed her own hand against First
New's nose.
Vivian
gagged, like the people in the table-chair cave.
Hunter
stood up and walked away, deeply hurt.
Vivian
jumped up, then hesitated. She clapped
her hands and took a deep breath.
Slowly, she took off her outfit.
The
troop watched in habitual silence.
Her
skin was dark, hairless. She walked to
the flower and sat on it. The water
swooshed. She stood up and walked into a
niche in the wall. She touched the
wall. Rain fell only on her.
She
smiled and laughed. She exaggerated the
motions of taking a shower.
Hunter
already had her suit off. She began
pressing the walls, asking the cave to give her rain, too.
First
New took her hand and let her stand under the rain. Warm rain!
Like summer. First New rubbed
something on her skin that smelled like trees.
The dark layers of dirt smeared and ran down her legs. The skin underneath was pale and
freckled. It was the most wonderful
feeling Hunter ever remembered.
The
tree smell overwhelmed her own scent.
Her skin changed colors from rusty brown to shell pink. The itches in her hair stopped. Hunter let First New bathe her and didn't
care that the whole troop was watching.
Mark
would not hold its nose now.
Plenty
of times, Hunter's scent had saved her life.
Most carnivores eat good-smelling animals, not strong musky animals like
her. But that time was gone.
It was
time to live like these cave dwellers.
While
the other females showered, Vivian brought combs and brushes in and showed
Hunter how to use them. Hunter
recognized the small branch. Now she
would learn to use it right.
Vivian's
hair was short, but the colonists were tenderly impatient with their long
hair. Vivian left the cave and returned
with something covered. She went to
Hunter first.
"Same?"
"Same,"
Hunter assured her happily.
First
New lifted Hunter's hair, then ran her fingers through her own short
curls. "Same?"
"Same." Hunter would learn whatever First New wanted
to teach her. She sat patiently as First
New put a cold thing to her hair. Her
hair fell into her lap.
Bigfeet
was too busy enjoying her shower to notice.
Hunter's
rust-colored locks fell in a matted heap onto her lap. She caught Darkarm's eyes again. He smiled admiringly, aware that Bigfeet
could not see him.
Then
Vivian picked up the fallen hair, covered the scissors, and left the room. Dr. Arton begged for Hunter's first hair
clippings. They are still his favorite
possession.
Vivian
ordered new outfits for every female.
The five males still refused to dress or wash.
Dr.
Rivers whispered, "Can you teach me how to bathe tonight?" for which
he received a bruise.
A few other females wanted their hair
cut. But for the most, the shower was
quite enough adaptation at one time.
Excerpt from
Laughing
Humans
© Evelyn Rainey
Available for publication.
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