It was foggy and promised a peak of sun in the morning.
Rosemma felt closed in upon. She was used to the open and wide sky of the inland valleys where her people grew crops and hunted.
Their winters were spent further south in larger encampments and they had snow,
very little fog, and lots of rain in those months.
Her grandmother was stirring around water in the old pot over the cook fire. She looked up and smiled at her granddaughter. A treasured moment for Rosemma. She often felt like
she just wasn't up to the task of pleasing both her parents and her grandmother. Her mother's sister, Aunt Idana was always smiles, hugs, treats, and Rosemma often envied her cousin's.
Idana had four girls and one boy, who was the youngest.
Idana also showed little bits of magick here and there. Small magicks to be sure, but
Rosemma's parents took a dim view of any person younger than apprentice age, 17, ever seeing
any tomfoolery. Only if they were under the tutelage of a true shaman and seer, well then it was
appropriate.
Rosemma's grandmother took the pot off the fire.
"Well child, time for some food, and we will walk to the shore in a while. The sun is going to come out, and it will be a good day for listening."
They ate, sitting in closely together by the fire. Rosemma mulled over this part about
listening.
"Grandmother, what are we listening for?"
Her grandmother cleared her throat, seeming to find a way to broach the subject.
" We can see them at times, they live in the water, they are the Nommos. The large fish who travel great distances up and down the shore of this land we live on. They see things, like the great ice fields, the old empty cities, other people who live on the shores, and they love to sing about what they see. They love those of us who hear them and sing back."
"Sing back! Sing back how?" Rosemma was fairly certain now that this was not
anything she could ever do, much less hear them and learn to watch for them.
"One step at a time, dearest, you do not have to get all panicky on me so early!"
I am going to tell you the story I heard from my grandmother, who heard it from
my greatgrandmother, it is the story of those who sing back to the Nommos.
She began. "Four generations ago, there came a day that stopped everything on this planet to absolute nothingness." " What it was, no one has ever come to know, but most of the people who lived, suddenly fell to the ground, and convulsed violently and were dead.
Without a mark upon them, without any sign of disease, and those who regained their senses a few hours later were very few in number by comparision."
"My greatgrandmother was a baby when it happend. Her parents were both dead, and she cried and cried, and by nightfall, she was found. By the Sanchez family.
Jesus' and Isadora Sanchez has a baby son who had by some miracle has survived along with them. They picked up my great grandmother, who had been named something, and called her
Infanta. The name sort of stuck. Senora Sanchez nursed both of the babies, and as they found
other people they walked. A long way, down the coast. All around was death, finally a small
group of people they had joined with turned east and headed into some open country away from
the great bay area they had all come from."
"Now child, some of names of the people who came together you would
know. There were the Jones, the McGilrays, the McBains, the Martinez, the O'Neals,
the Jordans, the others I can't remember. There were children too, some belonging to the families and others picked up along the way. All survivors, all tramatized and bewildered."
" All races, all huddling together fearing for another occurance of what had
killed almost everyone else. Life was scratched out of leftover groceries, things we no longer have today. Things in buildings, those of the group who were brave enough to go in amongst the dead, came out with everything they needed to live on. And they walked. Untill they came to
what was know as a State Park."
"My greatgrandmother grew up in the State Park. Eventually she married the Sanchez boy, and then their children were born. First was Nila, then my grandmother. Her name was Tiarenia and then she grew up and married one of the McBain clan boys, and her daughter married a Chang, and here I am. With you . One of my daughter's married a Riley, and that was your mother.So I was a Chang, and you are a Riley, and your Aunt Idana married a Lopez and her daughters have come here too as you know. Same as your sisters."
" And it was from my greatgrandmother the trait came to hear the Nommos. And it shows up once in every generation or so."
Rosemma felt closed in upon. She was used to the open and wide sky of the inland valleys where her people grew crops and hunted.
Their winters were spent further south in larger encampments and they had snow,
very little fog, and lots of rain in those months.
Her grandmother was stirring around water in the old pot over the cook fire. She looked up and smiled at her granddaughter. A treasured moment for Rosemma. She often felt like
she just wasn't up to the task of pleasing both her parents and her grandmother. Her mother's sister, Aunt Idana was always smiles, hugs, treats, and Rosemma often envied her cousin's.
Idana had four girls and one boy, who was the youngest.
Idana also showed little bits of magick here and there. Small magicks to be sure, but
Rosemma's parents took a dim view of any person younger than apprentice age, 17, ever seeing
any tomfoolery. Only if they were under the tutelage of a true shaman and seer, well then it was
appropriate.
Rosemma's grandmother took the pot off the fire.
"Well child, time for some food, and we will walk to the shore in a while. The sun is going to come out, and it will be a good day for listening."
They ate, sitting in closely together by the fire. Rosemma mulled over this part about
listening.
"Grandmother, what are we listening for?"
Her grandmother cleared her throat, seeming to find a way to broach the subject.
" We can see them at times, they live in the water, they are the Nommos. The large fish who travel great distances up and down the shore of this land we live on. They see things, like the great ice fields, the old empty cities, other people who live on the shores, and they love to sing about what they see. They love those of us who hear them and sing back."
"Sing back! Sing back how?" Rosemma was fairly certain now that this was not
anything she could ever do, much less hear them and learn to watch for them.
"One step at a time, dearest, you do not have to get all panicky on me so early!"
I am going to tell you the story I heard from my grandmother, who heard it from
my greatgrandmother, it is the story of those who sing back to the Nommos.
She began. "Four generations ago, there came a day that stopped everything on this planet to absolute nothingness." " What it was, no one has ever come to know, but most of the people who lived, suddenly fell to the ground, and convulsed violently and were dead.
Without a mark upon them, without any sign of disease, and those who regained their senses a few hours later were very few in number by comparision."
"My greatgrandmother was a baby when it happend. Her parents were both dead, and she cried and cried, and by nightfall, she was found. By the Sanchez family.
Jesus' and Isadora Sanchez has a baby son who had by some miracle has survived along with them. They picked up my great grandmother, who had been named something, and called her
Infanta. The name sort of stuck. Senora Sanchez nursed both of the babies, and as they found
other people they walked. A long way, down the coast. All around was death, finally a small
group of people they had joined with turned east and headed into some open country away from
the great bay area they had all come from."
"Now child, some of names of the people who came together you would
know. There were the Jones, the McGilrays, the McBains, the Martinez, the O'Neals,
the Jordans, the others I can't remember. There were children too, some belonging to the families and others picked up along the way. All survivors, all tramatized and bewildered."
" All races, all huddling together fearing for another occurance of what had
killed almost everyone else. Life was scratched out of leftover groceries, things we no longer have today. Things in buildings, those of the group who were brave enough to go in amongst the dead, came out with everything they needed to live on. And they walked. Untill they came to
what was know as a State Park."
"My greatgrandmother grew up in the State Park. Eventually she married the Sanchez boy, and then their children were born. First was Nila, then my grandmother. Her name was Tiarenia and then she grew up and married one of the McBain clan boys, and her daughter married a Chang, and here I am. With you . One of my daughter's married a Riley, and that was your mother.So I was a Chang, and you are a Riley, and your Aunt Idana married a Lopez and her daughters have come here too as you know. Same as your sisters."
" And it was from my greatgrandmother the trait came to hear the Nommos. And it shows up once in every generation or so."
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