The Index -|-

Kpleeb used his hand to add momentum and then watched closely as his rotational device spun. The large arm that was designed to press it against the wall was not engaged, so it revolved freely.

The tip of the device was a rounded and ridged wedge. It looked sharp because it was sharp. As sharp as Kpleeb could make it. He had been refining his manufacturing processes for months and had become quite adept at shaping the stone that lined every surface of the cave. When the tip of his device rotated, the small end pushed against the surface and the ridges bit into the stone, and shaved away bits of stone in order to form a hole.

He thought that the more pressure applied to the tip, the stronger the bite would be. This appeared to be a true statement when he had tested it against the standard, mottled cave stone. Of course, this stone would simply open a hole if he requested it, but drilling the hole proved that his idea was sound. Despite a number of devices built to test these theories, the smooth, grey stone beneath the cave surface resisted all of his attempts to penetrate it.

Months ago, when he had used his hammer device, and he had seen a resulting mar on the surface. It was much too small to qualify as a crack. It was tiny, but it was still there; proof that the grey stone could be harmed. Whenever he felt like giving up, this small fracture convinced him to continue his quest for escape.

Around the circumference of the of the wedge-tip there were three mounts set at equal distances. These mounts each held one of Thoka’s rods. There was also a much larger Thoka-rod (T-rod as he called it) mounted to the lever-arm that held the tip. Kpleeb did not understand how they functioned even though she had tried to explain several times, but he did trust that the rods would do as she said.

“These rods on the circumference will strengthen the wedge-tip,” she had told him. “That is necessary because the stone wedge that the tip is made of is not as strong as the grey stone that we are trying to penetrate. It needs bolstering. And the larger rod simply uses the invisible forces to draw the grey stone to itself, which continually pushes the wedge against the grey stone.”

Kpleeb could not see the effects that the rods had, but the fact that one of them had bent… well that was something new. [It should have broken. I am glad that she is going to figure that out.] He paused and smiled to himself. [Thoka accepts me, which is great. She’s so smart and super beautiful.]

[Focus, Kpleeb…. Focus.]

He rotated the small gate that allowed the water to flow down the sluice. The wheel began to move and picked up speed. He had placed tiny, smooth cylinders around the edges of the rotating pieces to reduce friction and was proud that it made almost no noise. The wheel did not wobble or shake, but the T-rods were not yet mounted. When Thoka was done fixing the bent rod he would have to re-balance the whole device again.

Kpleeb bent down and looked closely at the grey stone wall where the wedge-bit had touched. The surface looked rough, but when he wiped the area, a dust came away from the wall and coated his hand. The grey stone was smooth and shiny underneath.

[We will figure this out.] He straightened and cracked his back before turning to the gap between the caves.

“Thoka, is everything alright?” He took two steps into Thoka’s cave – he still thought of it as hers – and saw her look up as he spoke.

“Yes, Kpleeb. You don’t need to worry so much.” She looked up at the dimming sun. “I remade the bent rod with my new formula. Maybe it will hold this time. Do you want to eat? I’m hungry.”

“Eating for two as my mam used to say,” said Kpleeb with a smile.

“Mmmm. I want sweetbread. Could you get some?” Thoka stood and began walking. “I’ll be right back.”

“Cave,” said Kpleeb, “make sweetbread, toasted and warm the way she likes it. And make me a muskrat leg, medium-rare.” He sat down and watched as the food was slowly knit together on the surface of the food outcropping.

“The baby feels fine,” said Thoka as she returned. “I have felt some small fluttering movements and no pain.”

“How are your dreams?”

“Vivid. I can’t be sure that it is part of being pregnant. The female body produces many hormones while pregnant. I was the mid-wife’s assistant for one summer.” She shrugged and sat next to Kpleeb.

Kpleeb put his arm affectionately around Thoka’s waist and continued to watch the food. “I am glad that the child is okay. Can you tell what kind it is?”

“You mean, the sex?” Thoka grinned at Kpleeb. “I can’t tell, although the mid-wife said that morning sickness early on means it’s a girl. If I crave sweets, it might be a girl.” She nodded at the sweetbread. “But the signals are ever changing and easy to mix up.”

“Hmm, well how do we figure out what to call her… uh, him, it then? We’ll need to talk about names.”

Thoka grabbed the prepared sweetbread and took a bite. “Mmm, that’s good.”

“I always liked ‘Kolpi’.”

Thoka wrinkled her nose in apparent distain. “I had a pet reindeer named Kolpu. What was your mam’s name?”

Kpleeb shrugged.

“You don’t know?”

“She never told me. It was just mam!”

“Well, what did other people call her?”

“Everyone called her mam, even the fab elder Shoofit.” Kpleeb looked slightly embarrassed. He reached over and picked up the muskrat leg. It was dripping fat from the wound side. He peeled back the skin with hair still on it and took a ripping bite.

“Hmm, well maybe that was her actual name. Right?”

“Maybe,” he said through his mouthful of meat. He chewed methodically and pondered the question. [Mam’s name was ‘Mam?’ I doubt it. Seems too… weird. What was Da’s name? Ahh, I remember. Tilu.] He nodded to himself. [Elder Oplom used to call him that when they drank fermented yak’s milk together.]

Thoka had fallen silent while she ate in earnest. After a few moments, she leaned to bump Kpleeb with her shoulder. “We have to think about names for a cavegirl and caveboy and then talk about them. It will take some time to settle on one.”

Kpleeb nodded.

Later as he slipped into the sleeping hollow next to Thoka, she stirred slightly. Kpleeb patted her arm gently and settled in to enjoy the warmth of her body. [Gipti, Doriy, Wiftl…] he sighed. [Choosing a name is going to be hard.] He was asleep in a few short moments.

He was jostled, slightly. When his eyes opened the cave was almost completely dark. There was a faint hissing sound as if wind whistled across a distant crack in the stone. A shadow, long and low, flitted across the inky darkness before him.

[Huh?] He began to move his hand upward to wipe his eyes, but his limb would not move. His eyelids became weighted with unseen persuasion, and though he fought to retain a grasp on consciousness, his thoughts faded.

“I can’t believe you don’t even know my name, Leebee.” The voice was muffled at first, but became clear before she spoke his name. Mam looked up from her weaving and smiled at him with the familiar, toothy smile. She set down the tamping stick and reached to stir the large, stone pot that boiled next to her.

Kpleeb shrugged and mumbled, “Sorry, mam.” He was irritated and shuffled his feet in the dirt. After a few moments he had waited long enough.

“Well, what is your name?” He looked up at his mam and grimaced. “And, please stop calling me Leebee. I’m not a baby any longer.”

Mam rolled her eyes and continued packing the reeds with her stick. “Your da would twist your ear for forgetting, Leebee.”

“I don’t think I forgot! I never knew!” Kpleeb threw up his hands.

“Why do you want to know? All cavechildren have a mam. Why should you call me anything else? You can never be too old. Even now, you are still my budding caveboy.”

Kpleeb turned and walked to the entrance of the cave that looked out onto the common area. Just a stride’s length outside, a dull, impenetrable fog blanketed everything. It felt moist as he turned to face his mam again. “I am having a cavechild of my own.”

“I know you are.” Mam’s eyes shifted toward him, but her hands never stopped.

“How could you know?”

“I know much. Anyway, this child is as much a part of me as it is of you.”

Kpleeb felt a chill on his ankles and turned toward the cave entrance. The fog had entered the cave and was seeping inward at a slow pace. His heels became numb. He tried to back away, but his legs and stomach had already been enveloped. His lips tried to form a cry. His mind slumped.

Index -|-

Thoka blinked her eyes and slowly stretched. She could feel Kpleeb’s warmth behind her. His breathing was slow and steady, a sure sign that he was fast asleep. He had always slept later than her, but she relished the morning quiet time. In the past, she had always wakened early and worked on tasks that required mental clarity and seclusion, but she had changed in the past few months. Now, she often spent the first thirty minutes of her morning laying in his warmth and mentally tracing the powerful patterns she dreamt about.

She began to expect and welcome her dreams. They were a manifestation of her focus. In the last few months as the child grew inside of her, the dreams also grew in frequency and intensity. Thoka had spent time considering the implications of this correlation over the past few months.

[Are my dreams caused by the child? No, how could they be when the dreams occurred first? Then, how can a cavewoman, bearing a fetus have more dreams when she is pregnant? –It must be hormones… right?]

There was a distinct change, whether she could explain it or not. She felt it in the deepest part of her psyche. The changes that had been applied by the entities, or “gods” as Kpleeb called them, that ruled their prison had begun many, many days ago. It had been at least two hundred days according to Thoka’s calendar. These manifestations that touched her had brought Kpleeb to her, and through him, a child. The modifications had maintained a somewhat steady pace at first, but after Thoka became pregnant, she felt them intensify.

[Time to get up. Have to pee.] Thoka gently rolled out of the warm hollow and Kpleeb’s embrace. Kpleeb was used to the sleeping arrangement by this time and did not stir. Thoka padded to the defecation pit and urinated. She followed her normal routine and drank water before settling in to study the invisible forces that she was learning to use.

She held one of her force rods and examined it closely. The miniscule, hair-thin rods that precisely directed the invisible force had bent ever so slightly.

[Amazing. There must be more nuance to this substance.]

Thoka thought it was impossible for the stone to bend since, due to its brittle nature, she had only ever seen it break. The stone was very strong even when it was thin, but there was a proportionate decrease in strength as her rods shrunk. She had worked for many hours, even days, to manufacture rods of ever thinner dimensions. Her efforts were guided by the fact that each new level of detail yielded greater control over the invisible forces. Small was definitely better. It was possible that there was a limit to this trend, but if so, she had not yet reached that limit.

She placed the handle with the bent rod into her vise on the low, knee-level table in front of her and picked up two of her design rods. In her left hand, held like a pair of eating sticks, was a handle. A single rod protruded from the handle and was slightly angled at the very end. This rod was as long as her hand, of medium thickness, and featureless. The handle itself was thicker than the rod and designed to be held between Thoka’s first two fingers and thumb. The base of the handle facing the working end had delicate swirling pattern etched into the stone.

In her right hand she held the other design rod. The handle was much the same as the other, but on the working end four rods of varying shapes, lengths, and sizes grew outward. Three of the four rods were carved with intricate markings. None of these markings were the same. The fourth rod was so thin that it could only be seen when direct light reflected from its edge.

“Light,” she said quietly, “focus on center minus two degrees north.” Thoka lifted her hands and began to work in her slow and concentrated manner.

After some period of time, she heard Kpleeb rustle as he woke and rolled over to watch her work. She smiled to herself at the familiar repetition that had come of their union. She was an independent cavewoman, strong and smart. She realized now that the cavemen of her village in the wet mountains had all been very intimidated by her. She had been oblivious, but now that she knew, she did not care. Fate had brought her to this place and to this particular caveman.

Kpleeb had been intimidated by her as well. He had spoken of it, but they were in these caves alone and had discovered that they fit together. They had been required, for the sake of their own sanity, to adjust and alter the relationship in minor ways. As a result, they retained the best parts of themselves, their strengths and weaknesses while being balanced by the traits of the other.

[It is a strange series of events that brought us here.] Thoka let herself dwell on the sheer improbability of these last months of her life. [Inconceivable– yet surprisingly welcome.] She her more rustling and put down her design rods.

“Hello beautiful,” Kpleeb said in his tenor voice. His accent was still decidedly from the canyon river, but Thoka liked it that way; rustic, but not stupid.

Thoka turned and wrapped her arms around him as he knelt beside her. “Did you sleep well?”

Kpleeb nodded. “I slept great. No dreams. How is the baby?” His hand reached down gently to caress her belly. The baby was just beginning to swell and she appeared slightly larger than her normal size.

Thoka had never been a large cavewoman, nor thin. She still wore her neck piece along with her front and back loincloths. She knew that there was no way to bundle the eventual size away and out of sight as was the custom in the wet mountains. She was still coming to terms with the fact that Kpleeb would see her at her most pregnant.

[But… who else can help me? I must accept and change.]

Thoka ran her fingers through Kpleeb’s curly hair and smiled at him. “I am grateful for you.” She gestured at her work table. “One of these guides bent. I think that is why your rotating device stopped making progress.”

“Bent? How can that be,” said Kpleeb. “Can you fix it?”

“I will make another and use this one to determine how this bending is possible. Also, your shaver rod had been quite effective for the etching and size reduction.” Thoka patted him on his hairy shoulder. “I have an idea about protecting the guides, too.”

“You’re still the smartest person I know, Thoka. Sexy and smart!” Kpleeb grinned. “Can’t lose with you around!”

Thoka shook her head and smiled back at him. “Keep it in your pants, Kpleeb. We’re still here, aren’t we? We are still trapped in this cave by the unknown entities.” She waved her hands at the ceiling. “You are smart too, and we do make a fine team, but we need to get out of here.”

Kpleeb’s grin did not slip, even in the face of their reality. She liked that about him.

“We will escape, Thoka, it’s just a matter of time. I’ll let you keep working. I have a small modification to make on the drill. Let me know when you have the new guide rod and I can start it back up.” Kpleeb stood and walked through the gap into the other cave where his equipment was stored.[He is a good caveman. I got lucky.]

Thoka turned back to her work.

The Index -|-

Kpleeb woke to an enjoyable warmth and softness to which he was entirely unaccustomed. The soft heat of the cave floor did not normally feel so wonderfully encompassing, and he knew that he was dreaming. He sighed and kept his eyes closed. Thoka’s warm body rested next to his, and he could feel her chest slowly expand and contract with her breath.

To his fuzzy mind it was a fantastic dream, and he nestled into the coziness. As with most dreams, nothing remained the same, and after a few seconds he felt a dull ache begin to grow at the back of his neck.

This should not be in my dream.

He shook he head and felt his hair brush something behind him. It feels so real… He reached out hand up and opened his eyes as his fingertips brushed skin.

“Urh… Thoka?” Kpleeb scrambled to his feet as he felt the blood rush to his face.

Thoka stirred and opened her eyes slowly. Her hair was perfect – as usual – and Kpleeb saw her face change from surprise to concern. “Are you okay?” She maneuvered to her knees quickly and reached up to touch his head.

Kpleeb had no idea what she was doing, but he was frozen in place by the swaying of her neck piece. He understood as soon as she touched the bruised spot above his eye.

“Ow! What’s the deal?” he said.

“You fell- or something. I’m not sure. I found you here, facedown earlier. Are you okay?”

Kpleeb took stock of his body at that moment. Bump on head. Wound on neck. Again? Torso: nothing. Disconcerting heat in groin area. He flushed again. Scrape on knee.

“Other than my head and knee, I feel fine. I guess the gods got to me again?”

“Do you remember getting up this morning?” Thoka stood and looked into his eyes.

She has very nice brown eyes. Big too. “Urh… no?”

“You don’t seem sure.”

“Well, I had some kind of dream and I remember walking and then nothing.” Kpleeb shrugged. “Maybe that was it?”

“Kpleeb, I don’t remember ever passing out after the gods changed me. I only remember the fuzzy-brain feeling and being tired and sometimes the dreams. You have the neck wound. Do you not remember the rest?”

Kpleeb paused for a long moment and tried hard to remember. There was a dream, but he could not recall what it was about. He shook his head to test his current level of lightheadedness.

“So you don’t remember?” Thoka said taking his shake for a denial.

“I do not feel fuzz-brained. I do think that I dreamt, but I have no idea what it was about. This is different, but maybe not in a bad way.” Kpleeb smiled at Thoka. “Why were you lying next to me anyway?”

Thoka blushed. “You wouldn’t wake up! I was worried.” She turned and began to walk toward the food outcropping in her cave. “I’m hungry. Are you?”

“Are you trying to change the subject?” Kpleeb grinned widely as Thoka appeared to become flustered.

“I was worried, that’s all. Who knows what these gods will do to us? I thought that maybe you would die or…. be a brain-dead idiot.”

“I do appreciate your concern,” said Kpleeb as he approached Thoka. He boldly wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “Thank you.” He closed his eyes and hoped that she would accept this intimacy from him.

Thoka looked surprised, and though she did not reply, she did return his embrace. They stood there for a drawn-out moment before she let go and turned to speak to the food outcropping.

“Flatbread, please. With melted cheese-of-yak.”

Kpleeb was disappointed. He had thoroughly savored the physical touch and intense feeling of closeness that experienced. He was a caveman after all and no more or less driven by his physical desires than any other caveman. He had some experience with women and had twice before convinced a tundra-girl to share his bed. He was not trying to bed her, but he was not, not trying.

Despite the fact that Thoka was so beautiful, her mind was intimidating to Kpleeb. He had thought from the moment that he saw her that she was different somehow. She was a higher bar even though he was a prisoner in an unknown cave ruled by terribly powerful gods. There were only two of them, and he considered that fact alone to be enough to land him a relationship with any cavegirl. But there was something about her that made him take the situation more seriously.

If Thoka saw the disappointment on his face, Kpleeb could not see any reaction. She appeared as oblivious as she normally did. It was disconcerting to be so dismissed at times when he felt such intense feelings. He was not a quitter.

“Can I have a taste of that?” he asked pointing. “You make such strange food sometimes.”

“Of course.” Thoka ripped a small piece of flatbread off and handed it to him. “This is a quick meal that my nan would make for the kids. In fact, all of the kids in the west mountain tribe called it ‘nan.’ What do you think?”

Kpleeb was still chewing. The bread was slightly chewy and had a nice texture on the outside as if it had been made on a hot stone over a roaring fire. The yak cheese was creamy and pungent, but the earthiness of the bread went very well with it.

“This is very tasty, but you know what this needs?” he said. “Moose-tard.”

“Hmm. Okay, what’s that?”

“It is a tangy yellow sauce. Maybe I can get the outcropping to reproduce it.” Kpleeb made a mental note to complete that task later. “The fab elder Shoofit used to make it the best, and nobody in the whole canyon river tribe knew if he used magic or just had a great secret recipe.”

Kpleeb watched Thoka as she ate and nodded. Having food in the mix definitely meant that she was not thinking about how amazingly great and handsome he was. The moment had passed. Time to move on.

“You know,” said Kpleeb, “I was thinking that you might be able to help me with my rotating wall-breaker device. That is- if you’re interested.”

Thoka nodded and mumbled through her last bite. “Show me what you mean.” She followed him as he returned through the gap into his cave.

“Cave, open a hole here,” he said pointing with his knuckle at a spot in the food outcropping. “Fill this with water.” The cave complied as it always did, and water began to fill the bowl, pour through the opening he had requested, and run down a chute onto his device.

“I have this water wheel. It turns, and this system of wheels here reduce the speed and rotate the final piece. It appears that as the speed of the wheel is reduced it also produces more force. The final piece, the bit, is sharp you see.” Kpleeb put his finger on the point of the bit. “I will push this against the grey stone and let the bit turn slowly and eat at the grey stone wall.”

“Will it work?” Thoka said. She bent and examined the device closely. “It will need to be pressed firmly against the wall, but… the grey stone is so dense. I don’t know what can possibly scar that stone.”

“-Except itself.” Kpleeb nodded. “I cannot get a piece of grey stone to use as the tip of this device. That’s why you might be able to help me.”

“How? I don’t have any grey stone or any substance that is strong enough.”

You have your ugly rod that directs the hidden forces. Can you not use that power to reinforce the tip of my device?”

“Well, maybe? I don’t know. This is a different application than I have ever thought of.”

“I believe in you, Thoka,” said Kpleeb with a smile. “You’re the smartest person I know. When our hammer fell against the wall, it did leave a mark.” He pointed at the spot. “It is small, but it has not changed since then. I thought that it would have repaired itself by now, but it has not changed.”

“But the voice, Kpleeb. It commanded your hammer to become dust. What can we do against that?”

“We must proceed slowly and make smaller portions of damage to the wall. We will learn much as we do so.”

“It seems that you have become as infected with learning as I have,” Thoka said. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Yes, but not math. I don’t care for math, although I can now believe why it might be important. But about this device,” Kpleeb squatted on hairy calves and quads, “if you can strengthen the tip of my grinding stone, it just might be able to scratch the grey wall. A scratch, in time, will break through. Right?”

Thoka saw what he meant and nodded. “I will build something, just give me time, okay?”

Thoka and Kpleeb talked, ate, and slept (separately). The next few days were spent mostly in isolation. It was not Kpleeb’s wish. He wanted to work and watch Thoka, but she was adamant about having time to work alone.

Finally, one day at breakfast, she spoke.

“I think I have figured out how to strengthen your stone bit.

“I knew you could do it, show me!”

“I will after we eat. I just have to make one more piece. I do have a request of my own.”

“Well, what is it? Of course, I would do anything for you.”

Thoka looked at Kpleeb fondly. “You are a sweet caveman, Kpleeb. Thank you for being so supportive and thoughtful.”

“Kpleeb flushed slightly and shrugged.”

“Anyway, I want you to sleep next to me tonight. If you are interested.”

“Urh-” Kpleeb’s mouth flapped stupidly for a second while his mind reeled at the shock. “I thought… I did not know that you were…” He squared his shoulders. “Yes, I am interested. How could I not be? I have been interested. Why now? What did-“

“-questions for another time. I expect that we have much time, after all, look around us.”

“I understand, let us eat and then you can show me your magic stone strengthener.”

“It’s not magic, but… okay.”

Kpleeb gulped down his remaining few bites, and sat impatiently as Thoka ate at her normal pace. When she was finally done, she picked up a bowl that had been resting on a shelf on the far wall and carried it into Kpleeb’s cave. They worked together for many minutes and the time stretched into the afternoon when the sun was past its prime.

When they were done the device stood unaltered except for the bit. It was now bulbous and engorged with several protrusions. There were three mounts that angled to point at the end of the cone-shaped tip. The mounts were built into the bit’s main shaft and would rotate with the tip. On each mount was one of Thoka’s rods. These were new, though to the untrained eye their purpose would not be obvious.

Thoka stepped close to Kpleeb and slid under the arm he placed around her shoulders. “Okay, cavecraftsman Kpleeb, start it up.”

“Outcropping, fill with water.”

It began. The water filled and moved down the chute onto the water wheel. The wheel turned – slowly at first then picking up speed. The shafts turned, and Kpleeb’s multi-wheel system reduced the speed at the tip. The tip rotated with Thoka’s rods mounted at exactly 120 degrees around the circumference of the shaft.

Kpleeb pulled a lever that extended the bit outward by a finger length. The rotating bit converged on exactly the same spot where Kpleeb’s hammer had fallen many days in the past.

Thoka reached out and placed a small rod with thin, straight hairs into a mount behind the lever. “This should keep that bit pressed tight against the wall.”

They stood together and quietly watched the device for several minutes Now that they had completed their task, Kpleeb’s mind was already on Thoka’s invitation. He looked up at the sun, but he saw no sign of it dimming.

It is going to be a long afternoon, Kpleeb thought nervously.

The Index -|-

A swirl of purple and grey drifted slowly across the cave in front of Thoka. The purple was faint, almost translucent and wavered slightly as it moved. The grey was merely a mist, but it distinctly avoided intersecting with the purple. “Like oil and water,” she said aloud to herself as she watched it.

The haze shifted as she walked toward it. She raised her arm to touch it, and it flowed around her hand. There was a pulse as the wavering purple caressed her hand like an ocean wave gently washing over her skin. The feeling was faint, but she felt incredibly peaceful and encountered a strong desire to bathe in its light.

Thoka disrobed slowly. She dropped her neck piece on the floor, and then detached the cord that held her loin cloth and let it follow the neck piece. She spread her arms and stepped into the cloud. The waves washed over her skin, and she closed her eyes and raised both of her arms while she savored the moment. She could barely feel the slow and gentle pulse as it moved under her skin and on her bones.

She pulled her fingers apart and the haze separated and swirled momentarily before returning to fill the gap.

“Thoka, Thoka… wake up.”

The jostling of her shoulder pulled her out of the dream, and she opened her heavy eyes. Kpleeb’s blurry face appeared above her, and she blinked to clear her vision.

“What do you want, Kpleeb?”

“It’s almost time to eat. I did not want to wake you, but… it’s almost time.” He grinned in a kind of boyish manner and stood still looking down at her. Finally, he held out his hand in an offer to help her up.

Thoka took his hand and visually appreciated the hairy bicep that tugged her to her feet. [How does he even stay strong in this cave?]

“What I made for you was not at all the kind of food Mam would make,” Kpleeb said. “I could not think of anything for you that was not already my own wish.” He shrugged. “So… I invented some food based on interesting dishes I have had before.”

Thoka did not know what to make of his statement. “Being inventive is good.” She sniffed the air. “I’m hungry as well, so let’s eat!”

Kpleeb led Thoka to the table and presented her with water and a plate. On the plate were four separate pieces or piles of food. “This is wildebeest flavored long grain,” he said pointing. “And this one, it is river shoot wrapped in frog-skin. This one is spotted owl gizzard with a tundra-hare cream sauce. And lastly, a crispy fried pummeled dinga with a spicy dip.”

Thoka nodded. “Thank you, it all looks very good.” She reached and took her scoop and ate a mouthful of the long grain. The texture was slightly sticky and it was warm, but bland. She detected a faint sense of meat, but the wet mountain tribes had not regularly eaten wildebeest, so she was unsure if that was it.

Kpleeb looked at her expectantly, but she only smiled and reached for the river shoot. The frog-skin that wrapped the shoot was cold and kind of droopy and damp. [Not appetizing.] She bit one end of the shoot knowing from experience that they were crisp and delicious if prepared correctly.

The shoot was tough. The frog-skin was chewy and smelled slightly dank, and she put the remaining portion back on the plate. After trying the other two items, she finally gave in to Kpleeb’s queries.

“The long grain is pretty good,” she lied. “I did not like the river shoot much. Too tough, and the frog-skin,” she shuddered slightly. “Blech. The gizzard and cream sauce were interesting, but it tasted much like the long grain. My favorite was the fried dinga. The spicy dip really helped it out. Have you tried it?”

Kpleeb shook his head and reached to test the food he had made. After a minute he shrugged and his face fell. “I see what you mean. I’m sorry that it wasn’t good. I’m not a good cook.”

“It’s okay, Kpleeb. Often, it’s the thought that matters, and I am very grateful that you care enough to make food for me.” Thoka put her hand on Kpleeb’s shoulder and grinned widely.

“Maybe you should leave the cooking to me?”

Kpleeb nodded solemnly, but Thoka poked him in the ribs gently and smiled even harder until he responded with a weak smile of his own.

“We can’t all be the best at everything,” Thoka said. “Cooking takes practice just like anything else.” She reached an arm around Kpleeb’s waist and gave him a quick squeeze before letting go. “Do you want me to eat the rest?”

Kpleeb looked embarrassed. “No, please. Let us eat something we actually like.”

“I could choke the rest of it down… for you,” Thoka said with a grin.

“No, no. You just make what you want and I’ll get what I want. Cave, give me a nicely roasted muskrat leg. Thank you.”

“And I’ll have a bowl of soup. You know how I like it,” said Thoka.

Thoka and Kpleeb ate and talked for some time before Thoka started to yawn. “It’s about my time, Kpleeb.”

“You go to bed so early. Why is that?”

“It’s just my habit. I think better in the morning, but only if I sleep well.”

“Well, I will go continue working on my device.” Kpleeb smiled at Thoka. “Thanks for understanding about the food. I had a wonderful time talking to you as usual.” He stood.

“It was fun, and my soup was excellent.” Thoka smiled brightly. “Good night, Kpleeb.”

Thoka watched as Kpleeb walked away and closed the gap between the caves. [He really is a nice caveman.] She blushed when she remembered the squeeze she had given him. [He didn’t react. I wonder if I surprised him? I wonder if he would cuddle with me?] Her mind wandered for a few minutes, until she finally fell asleep.

When Thoka awoke the following morning, she spoke quietly at the gap. “Kpleeb, are you awake?” He did not answer, so she went to her table and worked to understand the forces that she had begun to discover.

She continued her thread from the previous day. Her special wands moved water, so she tried green goo, spit, and various edible liquids that the cave produced for her. Thoka mixed everything she could think of and tested the mixtures in different ratios. Everything was affected by the invisible forces to some extent except the pure green goo. She was not sure why. She molded her hair with stone and made new threads for her wand. She tried different combinations of meat, plants, and other materials in an effort to find the alloys and shapes that made the most effective threads.

It was mid-day before she realized that Kpleeb still had not surfaced. She stood and slowly stretched her arms, legs, and back. She took a drink of water, and then asked the cave to open the gap. As the surface vacated the wall where the grey stone had opened up, she stepped through and looked.

Kpleeb was face down next to his food outcropping.

Thoka rushed to his side and turned his head. There was a large lump and bruise above his right eye. [He must have fallen… but why?] As she examined his head, she noticed a swollen bump on the back of his neck. The center was a red dot with a puffy white ring, and then more purple that faded into his skin tones. A semi-sticky clear substance coated her finger when she touched the bump.

She shook Kpleeb gently. “Kpleeb, wake up.” Thoka shoved his body over until he lay on his back. He was breathing, but did not stir. “Wake up.” After a few moments she stood and retrieved a handful of water. She splashed his face, but nothing happened. There was nothing else she could think of to do except…

Thoka sat next to Kpleeb and wrapped her arms around him. His body was warm, and he breathed – in and out – slowly. After some time, she drifted off.