One Sohra Summer

A village near Sohra. Unusual - it was the rainy season but it did not rain that day. The mists were rising from the deep gorges and the waterfalls thundered their way down the steep cliffs to dissolve in a rainbow and a smoky pool at the foot. Many barren hills away, a little girl stood at the top of a stony projection that seemed to surge upwards away from the grassy slope that formed its base. Her hair blowing in the wind, she gazed at the plunging waterfall. Her eyes travelled from the waterfall to the hills nearby as she noticed the verdant green of the foliage covering the half –naked cliffs. Then she turned away picking her way slowly through the bare face of the huge rock. She soon reached the foot and walked towards the next hill where her village lay. Her bare feet did not feel the jagged edges of the stones. Absentmindedly she plucked a twig and started chewing it, her mind full of thoughts. Meribon could not see the plains today, it was too cloudy. The other day she caught a glimpse when the fog lifted and the whole expanse seemed to stretch without end. It was where her father had gone. Three moons ago, her father and four other men of the village had journeyed to Shilot, the land of the dkhar. She wondered what they would bring back. They had carried iron, honey, lac not knowing what the response would be. Wanhat, of Pandua had given them all assurance that these items were in great demand among the plainsmen. She remembered the excitement when they left- they had never been beyond Pandua and they would be the first people from Nonglum village to venture to Shilot. She knew they were due to return any day now. She heard the grown-ups talk about it. Every day she would come to the same spot to look at the plains below. Something told her it would be different today.