The International Yeti Collective by Paul Mason

Author:Paul Mason [Paul Mason]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781788950855
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
Published: 2019-02-15T16:00:00+00:00

That night, the Mande Barung gathered in the clearing in a big circle, with the Mountain Yeti as their guests of honour, flanked by Cadd and the elders. Tick hadn’t seen any cooking fires or smelled any smoke coming from the jungle, but the larder keepers had prepared a huge feast, wandering in from the forest, bearing basket after basket of food. There were baked roots and boiled quail eggs. Pickled earwigs in jelly and barbecued crickets in mango sauce. Soon Tick’s banana-leaf plate was heavy. Happy warbling rose up from the circle into the evening sky.

“Eat up, yeti, eat up. This might be your last proper meal for a time,” chortled Cadd through a mouthful of fish.

Throughout dinner, Tick couldn’t help but notice that Leeke’s piercing eyes rested on him. Then, as the meal ended and the Mande Barung formed a circle to dance, Leeke raised a gnarled hand and beckoned.

Tick pushed his leaf plate to one side and went over, kneeling before the wise yeti. Leeke popped a few barbecued crickets in her mouth. Then she ran a palm along his cheek, staring at Tick as if she was searching for something.

“You want to speak to me, O Leeke?” said Tick.

Leeke turned her attention once more to her plate. “It is not just the slabs you seek, is it?” she declared through a mouthful of pickled gecko.

Tick’s heart thumped. “What do you mean?”

Leeke prodded him in the stomach. “This journey is about your mother as much as it’s about the slabs.”

“You know about that?” Tick gulped.

Leeke wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “She misses you too.”

“How can you know?”

“I sensed it the moment you stepped into my nest – this feeling of great sorrow. I have chanced upon it before – you bear her scent.”

“Where, when?”

“A yeti passed through this forest many cycles ago. Not far from the riverbank. A moon’s striding from here.”

Tick swallowed. “And you saw her?”

Leeke shook her head. “But only because she didn’t want to be seen. I was out foraging when I felt a yeti pass by. I carried on picking herbs and waited for her to show herself, yet she did not. But her smell was the same as yours. Mountain Yeti mixed with sadness and shame.”

Tick allowed himself a smile. “Then she’s alive.”

“There is no reason to doubt she still strides.”

Tick sat in silence for a time, thinking of his mother, of her banishment, of her contact with humans. It reminded him of something that had been bothering him. “How come you can read human, Leeke?”

Leeke stopped eating for a moment and considered her answer. “Being able to speak other tongues draws beings closer, yes? It builds understanding.”

“So, we should try to understand humans?”

“They were once our cousins – you must remember that,” said Leeke. “Though many elders would think me a radical for saying so.”

Tick reached over and took her hand. “Thank you, Leeke.”

*

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