2002-09-11 1:55 p.m. "We are all... Children of the Bat!" Rin's announcement was met with indifference. Several of the cave's goblin inhabitants shifted their positions on the hard floor to get more comfortable. Enik yawned. I tossed a pebble I was holding down into our garbage pit. "The Bat?" I said. "THE Bat," said Rin. All week, Rin had been working on a creation myth for us. It was his contribution to our collective culture. His previous attempt at a contribution, the vanquishing of the red-mouth bear in the next cave, didn't work out the way he had planned. While convalescencing, he had decided that our tribe needed a creation myth. That this would cheer us through the dark nights to a greater degree than knowing the red-mouth next store would no longer maul us when it grew bored. "We are all descendents of The Bat," continued Rin. "And it is from The Bat that we gain our most admirable traits! It is from this ancestry that we have such keen, pointy ears! And ... why we like to live in caves! AND ... why we are so quick and terrible at war!" "So long as the war is against nocturnal insects," muttered someone, I didn't see who. Our cave is dark. "Which bat?" asked Enik. This brought Rin up short. He crossed his arms and frowned, thinking. I picked up a different pebble. It had sharp edges. "That one!" said Rin. He was pointing up at the ceiling of the cave. There was a bat hanging upside down up there. It looked like it was asleep. "That doesn't work, Rin," I said. "Creation myths usually take place a long time ago... so The Bat probably shouldn't be alive anymore." "A miracle!" said Rin, pointing upwards again. Enik looked up as well. "Sure that isn't a stalactite?" asked Enik. "It is our ancestor. Our collective Mother. We are blessed by her presence." "Okay," I said. "Very good." Rin laid on the floor so he could recline and keep looking at the bat. The Bat. "Children of The Bat," he said, softly. "Okay," I said. "Let us know when you've got some more." I tossed another pebble into the garbage pit. |
1. today is nice 3. happy yesterdays 8. thanks for hosting 4. doing other things |
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