HUNGER

                Three rugged men carrying spears were lying flat on a ridge. The ridge looked out onto a meadow that led to a stream. The flat grassland abutted a dense tree line. The hunters knew that the shade of the trees prevented the tastiest shoots from growing. They also knew that the animals knew.

                The picturesque grassland swayed with the wind. The only sounds that could be heard were birds calling in the distance and the running of a nearby stream. The older looking hunter seemed to be the leader of the men. He wore the pelt of a large deer-like animal. It was held together with twine, as were his animal hide pants. His moccasins were worn but still functionable. He squinted to focus on anything across the meadow that didn’t sway with the breeze. The two other hunters were younger but had full beards. One of the younger disheveled hunters was about to give out a yawn when the leader suddenly made a fist.

                On command, the two younger hunters laid even flatter to the ridge than before, their heads touching the ground and looking at their elder. The elder peered his head up a little higher than before and then slowly lowered himself. He crawled backwards as close to the ground as possible and beckoned the others. At the lower end of the ridge, they were able to squat and remain unseen. The elder ripped handfuls of grass out of the ground, then smoothed the dirt with his palm. He made a line with his finger and then pointed to the ridge. He then made upward arrow symbols to represent the tree line. The younger hunters were familiar with his symbols. The elder drew a circle with two horns and kept drawing circles. There was a herd of elk nearby. The elder then drew three x’s. He pointed towards both hunters and then at two of the x’s. He then traced a path that went into the stream and into the forest to avoid the meadow. The other x represented him. He would stay on the ridge.

                The elder knew that the herd was hungry. The elk would be wary of the tree line but more focused on food. He lifted up his hands like he was shouting, then pointed to the two huntsmen while making a spear throwing gesture. The two younger males understood the plan but did not know how to signal to their elder when they were in position. The elder pointed at his eyes and then tapped the sides of his head. The younger hunters then knew to stay under cover and emit when they could see the elder. That would be the signal.

                The younger hunters made their way down the ridge, making sure they were out of sight. They did not see the elk themselves, but their elder had never let them down before. They made it to the stream and took off their animal skins. All they had on were pelts made from an assortment of small animals around their groins. The swim washed away much of their scent. When they made it behind the tree line, they hurried to the killing field. The herd was headed in that direction so they would likely be directly across from the elder by the time they were in position. They were careful not to run too fast because they did not want to sweat and give away their presence. As they closed the distance, they crouched down and maneuvered. They could see the elk behind foliage. The elk did periodically scan their surroundings, but the brightness of the meadow made it harder to distinguish figures against the darker tree line. The huntsmen got as close as they dared, close enough to make a kill with a spear.

                With his weapon in hand, one of the hunters stuck his head around a shrub to see if he could make out the elder in the distance. He could. The elder had his grey head partially exposed behind the similarly shaded rocks of the ridge. You couldn’t tell it was a head unless you were looking for it. The hunter then checked to make sure he could not see any elk where he was positioning his own head. Then he emitted.

                The elder received the emission but so did some elk. However, the elk were not sure where the emission came from. The elder stood up immediately and shouted from the ridge. All of the elk lifted their heads and stared at the elder who they perceived to be so far away as to not be able to harm them. Those few seconds were all the younger hunters needed. With all heads turned towards the elder who was still screaming, the hunters made their way out of cover and threw their spears at two unsuspecting prey. When the spears landed, the other elk turned to see the two huntsmen right next to them. The stampede did two things. First, it resulted in a chaos of elk running in all directions. Second, the chaos knocked the two injured elk to the ground. As the herd moved away from the hunters, the two injured elk bled out and collapsed to the ground. The hunters went to retrieve their spears, and the elder made his way from the ridge. It was a successful hunt.

*********

                “That’s enough TV for today kids. Time to go to bed,” said Emmett. His two sons were sitting crossed legged on the ground in front of the television.

                “There’s no way it actually happened like that right?” Charlie asked.

                “Of course it did. That’s why they’re showing us how it happened on TV. Right dad?” said Kevin.

                Emmett got up from his chair and walked towards the TV. “Nature shows put things on TV that are science based. All of that could have happened. But that particular hunt may not have happened specifically in that way. It’s like…” The father paused to find the right words. “…things that could have happened based on what we know.”.

                “Well, what about the whole thing with the pineal gland and reptiles?” asked Charlie.

                “I dozed off during that part Charlie, you’ll have to explain it to me,” said Emmett.

                “The show said that reptiles have an organ that can sense light on the top of their heads. We share an ancestor with them, but our organ got stuck inside our heads,” explained Charlie.

                “Oh that.” Emmett replied. ”Remember, the nature program shows us what most likely happened. So it’s probably true. Evolution explains a lot about why we are the way we are. It’s just science son.”

                “Well, if there’s a reason we have it, why do we have to wait to use it if it’s natural to us?” whined Kevin.

                “Evolution explains why our bodies have it. They don’t talk about the other stuff that using it can do. You’re too young and just need to know that it’s a natural thing we all have. When you’re old enough, you’ll understand why we only use it when we have to,” said the father.  

                “So it’s like driving?” asked Kevin.

                “Umm…. I guess. That’s a good analogy,” replied Emmett.

                Kevin struggled with pronunciation. “What’s an an… ana…”

                His father helped him out. “Analogy?”

                “Yes, that,” said Kevin.

“It’s like pointing out something that is similar to what you’re trying to describe,” said Emmett. After a moment, he continued, “Driving is useful but can be dangerous to other people. That is exactly how you should think of your pineal gland.”

                “So I’m not allowed to use it until I’m 15?” complained Charlie.

                “You can but you shouldn’t because it could hurt other people. Do you want to hurt other people?” asked the father.

                “No way!” said Charlie.

                Emmett replied, “Good answer son. I know you want to use your gland but other people know when you use it. So don’t use it or it’ll get you in trouble with everyone. Got it?”

                “Got it!” his two sons replied.

                “Now you two go get some sleep,” said the father. He turned off the TV and watched his two sons walk towards their rooms. He was happy they were curious about the science and not the magic.

The End

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