Scattered Light

Maura knelt down, swaying left then right, trying to find a passage through the underbrush. Spying a narrow gap between two stunted trees, she pushed her way through. Thin as she was, she needed to jut her right arm forward first, grabbing onto a vine and wiggling her shoulders to fit through the cramped space. She slid through to the other side with one more tug. A sound of ripping: another tear in her tunic. She was still crouched, the brush packed densely overhead. A small space, nestled in a circle of trees. The light was dim. Her eyes adjusted and she briefly admired the dust motes swirling in the soft rays and the way the leaves emitted a green light as the sun's rays passed through them.

Maura climbed over the rubble and fallen beams, her mother leading the way along the parts of the two walls of the cathedral that were still standing. Holding her mother’s hand, she looked up to see her smile. Her mother pointed to their feet and Maura saw she was standing in the middle of the rosette, the stained glass still intact. Her mother had given her one small gift, precisely timed, and Maura, enchanted, spun around, dancing in her own kaleidoscope, while her mother looked on, laughing. When the sun faded and disappeared, the clan moved on, out again to the countryside; they preferred open spaces.

Maura and the others had been searching for days now. When they met in the evenings at the fire to eat what meagre supplies they had supplemented with what they could hunt or find, it was impressed upon Maura how important the work of searching the valley and the forest was. Their very lives depended on them finding someone. At eight years old, she wasn’t old enough to understand the importance of what the group was doing, but she knew hunger, she knew cold, and she knew other things. She knew the world to be one of sadness.

Now that her eyes had fully adjusted, she could see the other side. The light shone through small gaps in the underbrush. She crawled along the ground, a crackle of dead leaves beneath her. As she neared the blackened aperture, the brush disappeared, revealing a clearing. The smell of charcoal that had drawn her originally was now stronger. Reaching out, she touched the hole’s edge. Holding her fingers up to a ray of light she saw they were covered in soot. She had found something.

Whatever made the crater had burned through the trees and brush; looking up she could see a large tear through the forest canopy, newly fallen trees as well. She crept slowly downward, keeping her hand against the wall, not sure what she would find, nor what she would be able to do when she did. She wasn’t sure how far it went. She called out. “Hello.” It didn’t echo.

She had wanted to take Nera with her, but the clan wouldn’t allow it. So few remained, they needed as many people as possible. Nera, who had taken to Maura after her mother’s death, tried to build her confidence. She consoled Maura and reminded her that if she found the people first that the clan would be most grateful. Maura, not convinced, wanted to know what these people would look like and if they would hurt her. Nera said that they would be just like them and that they were coming back to save the clan. Maura wanted to know why they needed to find them at all and Nera had reminded her of the stories Ol'Mag always told of the old people and of how they had disappeared. Now, Nera, Maura and their small clan of women were all that was left.

Sitting near the fire, Maura wanted to hear again of the old people and why the clan needed to be saved. Ol’ Mag was happy to tell it, but it was a happiness born of duty for it was clear she could take no joy in the details. The clan fell silent, all watching Ol’Mag, listening as she poked the fire with a stick, sending sparks of embers into the darkness.

“A great sickness fell on the people. A strange and slow sickness. It took a long time for people to notice it was there at all and by then it had infected everyone. So patient it was…it coiled itself up inside their bodies, sleeping and waiting. When it finally awoke, it was hungry. People suffered fever and coughing, some dying where they stood. Though the people worked tirelessly to find a cure it was too late. There was great suffering all over the world. At first it seemed that everyone would die, but soon it became clear that some people recovered.”

Maura interrupted, “It was only women who survived, right?!”

Ol’Mag nodded, and seeing that Maura still didn’t understand why this was significant, she told her about men, whom Maura had never seen.

“Women are like the earth, and the men are like farmers planting seeds there, so that a baby will be born. Without men, there are no longer any seeds to plant and no more fruit.” Maura thought about a peach growing in a woman’s stomach and laughed loudly.

Ol’Mag continued, “The survivors reacted too late and the cities died; there weren’t enough people to run everything, so all of it fell apart and went dark. Many survivors gave up too, preferring to die in the ruins rather than to hope that anything could be saved.

“There was, however, one hope that remained.”

Again, Maura jumped in, pointing to the sky. “The people on Mars, right?”

Ol’Mag nodded gravely, “A ship was sent to Mars, where there is a colony of humans. The humans have been living there for some time already, trying to survive and create a habitat for more humans. A pilot, a survivor, was sent to pick up the astronauts because they are needed here. Now that there are only survivors left, the sickness won’t be able to hurt anyone and it is safe for them to come home.”

Maura, excited and almost shouting, asked, “The shooting star we saw, that was them?”

Ol’Mag nodded, “Yes, child, the astronauts have come back to save us. This is why it is so important we find them and bring them to safety.”

* * *

Nera looked in the direction the shooting star had taken as it descended to earth. They continued walking until they came to the edge of the forest and the remaining women split up to make their way through the trees, covering as much area as they could.

Reasoning that it couldn’t be much deeper. Maura shuffled, still holding one hand against the wall. Her other hand out in front of her for balance didn’t stop her from banging her head on something. She felt her forehead: the skin wasn’t broken. She raised her hand to get a better idea of what she had hit. It was cold and round. A metal of some kind. She tapped the metal and heard it ring, dully. She was excited and momentarily forgot what she was supposed to do. People. She was supposed to look for people.

She called out. No answer came. She reached forward and tried to find out more about the object in front of her. She shuffled a bit to the left, keeping one hand above her head to avoid hitting something else. A flat surface, well, not quite flat, curved gently. Still metal. Smooth. She ran her hand over it, feeling for anything that could help her identify it. She banged on it with her palm. More noise this time. It sounded hollow underneath. She tried to find an edge, a lip. They had all found things over the last three days, mostly bits of metal and Dranya had found something that looked like bone, but nothing as big as this. She looked to see if there was anyone there. Maybe they were trapped. She listened, but there was no noise.

The space between the wall and the object narrowed until she couldn’t go any further. She felt around, still not sure what it was she had found. Finally, Maura found an edge. She squeaked her nails in under the lip and pulled. It didn’t budge. She pulled again, to no avail. Even with a foot on the metal body, she couldn’t get enough leverage. She had an idea. Making her way back out to the clearing, she found a stick and went back in.

Using the stick as a lever, she pushed it in to get more lift. A creak and then a loud crash as the piece swung out. She couldn’t tell how big the object was, but the piece she had managed to remove was bigger than she and opened onto a large space filled with more things. She felt something smooth and soft, like cloth. Excited by her find, she started pulling things out and bringing them up to the light. She collected a pile of items, most of which she couldn’t identify. The orange thing was strange. It had two arms and legs and was covered in metal rings. Using it as a bag of sorts, she stuffed everything she had found into it and pulled it back through the brush.

When she met up with the others, it was nearly dusk. They were already sitting around the fire. Nera saw Maura come out of the woods, sack in tow; she ran over to help her drag it into the light of the fire.

Ol'Mag looked up at Maura, asking what she had found. The women marvelled over her finds, wondering what the purpose of many of the items was. There was even a book that piqued Maura’s curiosity; it had a clear plastic cover and was filled with small drawings. Nera had tried teaching her her how to read, but Maura only knew some of the sounds. She traced her fingers over the squiggles on the page. Ol'Mag wondered if there was more. Maura assured her there was, but that she hadn’t found any people. Ol'Mag said that she would look the next day, when it was light. Maura basked in Ol’Mag’s grateful smile. Finally, something: a sign. They were going to find the astronauts.

Before daybreak, Maura woke to Nera shaking her. They got up and made their way again to the forest. Maura led Ol'Mag to the small where she had entered. The women couldn’t get through, but Maura, remembering the bigger entrance, led the clan there.

Nera and Ol'Mag descended into the crater. The others stood by the opening, waiting. When they emerged Ol’Mag held her hands up to the sky. They were dark red and black. She had tears in her eyes.

Pulling a tattered old book from her bag, Ol’Mag opened to a well-worn page and said a few words, Maura noted golden letters on its cover while the others lowered their heads. They left the clearing, walking in silence.

* * *

Later that night, by the fire, Maura fiddled with something, dangling it in the light. Ol'Mag saw a glint. Beckoning Maura over, she took the object in her hands. It was a golden heart-shaped locket on a chain, covered in a delicate filigree. She asked Maura if she had found it in the astronaut’s ship. Maura nodded. Ol'Mag opened the locket and Maura, impressed, inspected the two small photos within. A woman and a man.

Taking the locket back, Maura opened it again. The little photo of the woman fell to the ground. She dangled the locket, seeing how the light passed through, casting a rosette, light dancing on the ground. She looked back at Ol’Mag and smiled.

“Why are you crying Ol’Mag?”

Ol'Mag pulled Maura into a tight embrace and rocked her back and forth as she looked into the fire.