I was hungry and when I motioned to her and indicated the food, she
seemed to understand. I sat quite still, and within a few minutes she
was deftly preparing a meal. But I was aware that she watched me
narrowly and seldom came within my reach.
The fire she produced by rubbing two stones together. It seemed to
ignite the stones, with a tiny flickering flame like the burning of
sulphur. She had gathered a pile of dried vegetation from the surface
above the cave; and when that was blazing she added rocks that glowed
like coal. The fire interested me tremendously. It alarmed me; but only
at first, for I saw that the girl had no fear of it.
I need not go into details. Her manner was proud when presently she
indicated the hot food ready to eat and she watched me expectantly while
I tasted it. I smiled my approval and beckoned her to take some of it
with me. At which she curled up on the robe beside me, eating the food I
pushed toward her.
We were friends. Like myself, she had no spoken language. But when we
tried to talk it came fast. I indicated myself and told her I was Nemo.
The word seemed to spring readily to my mind; I have no doubt it was
some part of my earlier life. She had no name. I called her Nona. It
seemed to please her. She repeated it after me half a dozen times, and
clapped her hands delightedly.
A little later we went up to the surface of our tiny world. It chanced
to be daylight; and Nona taught me how to swim through the air, how to
handle myself against this lack of gravity.
The art came to me quickly. I was soon able to swim about with swift,
powerful strokes. My stronger muscles gave me an advantage over her. I
could swim more quickly; but I could never attain her deftness, her
agility. She would swoop about, dive head downward in a graceful arc,
right herself and land on tip-toe.
We circled our little globe, swimming at an altitude of a hundred feet,
and following the Sun; and within half an hour were back at our starting
point. Everywhere I saw the same bleak landscape. It was night when we
returned, for we had overtaken the Sun and passed it. But in a few
moments daylight came again.
Then Nona showed me how to jump. With arms folded, she leaped vertically
into the air. Straight up her body shot, her hair brushed flat against
her by the downward rush of wind. She held herself upright by throwing
out a hand occasionally. Like an arrow she mounted; until standing on
the ground I could see her only as a tiny dark speck against the blue of
the sky.
She came swimming down a few moments later, her hair waving like a cloak
behind her, spun gold with the sunlight on it. She was laughing and
flushed from the exertion.
Then at arm’s length with fingers clasped, we leaped upward together.
The tiny world dropped away. Looking down, it showed itself as a ball. I
could see far around it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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