The Forgotten History of the Human Race—Part One

Have you ever heard of the forgotten history of the human race? Probably not, being that it's been forgotten.

Well, I’ll tell you the story the way it was told to me:

A long, long time ago, before any Christs or Buddhas or grocery stores, there lived a group of humans. No one quite agrees on how they came to be, but it was clear they arrived and they wanted to stay alive and became very busy trying to do so. 

They ran from ferocious fanged creatures who wanted to eat them, leapt over lava, dodged deadly berries and held each other tight when the Earth quaked…

They were so busy surviving, they didn’t have much time for contemplating what was happening to them, but a couple rungs below consciousness, they understood something was always happening and that if they wanted to stick around, they needed to survive whatever it was.

In time, they figured it must be some sort of wind that kept blowing these happenings into their vicinity.

Not the same wind that blew leaves and hair in a jumble in the air. But a greater wind. So great, it became known amongst these people as The Great Wind.

In addition to being great, these people had a hunch it was also an angry wind, by the sheer fact it seemed hell bent on trying to kill them. 

Then one evening, a pivotal moment occurred.

A moment that changed the course of these people’s lives forever and to this very day.

It happened just after two of these people had fallen asleep on a boulder after a very tough day of surviving. When suddenly, they were awakened by a loud roar. The man opened his eyes, and saw before him a pair of dangling tonsils.

Instantly, he realized he was gazing into the open mouth of a very hungry lion, a mouth which had plenty room for both he and his wife.

In a panic, the man scanned his surroundings for an escape route, his preferred method of surviving, but as he pivoted left and right, the piece of boulder he was holding onto came loose, and without thinking, he plunged the sharp end right into the lion’s eyeball. And then, into the lion’s heart. And again and again until this lifeless lion lay in the center of his boulder, dripping all over the place. 

By this point, the woman next to him who had been screaming for some time, along with their neighbors from the boulders next door who’d been awakened were now standing before them, their fig leaves asunder, astonished to see this lifeless and bloody animal. 

They took turns poking it to make sure it was in fact dead. And then, they studied the jagged rock, covered in blood and muck. Upon processing the situation, the people decided this jagged rock must have been a gift from the Great Wind. And because they had never received a gift from the Great Wind before, they looked up at the sky and felt gratitude.

After this incident, the people began looking for other gifts that the Great Wind might have blown onto their paths. Like a treasure hunt, they dug deep into the earth, feeling over every boulder and hard surface. 

Soon, every man, woman, and child had a jagged rock of their own, which they kept by their sides at all times. 

With this new protection, they weren’t as afraid of being eaten by the ferocious fanged creatures. And since they didn’t have to run and hide anymore, they decided to venture further than they’d ever dared to go.

They were particularly curious of what they might find past the point where the big trees stood tall. No one had ever ventured there before because it was assumed to be very dangerous. But perhaps there were other gifts inside, greater than the one’s they’d already found.

So one day, these people crept together deep into the woods, their jagged rocks held tight. Their eyeballs darting to the left and to the right. 

They walked for hours, twigs snapping beneath their bare feet, prickers pricking their calves. But they found nothing more than a jagged rock here and there. 

Then, one of the Elders grunted, pointing upwards at a patch of golden light which was shining like an arrow into the woods ahead. As the others looked up, they heard a roar.

Everybody raised their weapons and stopped in their tracks. The men inched bravely toward this light, as the children clutched their mother’s legs, watching in nervous silence.

Past the trees, the men began yelling:

"Come quick! Come quick!"

The women and children hurried toward them, and what they saw made their jaws drop.

Before them was a clearing, where golden green grass swayed in the breeze and a stream of white water roared along hundreds of jagged rocks.

And beside the stream, stood a single tree decorated with gigantic berries, more enormous than any of them had ever seen. 

The children dropped their jagged rocks and ran to the edge of the water before jumping in and splashing each other. And the adults gathered around this big tree waiting for one of the men who had climbed up to examine the big red berries. 

He ripped one from its branch, and then stabbed it with his jagged blade. The smell was so sweet, so he took a bite, and then smiled, hurling the rest down to the others.

Everyone devoured the apples with delight, and they clinked their jagged rocks together and ran circles around the tree, making noises like the animals that used to scare them at night, and thanking the Great Wind for all the gifts they were receiving. 

By the end of the day, these people had collected so many gifts, it was far more than they could carry - dozens of apples, handfuls of jagged rocks and even other rocks with hollows to drink water from.

"How will we take it all with us?"

As the women began looking for some twine, one of the children whined, "Why can’t we just stay here?"

"Stay?"

There was silence. 

These people had never thought of staying anywhere.

"We can’t stay. It’s too dangerous,” one of the Elders insisted.

"Something horrible will blow in. It always does!”

"Something that will destroy not only our sleeping boulders, but the flesh sacks of our loved ones!"

"But the Great Wind has given us this place as a gift," one child cried, "why would we leave?"

Perhaps the children were right. Perhaps the Great Wind did want them to stay.

"We’ll stay tonight," one of the Elders said. "And see what awaits us in the morning."

That night, the women found an enormous boulder with a hole inside big enough for all of them to fit.

On the floor, was a carpet of moss, which felt much more comfortable than what they were used to.

And after everybody set up their jagged rocks, pointy-side up, around the periphery of their cave, they went inside and for the very first time in their lives, they all had a good night sleep.   

To Be Continued...

©2022 Jessica Laurel Kane