The Orunari

By Shawn Derek

The Orunari is a collection of short stories and poems exploring the mysteries of life. The word "Orunari" is a reference to a fictional ancient people that appear throughout the book. The first poem sets the platform for the entire piece - connecting the ancient culture to our present day fears and desires. Archaeology, mythology, and psychology are represented due to the influence of Joseph Campbell (The scholar who wrote "Hero With A Thousand Faces", "The Mystic Image", etc.). Readers of Campbell's work will recognize the themes examined in "The OrunarI".

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483514314

Book preview

9781483514314

I.

In layers

marked

a thousand, thousand

years each:

There are the pots

they filled with oil

the ashes of meals

they ate

Carefully,

the archaeology

reveals

the concentric circles

where these ancients

sat

telling stories,

singing songs,

writing poems,

explaining

the brevity,

the pain,

and the gift of each life

staring into the fire;

what the Orunari knew

is still there

locked in bitumen

and sand

layers – eons deep

but now,

amidst the surface

the children forgot

their ancient name

they stare at fires

with no smoke

and no heat

they wonder why

their lives are brief

and full of pain

it is the mystery

only the source

can explain

The Boy in the Cloud

Naru was the youngest boy in his tribe. He was the center of attention. The women took turns bathing him. The elders observed good omens: His legs are long – he will run like the jaguar. His head is large – it will desire knowledge.

There were smiles when Naru appeared in his mother’s arms. The tribe laughed at all the small movements that he made. As he learned to walk, the older boys would follow him where he rose and fell.

Then, it seemed, the tribe changed. The older boys stopped following him. The women stopped bathing him. The elders did not visit. When Naru played by the other huts, he was scolded. When he followed the older boys, they would push him away. His young mind wondered what had changed. He noticed that he was the smallest boy in the tribe. Everyone else was taller, stronger, older, faster, and better at everything than he was. He watched everyone move as he or she pleased. Each of them had something important to do, and something important to say – only Naru sat and watched as the world around him moved.

One day, he thought no one would notice if he walked into the jungle by himself. He saw his mother nursing his sister. His father left the village to hunt. No one was looking his way when he decided to walk between the dhaman leaves. He walked to the large tree where his father warned him not to trespass. He’d been told the tree had eyes over the jungle and would whisper to his father if Naru disobeyed. But Naru had often visited the tree and each time he returned, no one noticed he had gone. Then, he’d decided to walk past the large tree. He returned, and that night his father did not scold him. Naru laughed to himself that no one knew his secret game.

Another day, Naru’s mother took his sister to a friend. He knew she would be there a very long time. Naru decided he would run as far as he could without anyone knowing. He ran through the dhaman leaves. He ran past the large tree. He avoided the well-worn paths of the elders, and cut his way through the vines. As he ran past, he tore leaves to mark his trail. He ran as far as he wanted to go and then he found a small cave. The opening was half his size, but he was able to fit inside. As he crawled farther in, he found himself at the edge of a cliff overlooking a deep valley. He did not think he had been gone for very long.

He followed the edge, descending to the jungle floor. The sun could barely touch the ground through the dense canopy. He was careful as he walked because the jungle was so thick where he was exploring. The path became flat and fenced on either side by large stones. They were like small mountains. They could not have fallen from higher ground, he thought. They were perfectly spaced all along the way. Giants must have put them there, he believed. He noticed they became slightly larger as he walked the path to the end.

Eventually, all the stones were behind him and he found a path where the grass was no higher than his toes. It felt cool and moist like fresh fruit. He could see an opening in the jungle where a portion of the sky showed. Farther away, the light of the sky touched the surface where he was headed. Though he could see the light, he could not determine what it illuminated. Naru watched the circle of light travel across the empty field; and then, strangely; it seemed to float in mid-air. He saw it ascend higher; but he could not see what it was reflecting. It was just a body of light drifting on its own. Naru had not encountered open paths as wide as what was before him. He ran to the apparition hanging in the high place. As he drew nearer, the light appeared at an angle over his head. He could see the unnatural line from where the light appeared, falling to the base in front of him. There, he saw the jungle come as close as his own hand and stretch above his head into the sky. It was a tower of stone, covered in vines, moss, and lichens. Imperceptible from afar, the boy was amazed something so large could disappear in the jungle until it was in front of his face. He was afraid of it and decided to return home.

Traversing the path, the cliff, the cave, and past the large tree; he found his way home. However, he had been gone a very long time. His mother and father found him in the village after searching the jungle. His mother screamed and his father punished him with no food for the night. He was very hungry from the journey. His stomach hurt all night.

For a while, he obeyed his parents. He didn’t leave the hut where he was told to stay. When he was very bored, he imagined himself walking through the jungle and finding the tower. All day long, he wondered what it could be and why it was there.

On a boring day, he asked his mother if he could sit with Olthacec. Olthacec was a very old man. He could barely walk. He would always sit in the same spot. When Naru sat with him, he let the old man talk about all the places he had been, the animals he’d hunted, and the pranks he’d played when he was young. Sometimes, the pair would giggle and make noises that annoyed the rest of the tribe. However, everyone was happy that Olthacec had a friend.

One day, Olthacec told Naru a story about the first ones – the Orunar. They came from underground, the old man said, "under the plants, the soil, and the rocks. They were a mischievous people. They would tie knots in snakes so the snakes would struggle. They would remove the flowers from the stems so the insects and birds would suffer. They would steal cubs from the jaguar-mother when she slept so they could teach the cubs their senseless mischief. The Orunar did not work, nor did they harvest. They were always young and restless. They did not age because they lived near the center where the power of life is very strong. The power of life filled the Orunar with energy so they never had to find food.

"The birds and insects became so few that the sky people noticed. The sky people were very tall, almost giants. They were peaceful and wise. They knew the secret of flight. They wondered why the songs of the birds and insects had diminished. They left the sky and wandered the earth. They saw the snakes struggling, the jaguar without its cubs, and the flowers strewn to the ground. The sky people watched as the Orunar trampled the surface, and then retreated underground. ‘There will be nothing left,’ the sky people said amongst themselves. So, they circled the sky and found the peak of the oldest mountain. They carved off large slab of the mountain and stacked them by the holes the Orunar had burrowed.

"When the Orunar emerged from their holes, they saw the towers the sky people built for them. Restless and foolish, the Orunar climbed the towers. The towers had a terrible magic that changed the Orunar. As they climbed, the towers took them farther from the center – the power of life – and they began to age. When they were underground, they were like children, but at the top of the towers, they became men and women. The men looked at the women and were pleased. The women looked at the men, and were pleased. They enjoyed their new bodies, but the Orunar had been tricked. While they enjoyed the pleasures of their new bodies, the sky people removed the slabs – the towers disappeared.

When the men and women decided to return to their homes underground, they could not find the towers. They were lost on the surface of a strange land where they had never been. Some tried to dig new holes, but the soil where they were stranded had bedrock. They could not find their way to the center. Not long after, a strange feeling overwhelmed them – they were hungry. They desired food desperately. So, they searched the surface for food. Some hunted the wild boar, and some harvested leaves and roots – this required great effort. Exposed to the wind, they built walls so they would not chill. When the rain fell, they had to build roofs. For one reason or another, the burden of life made them very busy and too tired for mischief. It has been so to this day.

Naru held his breath as Olthacec finished his story. Are all the towers gone? he asked the old man.

Olthacec smiled at the boy and looked into the sky: They were wise to build them, and wiser when they took them down.

Naru laughed with Olthacec, but he couldn’t forget what he saw when he had walked through the jungle. He was certain it was one of the towers in the story. He wished with all of his heart that it was true.

He waited until early morning while his father, mother, and the tribe were still sleeping. He knew part of the way in the dark. Sunrise was coming; he would be able to see the rest of the way. He left the large tree behind him and headed in the same direction he had rehearsed in his mind on all the boring days he’d had to stay home. He could see the leaves overhead were burning sunlight – the earth was brown instead of black. He believed he could find it again.

The trip took longer than he remembered. He thought he had forgotten a turn or had left the path too early. He circled the same space, until the sun had passed its zenith. Then, he saw a familiar sight – a mound of slate. He pierced through the jungle, and the memory returned to him. That first day and the present sifted past his eyes until he found the small cave. He burrowed through opening on his hands and knees. When he reached the cliff, it was different on that day. A mist clung to the edge like a white river. Each step downward was obscured by the mist pervading that part of the jungle. The path was familiar but everything that hung around it was new and strange. He could not remember anything living or making noise the first time he had been there. Overhead, he could hear cockatiels arguing. Insects chattered between the walls of the depression. He felt as if he didn’t belong. Maybe, the jungle was trying to warn him.

He let curiosity have its way with him and found the flat ground. It was darker than he remembered. Further