6 Never Never

“It was the time of change.

When the world was not as it is now.

When the sky was not as it is now.

It was the time of change.

The time our Dreaming began.”

Thus, she began. The way it had always begun. The thousands from all the tribes gathered, inched forward as if to hear her more clearly, though they all knew it was unnecessary. Perhaps it was just to be closer to her, bathe in her smile or be seen by her rheumy eyes. Her words, soft and distant, were loud in their minds. Indeed, except for the very young ones, everyone there knew the story by heart. For this was their story, the story of the Beginning and the Laws of their way of life.

The tribes mixed freely now, for some laws had ceased with the coming of the Dreaming, while others were new for their worlds. Byno, leader of the Great Central Tribe, a tall, handsome, fair skinned man, drifted along on the words of the story as on a gentle river. His mind sometimes encountering humans from the other, scattered tribes. Tribes from across the oceans. The Eaglehawk tribe, the Lotus Flower tribe, Lion tribe, Mountains of the Sky tribe, Heart of the World tribe, Sacred River tribe. As Byno drifted, they touched him a moment in recognition and let him pass. Further still, he could barely sense the watching of the Star Ones. They no longer intervened, although the Story told of their awesome deeds in forming the Land and the Law. They watched now and guided gently, if at all. Sometimes they took one or another from the Land into their own realm. To be chosen was the greatest honour and brought distinction to your family. For no one could seek to be chosen by the Star Ones and no one knew why one was chosen and another not. It was like asking why the rain fell in one place and not in another.

Byno opened his eyes. The lush, grassed earth was soft beneath him and the everlasting blue sky was clear as a vision. The twin suns blazed overhead and towards the horizon. Thousands of the Peoples spread out around him, some hanging in the pine trees that grew so tall along the shore of the BewcoU Ocean to see her more easily. Others sat on the golden sands that stretched for a year’s walk in either direction, bathing their feet in the cool, clear water that lapped like a kitten on the shore. A sea of humanity that extended to the horizon behind him. The crystal cold, diamond clear BewcoU Ocean joining the sky in the far distance. Byno smiled happily and chewed on the wild plum he was holding, its sweet, sharp scent tingling his nostrils and watering his palate.