Welcome back to my post-post-apocalyptic novel, Ada’s Children, and thanks for reading! If you’re new to the story, please don’t be surprised that it’s paywalled. The Prologue and first three chapters are free, and you can start reading them here. The previous chapter, “Resistance,” here.
Back in Chapter 3 (the last time we saw Jun and Sila), Jun found some tantalizing clues about who Ada actually is (or more accurately, who she isn’t) and what might have come before her. Now we’re back with Sila, who’s more concerned with finding a mate at the annual Rendezvous, but begins to make a mess of things.
SILA stood with the other hunters from her village, the ones ready to claim mates. It was the opening dance marking the first night of the Rendezvous, when young men and women could announce their intentions and display their attributes. Around them, drums beat the rhythm for the dancers while onlookers from the other villages shouted out to their favorites. A great bonfire lit the figures and cast long, shifting shadows.
Six young women from their village and one of water-nature—a person whose gender flowed like a stream, not fixed in either male or female—occupied the dance circle, their synchronized steps moving sometimes with the beat and sometimes in syncopation with it. This part of the dance was meant to show how well they could work together as they sought and gathered plant foods, winnowed millet seed, or did the countless other tasks expected of gatherers. But Brina, dancing with them, didn’t seemed too concerned with the group’s unity, often looking up to find Sila in the crowd of hunters.
Next, the dancers broke into individual performances intended to entice particular mates. A couple of the dancers knew hunters from other villages from previous years and moved towards them; others were content to circle in front of the four other peoples.
But not Brina. She turned and moved toward her own people, eyes locked on Sila’s, hips swaying seductively, arms lifted above her head to show her figure to best advantage. The crowd hooted. As she came nearer, she plucked a bright red cardinal feather from deep in the cleft created by her halter and held it toward Sila, coming so close that the hunters in front had to step aside.
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