Tribe Rules - S01 E08

Story 2 months ago

Tribe Rules - S01 E08

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 8

Episode 8: Tribe Rules

The great stone door stood before Jide and Elena like a sleeping giant. It was heavy and gray, covered in green moss and old scratchy drawings. Jide put his hands on the cold stone. He felt the weight of his whole life pressing back against him. Elena stepped forward and placed her hands next to his. Together, they pushed with all their strength. Their boots slipped on the loose rocks, and their breath came in short gasps. For a moment, it felt like the mountain would not let them in. But then, something moved.

The stone door began to open. It did not swing quickly. It moved very slowly, inch by inch. As it scraped against the floor, it made a terrible noise. It was a sound like a hundred giant teeth grinding together. It was a loud, crunchy sound that made Jide’s ears hurt. Dust and small pebbles fell from the ceiling of the cave. The ground beneath their feet shook just a little bit. Jide and Elena stepped back as the heavy door finally pushed all the way open.

They looked inside and gasped. Behind the scary stone door was a place they never expected to see. It was a giant hall. The room was so big that the ceiling was lost in the dark shadows. But the hall was not dark. It was filled with thousands and thousands of candles. There were candles on the floor, candles on long wooden tables, and candles sitting in small holes in the stone walls. Each candle had a tiny yellow flame that danced and flickered in the air. The light from the thousands of flames made the whole room look like it was made of gold.

The air inside the hall felt different too. It was not cold and biting like the wind on the mountain path. It was warm and very still. It smelled like old books and dried flowers. It was the kind of smell that makes you feel like you are in a very old library where secrets have been kept for hundreds of years. There was no sound at all, only the soft crackle of the candle wax melting.

In the very center of this giant hall, there was a man sitting on a low wooden stool. This was the High Priest. Jide and Elena walked toward him very slowly. Their footsteps made soft tapping sounds on the stone floor. As they got closer, Jide saw just how old the High Priest really was. He was so old that his skin did not look like skin anymore. It looked like the bark of a very ancient oak tree. It was brown and full of deep lines and wrinkles. His hair was long and white, falling over his shoulders like a blanket of snow.

The High Priest did not look up when they entered. He did not even blink. He was wearing a simple robe made of gray cloth. He sat perfectly still, like a statue. In front of him, on a small stone table, sat a bowl made of dark clay. The bowl was filled with water. But it was not normal water. The water inside the bowl was glowing with a soft, beautiful blue light. It looked like a piece of the night sky had been trapped inside the clay. The High Priest was staring deep into the blue water, as if he was watching a movie that only he could see.

Jide and Elena reached the center of the hall. They felt very small in the big room. They did not know what to say at first. The silence felt very heavy. Finally, Jide took a deep breath. He and Elena knelt down on the hard stone floor. They bowed their heads because they knew they were standing in front of someone very wise and powerful.

You have come at last, the High Priest said.

His voice was a surprise. It was not weak or thin. It was a very deep voice. It sounded like it came from the ground itself, like the rumble of the mountain or the sound of the earth moving. He still did not look up from his glowing blue water. It was as if he had been waiting for them for a hundred years and already knew who they were.

Jide looked up, his eyes full of sadness. Please, Wise One, Jide begged. His voice was shaky because he was so tired and worried. We have traveled a long way to find you. We have done everything we thought was right. We built a life far away from the rules of our tribes. We have a big house made of white stone. We have fields of gold and more money than we can count. We have everything a person could ever want to own.

Jide paused and looked at Elena. She was crying softly. He turned back to the High Priest. But we have no child, Jide said. His heart felt like it was breaking. We have five beautiful bedrooms that are empty. There is no laughter in our home. There are no tiny footprints. Why is our house so quiet? And why is our harvest empty? The corn looks perfect, but there are no seeds inside. The wheat is beautiful, but it turns to dust in our hands. What have we done wrong?

The High Priest finally moved. He slowly lifted his head and looked at them. His eyes were not old and tired. They were bright and clear, like two shining stars. He looked at Elena for a long time, and then he looked at Jide. He did not look angry. He looked like he felt very sorry for them. He sighed a very long sigh. It was a sound that carried all the sadness of the world. It was a sigh that sounded like the wind blowing through a forest of dead trees.

The High Priest stood up. He was very tall, and his long gray robe trailed on the floor behind him. He did not say anything yet. He began to walk toward one of the large walls of the hall. Jide and Elena stood up and followed him. On the wall, there was a giant painting. It was painted in very bright colors of red, blue, and gold. It was a story painted in pictures.

The High Priest stopped in front of the painting. He reached out one of his bark-like hands and touched a specific part of the wall. He touched a picture of two strong warriors. One warrior had a sun on his shield, and the other had a rain cloud on his spear. They were fighting each other, and their faces were full of anger. There was fire and smoke painted all around them.

History is not a ghost, the High Priest said. His voice echoed off the high ceiling. It is not something that is dead and gone. It is not something you can just run away from and forget. History is the ground you walk on. It is the soil where you plant your seeds. It is the air you breathe.

Jide looked at the painting of the fighting warriors. He thought about his own tribe and Elena’s tribe. He thought about the old rules and the black river.

You thought you could cut your roots and still grow fruit, the Priest continued. You thought that if you moved far enough away, the past would not follow you. But a person is like a tree. If you pull a tree out of the earth and cut off its roots, it might look green for a little while. It might look strong on the outside. but inside, it is dying. It cannot make new life because it has no connection to the land it came from. You left your mothers and your fathers. You left the stories of your people. You tried to build a world with only today, but a world needs yesterday to have a tomorrow.

Jide felt a cold chill run down his back. He thought about the silver snake in his garden. He thought about the empty corn cobs. He realized that all the gold in the world could not replace the family and the home he had turned his back on. He looked at Elena, and he saw that she understood too. They had been trying to live in a dream, but the real world was calling them back.

The High Priest turned away from the wall. He walked over to a dark corner of the hall where there were many old shelves. The shelves were filled with thousands of books and scrolls. Some of the books were so old they were falling apart. The Priest reached up and pulled out a very specific book.

It was a heavy book, thick and large. It was wrapped in old, dark leather that looked like it had been handled by many hands over many years. The leather was cracked and worn. There was no title on the front, only a symbol of a sun and a rain cloud joined together by a single golden thread. The High Priest held the book in his hands as if it were the most precious thing in the whole world. He walked back toward Jide and Elena, the heavy book cradled in his arms.

He stopped right in front of them. The light from the thousands of candles made the old leather of the book glow. Jide felt his heart beating very fast. He knew that inside this book were the answers to all their questions. He knew that the truth was about to be revealed, and he was both afraid and desperate to hear it. The High Priest began to slowly unwrap the leather cord that held the book shut.

The High Priest said, "History is not a ghost. It is the ground you walk on." What do you think he means by this? Can we ever really escape our past?

Why do you think the harvest was empty even though Jide worked so hard? Is it possible for someone to be successful but still be "empty" inside?

Jide and Elena have everything they wanted, but they are still not happy. What does this tell us about the most important things in life?

What do you think is written in the heavy leather book that the High Priest just pulled out? Is it a map, a law, or a secret story?

The book of secrets is about to be opened! The High Priest has revealed that Jide and Elena cannot hide from their history. What is the truth about their tribes? Will the heavy leather book show them a way to fix their lives, or is it already too late?