Luffs: Transcendence Novella Read online

  “I know you can’t eat them,” I say, “but they have bright colors and might look nice.”

  Ehd pulls me back from the poisonous fungus.

  “Fine. You are probably right. It could fall off, and Lee is definitely at that stage of putting everything in his mouth. I’m still not sure what to do about gifts for the kids. All they really care about is milk. They are both old enough to start trying other things, though.”

  My mind begins to wander.

  “I don’t think there’s anything around here that counts as citrus. I wonder why you never got scurvy. Since Dad gave me the vitamins, it isn’t a problem now, but what about before you met me? I think that might have been a real problem. I know there are some vegetables with vitamin C in them, but I don’t think I know of anything around here. Maybe the berries. I don’t know for sure. Even then, they are only around in the late summer. What about getting through the winter? How quickly can you get scurvy?”

  I glance over at Ehd. He’s rubbing his temple and shaking his head slightly as he glances at me sideways. He doesn’t like it when I talk to myself a lot.

  “Tough shit,” I say to him. “I’ve got no one else to talk to, so I am my own best company. I just hope Lah and Lee continue making sounds and eventually start using words, or I just might go crazy after a few years.”

  Near the cave, I find a pile of driftwood under the snow. I clear the ice off a couple of pieces, determining that they are smooth enough and large enough not to be a danger.

  “I think the kids would like these,” I say. “Then again, they are also perfectly happy playing with an old piece of leather, so they’ll probably just entertain themselves with the wrapper. Ha!”

  “Ha!” Ehd grins as he repeats the sound.

  “Really?” I reach up and tap him on the lips. “Are you going to start repeating sounds just like the babies?”

  Ehd leans down and kisses me without another sound.

  “Ha!” I say again, but he just stares at me. “Fine. Let’s head back to the cave.”

  I hold Ehd’s hand as we return. Once inside, he focuses on building up the fire, and I start our midday meal. I try to add as much as I can to make the stew flavorful so it will count as Christmas dinner.

  “I guess there aren’t any turkeys around here,” I say. “You never try to catch birds, do you? I wonder how you would. I don’t think a spear would work. Hmm.”

  I look down at the mat on the floor and wonder if I could weave bits of sinew into a net to catch birds. It would be nice to have more variety in our diet.

  “A net could be useful in general. I wonder what else it could be used for?”

  With dinner cooking, I start collecting long strands of sinew and lacing them together into something vaguely net-like. I’m not successful.

  “I sucked at mats in the beginning, too,” I say. “Maybe I’ll figure it out with some practice.”

  Lee wakes and begins to babble immediately, which wakes up Lah. She begins to cry, and Ehd picks her up to comfort her.

  “There is some benefit to silence.” I nod to myself as I pick up Lee and take him to sit by the tree. Ehd joins me with Lah on his lap.

  “How are you going to feel when the three of us are all talking, but you can’t?” I touch the side of Ehd’s face. The thought makes me sad. “Maybe since you don’t understand any of it, you don’t really mind. You don’t know what you’re missing. Still, I feel bad for you.”

  I lean against my caveman, and the babies reach for each other’s hands as they squirm in our laps. The fire warms the small cave, making it perfectly cozy despite the temperature outside. I can smell the stew cooking and the pine needles on the tree.

  Recalling similar smells from my past causes a brief pang in my heart but doesn’t detract from the love and warmth I feel here and now with my family. I never could have predicted myself in this setting, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

  Ehd wraps his arm around my waist and holds me close. I turn to look at him, and he runs his nose along the bridge of mine.

  “We are going to have a long and happy life together, Ehd,” I say softly. “I already know how this story ends, but it’s really all about the journey, isn’t it? It’s about you and me together.”

  “Luffs!” Ehd nuzzles my neck.

  “I love you too.” I snicker and turn my head to capture his lips with mine.

  When I was in my own time, I never could have imagined a life like this. Now I can’t imagine existing any other way. Just me and my caveman and our children together here in this cave. We have our family and our love.

  Or as Ehd would say, “Luffs!”

  ~~THE END~~

  Author’s End Note

  Thank you all for taking the time to read Luffs! I really never thought I’d write any of this, but I had fun revisiting these characters. I hope this answers a few questions readers might have had when reading Transcendence and that everyone enjoyed this little journey into Beh’s head!

  Ehd and Beh will always hold a special place in my heart, and I hope they do for you too!

  Now, onto the next project!

  Shay Savage

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