by Nicholas P. Snoek
Chapter One
She is Queen of all that she surveys!
The Gods have made her tall and strong; her body
Is the envy of everyone she meets, and
There's no one who dares to challenge her.
Could any woman not from far off Laya,
Come here to bathe her body in the April sun.
Would local wives have nerve to lie here naked
On this rock? How pathetic they are,
Most women. How subject to their men!
In her house, it is the man who hears and heeds.
She is Woman! In all her life she has not
Known a man who could impress her. A man
To face her toe to toe without averted
Cringing eyes! There were some handsome men,
Some strong, some archers of renown; but none
With character and power.
Perhaps in all those
Towns and cities in Tibet or India there are
Such men. But in her world, within her reach,
Anywhere she can ever go, in this
Section of Bhutan... where is there such a man?
He would be from far away, like the Traveler.
Her little spouse would be so hurt if he
But knew that he can only ever be
A shadow of the man she wants. And almost
Two years now, that they are married, but still
No son. She hoped that if she could not find
A man she might succeed in making one.
If she thought less, and wanted less... would more
Then come to her? Her pride is in the way?
Some of the teacher monks have said as much:
A fit humility becomes a docile
Wife. But she can never be just docile;
The part of wife is sacrifice enough.
And their small farm so far above the fertile
Valleys. What can they hope for. What could they
Achieve. Become, what? There is no hope...
Hmm, such a beautiful day. The sun so gentle
In the early season warmth. Spring water
Rustling down the mountain; soft breezes playing
In the trees. So relaxed she feels, like a cat.
Will her big man come here today? The Traveler
Coming from the east and leaving to
The west...curly black hair, flowing beard
A little Grey. A lighter skin than hers.
And oh, such penetrating looks from those
Deep eyes. Where did he come from? What is he?
No monk or hermit. Perhaps a merchant. Or he
Could be a spokesman for a great Neptune,
From a far off country on some official but
A secret quest.
Both times he came, he made
No sound. He suddenly appeared in front
Of her, and stood and looked without a word.
Although she was completely nude she stood
Full length in front of him and felt no shame,
Nor any fear. She thought of putting on
Her Ira, but she did not.
He smiled then,
Just a bit, and bowed. He bowed to her!
And then he walked away. Without a backward
Look he just strode on with those long legs,
And disappeared, so quick! And she just stood,
A little lost. She did not want to see
Him go, especially the second time.
It looks as if she hugs the earth,
Arms and legs spread wide, her shiny shoulder
Length black hair is reaching down as if
It too is holding to the rock. She is
Already tanned, her skin a soft and smooth
Dark brown in one unbroken tone the whole
Way down. She looks quite tall, though lying down,
And fittingly proportioned.
The late day sun is lengthening the shadows
Of stately pines across the rocky meadow;
The sky is losing blue to twilight Grey.
The silver tips of springtime trees resist
This dying of the light and wave in silent
Warning to the sunshine devotee...
You're not alone. You're not alone!
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Genesis 1.
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ...And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh thereof: And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.... And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."
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The woman in the clearing is oblivious to a furtive movement between the trees, some seventy feet away on the right. Something or someone is coming! A large and almost upright form. An ape? A man? It's moving towards the woman on the rock, keeping her in sight, stalking her.
She lies there motionless, absorbing the last of the waning sun, thinking of her childhood in far away Lay close to Tibet, where the women wear their hair long and wild.
She hears a sound on her left. She looks around quickly. Yes! It's him! The Traveler has found her again. He comes confidently towards her. He looks the same except for a bundle over his shoulder.
She rises, and faces him. Now she does not even think about her kira. He stops, closer this time than before. He smiles, and puts down the bundle to one side. And he speaks...
"Hello, what is your name?"
"Cheoki."
"May I rest here with you?"
"Yes, of course."
They sit down side by side. He does not stare, or act in any way uncomfortable about her nakedness.
"You enjoy the sunshine."
"It feels so good."
"It does." And without another word he too, removes his robe. She is surprised. She does not know what to do, so she just sits without moving or speaking. And he does the same.
He is well built, and surprisingly muscular for one so lean.
After a few minutes, he puts his arm around her, and pulls her gently closer. She does not protest. He puts his head down to hers, and caresses her temple with his lips.
She tips up her head, and he kisses her forehead, her eyes, her mouth. And his other hand now slides along her cheek, and her neck, and down her arm, and up over her breast.
He explores her yielding body, with his hands and his mouth. There is no sound. They are intent on each other and do not notice that they are being watched.
Thirty feet away there is a hairy two legged man-ape, or ape-man, standing half hidden behind a tree. He is completely covered with reddish blond hair about two inches long.
He has strange deep set eyes, sort of green-yellowish, like a cat. His ears are a bit pointed, and the hair on his head looks piled up like a cone. A massive jaw, but almost no chin, like an ape. There is less hair on his face, almost none on the upper part, and no beard or whiskers.
His hands are like a man, but hairy on top. His legs are man-like, but short for his height. Very wide feet, also hairy.
A barrel chest, muscles on muscles!
He watches the man and woman as they come together; they strain and heave, and then slowmove with gentle touch, turn by turn. He is aroused. He seems uncertain what to do, several times turning to go, but then drawn back to watch.
Then slowly he walks towards them. He has a limp. One leg seems shorter. He stops about fifteen feet away. The woman is on her back; the man lies on her, spent. They do not see the apeman till they roll aside and separate, still breathing hard.
She gasps, "Who's that, look! What is that?"
The traveler quickly grabs his ko and pulls a long knife from its folds. He steps between the woman and the creature and waits to see what is coming. The apeman does not move. He also waits. The traveler takes two quick steps towards the beast and with a threatening gesture, yells "Go, get away. Go! Go!"
The creature seems to understand. He half turns and backs away a little, then gets behind some bushes. But he does not leave. He stays just out of sight, and waits, and watches.
Hastily the man and woman get dressed again, and look ing back often to see if they are followed, hurry down the mountain. The apeman does not look at them. His long arms hanging limp, he wanders erratically into the trees, as if not seeing anything.
Cheoki, "Was that a Yeh-Teh?"
"Yes, I guess so. Have you seen any around here before?"
"No, never. I've never heard of anyone else seeing them here either."
"Probably just passing through, then. He did not seem dangerous. Just curious."
"I suppose so."
"Will you be here again?"
"Yes."
Without another word, they part. She wanders homeward, thinking. Is this the way of a lover. Is he her lover? What sort of woman is she, to let him do this. She should feel shame. But she does not. It seemed... right. How strange. A powerful man.
Her little husband would go crazy to learn of this. It will be hard to keep him from seeing the bruises on her back, as he likes to make the creature with two backs and with six legs.
But what a man, this traveler!
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It is two weeks later. Cheoki has several times come round the spot of her tryst, but without undressing, and staying back a good distance, to see if anyone is around.
Having seen no one since then, she is back to sunbathing today.
How smooth this naked rock against her naked belly. She could dream and sleep and sleep and dream all day. About a man, about no man, about a son. Soon she should get back to that poor little farm.
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Genesis 6.
"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose."
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What! No! A sudden weight on her legs and back. She heard no sound! What is this? Some hairy smelly foul big monster is crushing her! "Get off me, brute!"
Is this the Sa-Bdag spirit-creature come to take her into some cave to punish her for her mockery? Can this be happening?
"Get your paw off my mouth! You're hurting me;I'm not yelling! And get your hairy arm off me!"
She struggles with all her might to pull away but it's no use. How can he hold her with such force and yet be so quiet? He is not even breathing hard.
If she cries out he may choke her! She will keep still.
Yes, he takes his mitt away. She dares not turn to look. His arm still locks her to him. What strength!
He bends her forward. One hand is doing something between them. "Oh no, No, NO!" He wants me! "No, NO, HELP, someone Help!" She fights, she pulls, pushes, twists and turns, in vain!
Without effort, almost gently, he enters her. "Get out of there, you Bastard!" She tries to pull away, but there's no point... she is a fussing child before him. Two ham hands one on each hip hold her like a doll, and there is nothing she can do! She tries desperately to reach him, but the only way is down past her legs. She scratches and claws at his legs, and tries to move them. Her nails don't penetrate at all; they have no effect. His feet seem rooted to the rock and his legs are just like tree trunks.
He hardly moves his body, pushing her back and forth over his member like an oversized foreskin. How belittling!
Degrading! He makes her feel so small, so helpless.
He stinks.
He is growling his contentment. A deep earthquake guttural sound. Not human. This must be the Yeh-Teh!
He is done!
But he does not let her go. He turns her, and looks her up and down. She feels dirty! She feels used. Her knees shake so bad she cannot stand, and slowly she sinks down.
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Luke 1.
"The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused... And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son... Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee...."
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He holds her arm with his left hand, not very tight but when she tries to move, his grip almost breaks her bones.
"Okay, what now you beast, you've had what you want, let go. Let me go!" He just looks at her without a sound.
This is the creature who watched them.
"Okay, okay, let me go. What do you want?" He pokes her breast with his finger. He grunts.
"Stop that!"
Grabs her hair and pulls it as if to see if it comes loose. He smells it and snorts. He starts to sniff her all over. Licks her down there.
He stands upright and looks up and down the hillside.
Then into her eyes, calmly. He seems almost human now. With one swift move he girdles her with his long arm and picks her up.
She groans, "What now!" How humiliating! How maddening!
He strides along the side of the mountain, and after two or three steps he swings her over his shoulder, like a sack. She can feel the extra sway as he limps, when the weight goes on his left leg. The stink is bad, and his shoulder burrowing in her belly... she gets suddenly sick, and vomits violently. Just misses getting it all over his back. He takes no notice of this, and keeps on walking.
Here we go. A piece of baggage. A Yeh-Teh toy. A pet!
A pet! No, she will NOT be an AMUSEMENT! She has to do something. He held her mouth, before. She wonders if noise might have an effect, maybe frighten him.
She starts to scream with all her might. He sets her down. And she continues screaming. He puts his hand over her mouth forcing her to stop. He looks around uncertainly. He does not seem to know what to do.
And the moment he takes his hand away she screams again. He covers his ears. He cannot stand her screams! She starts to run away but he follows her. She turns and faces him and screeches her loudest. He stands and looks at her in annoyed disbelief.
She turns and runs again. This time he just watches.
She scoops up her clothes and runs, not looking back at all.
She runs and runs, as fast as she can, till she gets to the stream behind the shed.
She washes and washes in the icy water, and puts on her kira, and straightens her hair.
And softly she enters the house, the home of her sweet husband!
