Heaven's Conspiracy (Child of Man)

Child of Man- Chapter 1

    Arreri Susejeb surveyed the slowly moving river with his wife Sulgosva as they sat at
midday meal in the small but thick wooded cabin on Bektva hill, overlooking the quaint
Russian village of Pusklava. Peering out the snow frosted window they could see the dark
water of the Omolon River, still visible in a couple of spots as it wound out of the Artic ice
and lazily flowed South across the vast expanse of the Russian wilderness. The river was
barely showing any sign of movement now as the winter had almost completed its task of
solidifying the top layer into hard solid ice. Heavy laden trees drooped their branches
earthward as snow continued to accumulate on the old forest giants lining the winding
watercourse.
    Arreri pondered the coming brutality of yet another winter, and the challenges he and the
townspeople would face to see the eventual return of a short yet spectacular spring.
    Soon the townsfolk would come together every ten days, gathering at the state store
run by his father's old friend Boris. The man who had become womewhat of a surrogate father
to him after his parents passing, would organize the group and then lead them to the stone
jetty on the rivers edge. The jetty had to be repaired each year after snow melt, as the
warming ice created a liquid onslaught of force upon the man made structure, usually
leaving about a third of its length from the previous winter. But now being seized by the
coming cold in a grip of compact ice, it provided the platform for the group to chisel out
a common water access for the towns residents. With pry bars and pick axes a coordinated
effort of industrious people set forth to remove a small square plug of ice, hauled away from
the jetty by two large gray work horses.
    On occasion Arreri would asssit his neighbors in the process, but was not as obligated
as the central townsfolk. His grandsire's father had originally built the ancestral cabin in
which he and Sulgosva now resided, and Arreri had come to respect the foresight and
intelligence of the simple man he had never met.
    His great grandfather had chosen the site for several natural benefits, shortly after
coming to this remote area of the motherland, when Czar Nicholas II had established the
town to provide lumber for construction in Russia's ever expanding cities. A low crescent
shaped mountain known as Danvera Hill, named for one of the founding matrons of the town,
loomed from Northwest to Southeast directly behind Bektva Hill, and spared the cabin
and small plateau on which it rested from the most brutal winds of the Arctic winter.

    When it came to water, the wise old Susejeb had been extremely brilliant. If Arreri had
need for water, it was only a short walk to the edge of the plateau, that ended in a straight
cliff to the bottom of the Omolon. Only a few meters from the cliff edge, a deep narrow crag
cut into the plateau. A bubbling natural spring had cut the gash into the hillside just above
the Omolon, spilling about a meter over it's eroded edge to mingle as a tributary with the
greater body of water. Unusual but not unheard of, the spring maintained a constant fifty-two
degree temperature and provided Arreri, Sulgosva, and their farm animals with an ever
available water supply. Arreri still used the block and pulley system his ancestor had
engineered those many years ago to effectively lower his bucket and retrieve the water
several meters below.
    "Arreri, Have you gone iceblind" Sulgosva asked loudly, a silly grin touching her perfect
mouth even as she said it.
    Jerked back from his musings, Arreri shifted his eyes to those of his beautiful, now
glowing wife.
    "Sorry my love", he said, a playful grin reflecting the one on Sulgosva's face.
    "I was just pondering life and it's trials, though when all is considered I can't think but
how I don't deserve the great gifts I have. Especially you", he concluded, his grin fading
to sincere appreciation for his lovely bride.
    "I'll remind you of that when your groaning tomorrow morning, about going to milk the
goats", she replied, her grin turning into a full smile.
    A light chuckle escaped Arreri's throat, and he reached across the small pine table to
caress his wife's dainty yet firm hand.
    "You certainly know how to put my feet back on the ground my love", Arreri replied
with a humorous smirk. "By the way, how are you feeling theis morning? Have you felt
the baby moving more"?
    A serious look stole the smile from Sulgosva's face, and Arreri felt for a moment he had
spoiled their playful mood. Though now just in her second month of pregnancy, Sulgosva
had felt much differently with this child than she had their first. A baby girl which had been
born prematurely and died shortly thereafter.
    Alanakva Tustier, Pusklava's most experienced midwife had helped them then. Alanakva
had delivered about half of the population in the town and surrounding region, and experience
had prepared her for dealing with the inevitable announcement she had to make to Arreri
and Sulgosva. She had for years delivered infants in the same condition as the Susejebs
first child. When but a young child herself she had experienced what few humans on earth
ever endure, without the certainty of immediate death. Though young, the reverberations and
shock of the Tanguska explosion would forever haunt her dreams. Only a few years after
the meteor impacted, there had been a noticeable transformation toward premature births
for the Russian people living in these remote areas of the Siberian forests.
    Sulgosva's umbillical cord was no more than a quarter inch in diameter when she
delivered, resulting in the abnormal development of the fetus she carried.

    In Alanakva's mind, even though she did not express it to the young couple, it was a
blessing the child had not survived. Such children rarely lived more than a year, and those
that did were usually mentally or physically dulled to the point that they were more burden
upon a family than a blessing. This was a painful truth, but one that reflected the harshness
of the reality and the landscape in which they all survived. One such survivor had been
Alanakva's own nephew. He had been born without ear canals and drums, completely deaf
and unfocused in his thinking. Even though he managed to survive into his seventh year, a
simple mistake had taken his life.
    Walking out onto the still ice covered Omolon in early spring, the child failed to hear the
splintering of ice cracking beneath him. His body was never recovered as it was swept under
the ice and carried down river. It had been a tragic beginning and end for the youngster
and all of her family.
    After their first child had died, Alanakva told the Susejeb's that though she could not be
certain, in many cases those women who had lost a child in this manner, could on the next
pregnancy produce a healthy infant. There was no way of knowing for certain. It had taken
a year to recover from their loss, and almost another to have Sulgosva conceive again.
    Regretting the question he asked, Arreri squeezed Sulgosva's hand and gave her his
most reassuring smile, seeing tears begin to well in her eyes. The smile that came to her
beautiful face was definitely unexpected with the thoughts running through Arreri's mind.
His look of perplexity gave way as Sulgosva's laughter and tears were replaced with a sheer
triumphant shriek of pure joy, delight reflecting in her silver granite eyes.
    "Oh Arreri", she began, "for the last month I haven't felt a single movement from within
me, and was afraid I would fail you again, and not give you the son you so desperately desire,
even as I do. This morning while you were working in the barn I felt the child move. And not
just move, he has been kicking and punching as if the god's had said, Child Awaken! Look
Arreri, just look at this".
    Undoing the buttons and removing her thick bed gown, Arreri was taken aback as he
saw even under the light fabric of her longshirt, the wriggling movements of the child
within his wife's womb.
    With delicate intent, not believeing his eyes, Arreri reached forward to place his hand
flat upon his wife's midsection. Reflexively, as if he had been shocked, he retrieved his had
feeling the movement and vibration of the babe's actions.
    A shout of parental delight escaped Arreri as he rose, grabbing Sulgosva and pressing
her close to kiss. As they came together he felt the child moving in the press, so much so that he thought he was feeling the babe all the way to his toes.

    No, not so. There was movement there!
    Unlocking from their embrace sudden fear crossed the expressions of the Susejeb's,
hearing the bleating of the goats and whinnies of the workhorse in the barn. A large pot
fell from the rack over the cook plate, and icicles mingled with snow fel from the cabins
slanted roof outcrops.
    Many times were such rumblings heard here and in the village of Pusklava. Avalanches
from surrounding mountains in the range were all but commonplace in the depths of winter
in this area. Never before however had Arreri heard such commotion from his animals, nor
he himself felt so unnerved. It had all the elements of an avalanche but not at this time
of year and not with such earth trembling fury.
    Rushing to the door of the cabin, Arreri threw the solid wood cabin door wide, scanning
the immediate vicinity including Danvera Hill for some sign of what was happening.
    Danvera Hill seemed to be vibrating along with the rest of the surrounding area, though
Arreri could not be sure as holding tightly to the door handle for support, he found that he
was still moving. Continuing to stare out across the reverberating hillsides Arreri determined that indeed, this was no avalanche, for it appeared that the earth itself was in the throes of some wild convulsion.
    Sulgosva reached her husband standing in the doorway, and started to ask, "Arreri what
is it", when the question turned to, "What was it", as the rumbling cavorting landscape
settled back to stillness.
    An aura of ghostly silence now permeated the hillside with the exception of some belated
noises from the barn. Arreri, and Sulgosva still only in her bedshirt, being overcome by curiousity coupled with fear, had walked several feet out into the freezing snow, nervously glancing about in all directions, unsure as to whether the event was over or might return any second. For several tense moments neither spoke or moved, the rapid beating of their hearts slowing, and a semblance of normality returning to the world about them.
    Assisted by the chill of wind upon them, clear thinking brought the couple back to their
immediate circumstances.
    Sulgosva turned to her husband and said, "Arreri I'm going back in the house and clean
up. I suggest you tend to the animals, and then we should go to town and see if we can find out what has happened".
    With only a nod for answer Arreri trudged through the ankle deep powder toward the
now quieted barn, continuing his surveillance of the hillsides for some clue to provide answers for the recent disturbance.

    Entering the house Sulgosva closed the door quickly behind her, calm now prevailing and with it the motherly instinct of concern for her unborn child. Rubbing the chill from her hands, her body inclined to the warmth of the fire, she became angry with herself for the lapse of attention the event had caused. To catch cold or worse now was not in the baby's best interests or her own.
    As the warmth of the fire penetrated her body and the chill subsided, she glanced about the disheveled interior of the cabin. The only real damage had been to an oil lamp sitting atop a desk by the thick cushioned chair Arreri deemed his second love.
    A slight smile touched her lips as she considered her husbands humor, and put her in a better mood for the next few minutes while she replaced the fallen items around the cabin and cleaned up the broken pieces of the lamp. Thank goodness, she thought to herself soaking up the spilled oil in an old rag, that the lamp wasn't lit when it had broken, it's flammable contents would have ignited the wood floor of the cabin and turned one frightful event into another.
    Her cleanup complete, she put a kettle for hot tea on the fireplaces cook plate, a small square metal box adjoining the hearth, into which hot coals from the fire could be shoveled, adding additional warmth to the cabins interior and allowing for a flat cooking surface.
    Sitting back down at the table she and her husband had so recently occupied, she
looked out the window catching a glimpse of Arreri in the far corner. He stood with hands on hips, halfway between the cabin and barn looking up at the Northern sky. With a slight coking
of his head to right, then left, though his back was toward her, Sulgosva deduced that he was trying to figure out something he was seeing off in the distance. Soft wispy flakes of snow now drifted outside obscuring her view, so she headed for the cabin door.
    "Arreri", Sulgosva called out, "What on earth are you looking at".
    Arreri, swinging around said loudly, "I'm not sure. It looks like a big cloud, shaped like
a jellyfish, but I can hardly make it out through the snow. The strange thing is, it looks green".
    "Well I think the clouds can attend to themselves", Sulgosva called back, "I'm waiting on
you to get ready so we can go the village".
    With a flippant shrug of his shoulders and a quick glance back at the strange billowing cloud, Arreri retraced his path back to the cabin.
    It took them almost an hour to reach the village from their home, the snow slowing their
progress, and Sulgosva had walked quite enough when they finally reached the state store in Pusklava, and entered the building.
   
    "Oh hello Sulgosva, Arreri. I was just telling Boris we needed to take a trip up to see if you two were all right", the perky well rounded shopkeeper greeted them. Her infectious smile and genuine warmth made Danlava somewhat of a mother figure to all the townspeople of Pusklava. She and her husband Boris could not have been more well suited to run the governments only authorized mercantile business in this small village, with the exception of the town sawmill.
    "A rather exciting day it's been", remarked Arreri. Does anyone know what all that rumbling was about earlier"?
    "No", Danlava replied, with concern displayed on her otherwise friendly face.
    "Boris is still down in the cellar cleaning up the mess from the flour sacks that fell from the shelves. About half an hour ago on the state radio, they reported that an earthquake had possibly occurred in the Arctic region along the Omolon, but confirmed reports would be issued later upon verification. If you ask me, that was no possible earthquake, it was one"!
    "My grandmother told me that once as a small child she had experienced something like that, but honestly I had no idea what she was talking about, until now. I sincerely hope it was the last one, until my great-grandchildren are grandparents", Danlava concluded.
    Stomping on the stairway and cursing like the old sailor he was, Boris steps echoed through the store as he made his way up from the cellar into the storefront. An angry glaring Danlava greeted him at the cellar door, and his demeanor changed as he realized they had customers.
    "Oh, my apologies Sulgosva", immediately came from the old merchants mouth. Boris entered the room red cheeked and embarrassed, but gave Sulgosva and Arreri a friendly smile.
    "I see you and Arreri are in good health Sulgosva. How is the baby coming along", Boris asked?
    "Very well, thank you Boris", Sulgosva replied.
    "Danlava and I were quite concerned for you this morning, what with all the world seeming to come apart during the earthquake".
    "So then you believe the reports, that it was an earthquake", Arreri asked the shopkeep.
    "I don't think there is any question", Boris replied, "and you know Arreri", Boris went on, "when your father and I fought the Kaiser under Admiral Ushakov in the First Great War our ship saw hell in the Baltic, and we got to see it with her. But never through all the battles, and all the explosions, was there ever such a rumbling as we went through today. Even the
greatest gun cannot produce the type of vibration we felt, so therefore I can only conclude that the reports were right, and it was an earthquake. Man has not yet learned how to move the earth itself", Boris chuckled.
    Arreri contemplated the logic behind the old mans statement, then glancing back over his shoulder said to Boris, "it didn't take long".

    The storekeeper, who was in the middle of retrieving his stock supply clipboard glanced up only momentarily, although he already knew what Arreri's comment pertained to before he ever looked up.
    "Has it ever", Boris snickered, observing the two women as they retreated into a small room adjoining the main storefront.
    The two ladies sat down in chairs set up by a large wooden table which was surrounded by a stockpile of colored fabrics. Danlava began pulling one, then another of the fabric rolls from the pile, all the while chattering away as Sulgosva listened with close interest, sipping some warm drink Danlava had poured for her.
    Arreri knew that Sulgosva was going to buy some fabric in anticipation of making clothes for the new baby. He also knew why she would sit and look at each different one, feeling it, pulling at its seams and so on. It wasn't for the quality of the fabric, nor to find something overly soft for the baby. His wife was a master seamstress and could tell good fabric from bad with a single glance. This was Sulgosva's time, when she and Danlava would gossip about the townspeople, and the stories in their lives.
    Sulgosva would tell him it was her way of keeping current with the community at large. Arreri wasn't so sure this was it. He believed that it was just the fact that there was a need for women to sit and talk together. Either way, it seemed to always lift his wife's spirit after a visit to the store.
    Sighing in exasperation, Arreri looked to Boris for help.
    "Come on", Boris said with a hearty chuckle, slapping Arreri on the back. "I've still got some flour sacks that need attention in the cellar, and if you'll help me, I'll let you see the new state catalog I just received. It has some interesting cross-breeds, that may help improve your egg production".
    "Proposal accepted", Arreri replied, and the two men headed for the cellar stairs. After all he thought, it will at least take up an hour or so while Sulgosva studies fabric.

*                        *                        *                        *                        *                      *

    Spring had come and gone in the Eastern Russian wilderness, summer now settling in with an abundance of showy flowers upon every rolling hill. Bees and butterflies added their contribution to the native beauty in a swaying array of dazzling colors, as a gentle breeze provided animation to the painted fairytale landscape of undisturbed meadows surrounding the forested banks of the Omolon River.
    "Ow, Damn Mosquitos", Arreri said, slapping the side of his neck. Why in such a wonderful time of year, did such annoying and painful creatures need to come out and destroy the tranquility of life, he pondered. Scratching the side of his neck with one hand, he looked at the dark splotch of splattered mosquito on the other. With a quick flick of his wrist
he tried to expel the squashed insect from his skin. Looking back again to the spot, he found the bug residue was still there.
    With disgust he reached to wipe his hand on his breeches then paused, seeing a momentary glint of sunlight reflecting a brilliant green where the bug had smeared on his hand, appearing like a dew drops prismatic reflection in the morning sun.
    "What is that", Arreri asked himself aloud, lifting his palm to his eyes, peering intently
at the greenish tint in the center of the dark splotch. And where were its legs? What kind of bug was this, he wondered to himself. Fear began to manifest itself in Arreri's mind as he considered the possible implications of the very strange insect that had just bitten him.
    He extracted a small pocket knife from his shirt pocket, and carefully scraped the remains of the insect onto a leaf, plucked from a nearby bush. Though at this stage the bug appeared to be nothing but a dark smear on the leaf, he carried the remains with him from the cliff side where he was gathering water for the cabin.
    Water bucket in hand Arreri opened the cabin door to hear the heaving expulsion of morning breakfast Sulgosva had just eaten. the guttural purging, sniffles, and sighs of sickness coming from the bedroom tore at Arreri's heart for his beautiful wife.
    Completely forgetting the insect bite which had previously absorbed his attention, Arreri walked to the kitchen and retrieved a towel, soaking it in the cool water he had just drawn from the spring. Wringing out the excess water he went to the bedroom, offering the cool cloth to Sulgosva.
    "Thank you Arreri", Sulgosva said brokenly, the apparent pain of the contortions visible in his wife's expression. She placed the towel over her forehead, and a slight sign of relief shown on her face.
    "Could you please rinse this for me", Sulgosva asked, handing the tin pot she'd been using to Arreri.
    Taking the pot, extending it to arms length and turning his head, Arreri said, "yes my dearest", and beat a hasty exit from the cabin to clean the container.
    Sulgosva heard his retreating footsteps as she lay down on the soft sturdy bed of the cabins only other room. Sleep was an expensive commodity these days for Sulgosva, and
she was grateful to be rid of the morning ritual, as the rumbling in her growing stomach eased, and allowed her passage to unconsciousness. Though it seemed only a few minutes had passed, Sulgosva realized she had slept for the better part of the day as sun broke in through the bedroom window on the west side of the cabin.
    Calling out to arreri, who almost immediately stuck his head around the door of the bedroom, Sulgosva maneuvered herself into a sitting position on the down feather mattress.
    "Would you like a cup of hot chicken broth", Arreri asked her?
    Sulgosva looked as though her mind was debating the issue with her stomach, then nodded her acceptance of the offer saying, "yes but only a little".


    Disappearing from the doorway, Arreri soon returned with the broth and handed it to his wife.
    "It smells delicious Arreri", she said, inhaling deeply of the drinks aroma. "I just wish our
little one would give it more than a taste before he makes me get rid of it".
    "I know love", Arreri replied, giving her a reassuring hug as he sat down beside her on the bed. "Alanakva told you, that your last month would involve a lot of morning sickness".
    "Yes I remember", Sulgosva said, "but I've been sick morning, noon, and night for the last
three weeks. I haven't been able to keep any food down for more than an hour, and I'm beginning to worry that the baby might suffer because I am so weak. Though I must say that the way he continues to kick and punch me, he seems to be getting stronger".
    Arreri could see the shallowness in Sulgosva's normally puffy pink cheeks, and felt helpless looking into his wife's listless silver granite eyes, seeing the fear associated with motherly instinct beginning to bear on her emotionally, as well as physically.
    "There now, calm yourself", Arreri spoke soothingly, "you won't do yourself, or the child any good if your mind is filled with worry".
    "Your right", she said, releasing an audible sigh. "I just wish the little one would give the food and water a chance. It's as though after everything I take in gets to where its going, the
child gets a taste of it, decides he doesn't like it, then makes me remove it".
    "Do you think you could go to town and see if Alanakva will come out to check on me and the baby", she asked?
    "Yes", Arreri answered hesitantly, not really thinking it necessary that Alanakva make the trip to the cabin, but he was willing to do it if it would help his wife's mental well being.
    "But remember", he cautioned, "that Alanakva may not be able to come here, what with
the sickness that was in the village last time I was there".
    "Thank you Arreri", Sulgosva said, handing him the now empty cup of broth. "If you can't get Alanakva to make the trip, see if she, or the doctor has medicine to send me".
    "I will certainly ask", Arreri answered, standing up to go return the cup to the kitchen.
    Sulgosva grabbed him and held fast, reaching up with her hand to pull his hair aside at the base of his neck.
    "What did you do now", she asked, seeing the large reddish-green discoloration on Arreri's neck.
    "Oh, I was going to have you look at this earlier", Arreri replied, "but forgot all about it. Wait a minute, I'll be right back".

    Sulgosva stretched back out on the bed, seeing Arreri leave the room, a sudden uneasiness seizing her inward parts. He soon reappeared and sat down next to her, seeing the pouting lips that told him Sulgosva was concentrating in an effort to make her stomach behave. He sat down beside her holding her hand and related the insect story which he'd experienced earlier in the day. He could tell that his wife was not particularly pleased with his recounting, and it only seemed to manifest her worry.
    "You make sure you have it looked at by Doctor Millkheen when you are in town tomorrow", Sulgosva stated, making sure Arreri understood this was not a suggestion. It was bad enough she was feeling so sickly, she surely didn't need a sick husband to attend to in her condition.
    "I will", Arreri promised, "and I guess I should show him this too".
    Reaching into his shirt pocket he retrieved the folded green leaf with the insect remains. No sooner had he displayed the item, than he wanted to kick himself. As soon as Sulgosva got a look she began frantically pointing to the tin pot next to the bed. With bulging eyes and clenched teeth she held on, Arreri barely getting the pot to her in time.

*                          *                                  *                              *                                  *
 
The following morning after finishing his chores with the livestock, Arreri reloaded the
cook plate and after checking on Sulgosva, set his steps down Bektva Hill on his trek to
Pusklava. He'd been roused from slumber by the sobs and choking associated with his
wife's morning sickness. In the early morning lamp light it appeared that he saw a dull
greenish haze in her eyes. His attempt to comfort her had proven pointless and she had
asked him to simply leave her in her misery in solitude. Arreri felt terrible for her but was
helpless as to what he could do other than make the journey to town and inquire of Alanakva or the doctor.
    It was another beautiful summer day of warm light and cotton ball clouds, slowly drifting
over the rolling hillsides of meadow and forest which made up the outskirts of Pusklava.
Arreri hummed an old depressing sea chantey his father had taught him as a child,
feeling in his heart very much like the lyrics of the song, that spoke of darkness and woe.
He had remembered to tuck the leaf containing the mashed insect from the day before in his breeches to show to the state doctor if he were available, but it was not the utmost thought in his mind. He was wrapped in his melancholy considerations about his wife and soon to be born child.
    Arreri became aware of the depth of his inattention to the here and now when he felt a sudden wetness on his fingers where he'd been scratching the side of his neck. Completely unaware that he'd even been scratching, he now looked to see the greenish-red gore staining his hand, feeling the large ruptured welt on his flesh, shifting his focus of thought. He couldn't see the wound, but felt of it closely. It was not painful in any degree, just merely itched.
Looking at the gangrenous color however suggested something more heinous in nature. Wiping the offensive fluid from his hand on a nearyby tuft of grass, he set forth again with
purposed stride, the puffy white clouds above him antithetical to the clouds within his mind.
    Arreri's somber mood only increased as he continued on to the village, and he immediately recognized the quiet upon reaching the smaller homes surrounding the center part of the town. It was altogether frightening to hear such silence in the hamlet, which at this time of year was always producing some sort of commotion or another.
    That was it! Arreri thought to himself the mystery of silence right before his ears.
The saw mill. Of course. Where were the sounds of whirling blades and the smell of fresh sliced wood. There were only two ways to know it was summer in this reach of the Siberian wilderness, one a warmth to the sun, and two the sound of cutting timber. He knew there was something seriously amiss.
    Now alerted by the unnatural surroundings, Arreri quickened his pace shortly arriving
before the front door of the state run store. Immediately he spotted the notice posted in bold bright red lettering on the structure's entrance.

                                              ATTENTION!
                                  By Order of the Ministry of Health!

            No purchases of food products may be made until further notice
                    and authorization from the State Health Minister.
              Additionally, all townspeople and outlying residents are encouraged
              to boil drinking water, and cook fully any and all food products
                                    thoroughly before consumption.
     
                                      Signed:  Arestina Bresvan
                                        Soviet Health Minister


    Arreri stood mutely consuming the depth and portent of the official notice, then reached for the door to find it locked securely. Emotionally alarmed by the document, which had failed to mention the reasons for the action, he made his way to the rear side of the store which served as the residence of Boris and Danlava. Knocking firmly on the door, Arreri waited for several moments, finally being rewarded as he heard the latch turning. He was ill prepared for the sight he witnessed when Boris opened the door.
    Reflexively he stepped backward when he saw the sunken eyed bent shouldered old sailor, looking as if he'd just stepped from the grave. His skin was the pallor of an olive leaf, and a slow drain of mucus, reminiscent of the slimy fluid he had wiped off his neck earlier, dripped from the old mans nose and eyes.
    "Boris are you all right", he asked the ridiculous question, "what is going on, you look like you've been in gulag. Is there anything I can do fro you".
    "No one can do anything", Boris slurred, smelling and appearing quite drunk as if he'd been on a serious drinking binge.
    "I would invite you in Arreri, but it looks as though the sickness hasn't gotten to you yet", Boris said, not seeing the wound on Arreri's neck.  "I wouldn't wish this evil upon my worst enemy", Boris continued, "much less an old friend".
    "But what is it", Arreri asked, genuine concern in his tone.
    "No one knows", Boris replied, "the state doctors that were here left yesterday, returning to Leningrad, to the State Medical University. They took several villagers who have already died, back to the laboratories there for further study. They told us they have never seen anything like this, so it may be some time before a cure can be found. But I'm sure the good doctors will be giving it their full attention, because they were showing signs of the illness themselves before they left".
    A choking sound followed Boris's words, or was it a chuckle. Arreri wasn't sure being engrossed in the story, trying to digest the implications to himself, the town, and his ailing wife. Sulgosva was depending on him to get her some help, so he asked Boris regarding Alanakva.
    As if the whole of the Arctic winter wind had suddenly blown up and smacked Boris in the face, the overweight shopkeeper sobered, then stiffened. He placed his hands over his face, and pulling down on the skin over his eyebrows appeared to be in great pain, his lips struggling to speak the words.
    "They buried Alanakva yesterday", Boris managed to get out, "right next to my beautiful Danlava".
      A tingle of physical shock flushed into Arreri's face and he felt as if someone had reached into his chest and yanked out his heart before ramming it down his throat. To see his
old friend in such pain of soul, foul green mucus filled tears streaming down his withering face. Wrapped up as he was in his own gloomy thoughts he hadn't even thought to inquire about Danlava.
    Arreri took a step forward in his concern for the man, but was quickly rebuffed as Boris stepped backward, putting the door between himself and Arreri.
    "Thank you Arreri" Boris said, recognizing the consoled gesture, bringing his palm up and out to stop his friend. "Please stay away from me, and anyone else you see in my condition. Go home, and take care of Sulgosva and may you both be spared this disease". With that Boris retreated inside the house, closing the door and latching it.


    Arreri, overwhelmed both mentally and emotionally, stood there for several moments staring at the door before him. He felt very cold in the clear sun that shone down from high above him. Finally, seeing no other recourse or assistance forthcoming, he set his steps back to the journey up Bekthva Hill, and the long dark climb back to his cabin.
    Making his way home, Arreri pondered the extreme events of the day, finding himself
brooding the he was now left with nothing but his own abilities to care for his ailing spouse, and their precious unborn child. His contemplations of the future left him feeling disillusioned and helpless, adding to his already gloomy outlook, and the dire circumstances which he must face. He had never witnessed a birth, how was he supposed to know what to do when Sulgosva reached labor. And what if there was a complication, he might very well do more harm than good. What of Sulgosva's diminishing health, would she be physically able to birth the baby, her strength failing her already and another month left before she reached full term.
    Engrossed in negativity, knowing the seriousness of the situation both he and Sulgosva faced, another onslaught of darkness lent itself to Arreri's considerations. How was he going to break the news to Sulgosva about the tragedy of the village? The deaths of their friends, and acquaintances. His wife was already downcast in spirit, due mostly to her physical condition. What would this do to her, to add this distress and burden to her soul? Should he lie to her? What was he going to tell her if he did, when she asked why he hadn't brought Alanakva or medicine from the doctor?
    Arreri began rehearsing the tale he would tell, remembering that he should fail to add as many gory details as possible in breaking the news. After settling upon a version he thought the least upsetting, continuing his uphill trek he was completely absorbed in his ruminations.
    Absentmindedly scratching at the base of his neck while he walked, Arreri paused at the apex of the first terraced hill, turning to gaze down at the village where his friends and neighbors, and all that he had ever known in his existence, was dying.
    Continuing to scratch, his dark thoughts were pushed aside, a quizzical expression coming to his face as he surveyed the forested banks of the Omolon river. The river had been running almost a full meter above average this year. It was commor with the onset of summer, but it wasn't settling back to it's normal height, as it had since Arreri could remember. Certainly some years it had risen to this height, but that had been due to heavy rains. However this year had so far been quite dry, and the water should have been lower. But this was not the abnormnality that Arreri took note of.
    "The trees", Arreri whispered to himself. His gaze shifted following the watercourse Southward from the village and out to the rim of the horizon, which disappeared into the mountains leading into the Eastern Siberian Sea.

    Now fully comprehending the discrepancy, the subtle intrusion became more pronounced. Some twenty meters on either side of the river, the trees and underlying vegetation held an olive green tint to its foliage, compared with the deep rich green of the forests surrounding the river. As though two seperate lines had been drawn up the river's path to delineate its course.
    In all his life, Arreri had not seen any visible difference in the vegetation along the riverbanks and the vegetation set back further from it.
    With the tragic events occurring in Pusklava and this noticeable foliage change along the river he considered the relation the two might have. There was little doubt to him that they were probably connected, but the information was of no use to him at this point.
    Sighing resignedly, Arreri turned to continue his walk when he caught a peculiar glint from the periphery of his vision. He looked again in the direction from which he caught the strange light, only to peer into the deep dark waters of the Omolon. Perhaps it was only a fish surfacing which had caught the sunlight at the surface, causing the reflection. Shaking his head, thinking now that the weight of his unraveling world had overwrought his dark thoughts, he was stunned at the display of reflective glitter he saw coming from the waters surface. He stopped, focusing again on the river staring into its cool depth. Nothing. Once more he shook his head, immediately picking up the reflective glint, making him realize that the phenomena he was witnessing could only be seen through his peripheral vision, and not his focused sight.
    This was all the man needed to confirm his worst fears, that the pure sweet waters that provided life to this community had been poisoned. By what, he didn't know. He hoped that the Doctors who had taken samples back to Leningrad for analysis would find some answers. He tried to picture them working with attentive care and determination, to identify and cure the afflicted of this heinous calamity. It did little to help, as Arreri knew that it would not arrive in time to save him from his helpless predicament.
    Arreri felt as if his heart had been filled with lead ballast when he set his steps to climb the rest of the distance to his ancestral cabin. Twilight had taken over as dusk enveloped the countryside, unfolding a myriad of bright twinkling stars above the Russian wilds. He paused at the cabin door considering whether to care for the livestock before seeing Sulgosva. He knew he was only trying to come up with a reason to avoid the inevitable news he would have to tell her. Stiffening his resolve he decided to get the undesired task over with.

    When Arreri entered the cabin, he caught the sounds of loud gut wrenching heaves coming from the bedroom, telling him that Sulgosva was in the same condition he had left her in this morning. Peering around the bedroom door, all of the days events were suddenly forgotten.
    Laying in a fetal position on the floor at the foot of their bed, Sulgosva's curled shaking form looked pathetic. Two tin pots full of what Arreri couldn't hazard to guess, lay at arms length from her, and another sat on the window shelf above, ready to be deployed if necessary. Her hair was disheveled and damp, apparently from her continued use of the rag she held to wipe the rejected matter from her face, and cool her head.
    Arreri reached down to caress her shoulder and Sulgosva jerked, startled and unaware that her husband had even returned home.
    "I'm sorry Sulgosva", he said, reaching down now to pick her up from the wooden floor and place her on the bed. When she looked up at him he was taken aback by the sight, and Sulgosva saw his somber expression change to wide-eyed fear and concern. She mirrored the expression herself a moment later and the man knew that the total package of misery had yet to be delivered for this day.
    "Stay here', Arreri said, quickly leaving the room and heading for the kitchen. He retrieved three oil lamps from the cupboards and walked back to the bedroom, lighting them from the
one burning lamp on their dresser. The additional light only made Arreri's worry more visible, and heightened his fear, detecting the ominous sprinkling of olive green tint reflecting unmistakably in his wife's dark silver granite eyes.
    Sulgosva, sickly and exhausted as she was reached a sitting position and extended her hand placing it on Arreri's neck.
    "Oh Arreri", was all Sulgosva managed turning her palm to look at the bloody green mucus clinging to her hand. She turned her husbands face to the side exposing the large festering wound, which only yesterday had been a small discolored welt, now quite infected and appearing gangrenous. She looked back at her hand and Arreri moved with skilled speed as the shudder hit her and her eyes began to bulge. The pot on the window sill making it to his wife in time.
    After the expulsions, Arreri cleaned his wife up and had her lie still as he began removing the full tins and the one she'd just used from the cabin, the pots contents beginning to permeate the air in the structure. Concluding the task, his single focus became his bride's comfort. He prepared Sulgosva a meal of broth and bread on the cook plate delivering it to his spouse and coaxing her into eating. She had no desire for the modest fare but Arreri insisted she must eat to keep up her strength.

    Sulgosva lay back with an audible moan while Arreri returned the uneaten portion of the meal to the kitchen. She hurt in every place on her body, and in her body. Knowing that if she slept it wouldn't be for long, she closed her eyes and attempted to find slumber. She began to fade by the time Arreri finished the household chores, returning the cleaned pots to the bedside.
    Arreri grabbed the lantern on the hook just inside the cabin door, and left the house picking up his bucket from the front stoop and taking the short walk to the cliff to draw water from Susejeb spring.
    His mind still reeling from the days events, Arreri found himself scratching at his wound and actually noticing it only when the oozing liquid began to cover his hand. The seriousness of the infected area was quite a contrast to the pain he thought, as it only produced a moderate itching.
    When his bucket hit the surface of the water, ripples of pale green luminescence cascaded outward in expanding rings, spreading out to the flowing waters of the Omolon.  The white light of the half moon shining above illuminated the spectacle in a dazzling display of shimmering beauty. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen, and reminded Arreri of a story his father had told him when he was quite young, about when he'd been on night watch aboard the ship he and Boris were stationed too.
    On patrol in the Baltic one night their vessel had sailed into a large sargassum covered portion of the sea, and the luminescent life forms of the vegetation had refracted a fantastic display of cool green and blue light. It had frightened one of the new seamen aboard who raised a tumultuous alarm unaware that the occurrence was a natural phenomenon. The problem was that this wasn't the Blatic, just another element of character turned awry in a seemingly never ending day of revelations.
    Drawing his bucket up Arreri observed the same illuminating ripples spread forth from the spring, noticing the color changes as they reached out to the Omolon. The colors intensity grew with the expanding circles, suggesting to him that the spring was keeping the majority of the poison from his drinking source.
    Taking his bucket from the spring locked hook, he held the lantern up to peer intently at the water seeing little of the effects he observed in the moonlit water beneath him. Grunting in mild satisfaction he used some of the water to wash the residue from off his wound, discovering that the offensive seepage had actually caked his shirt down the back. He removed the garment, wondering that he had not felt the liquid that had been trickling down his shirt.
    Pouring some of the water into a nearby wash barrel, he commenced to knead and wash
the foul stain from his clothing. Completing the chore, he hung the garment on a thin piece of rope suspended there for that purpose.

    Next he washed his festering wound and upper body, feeling at least somewhat refreshed
from the cleansing. Emptying the remainder of the bucket he retrieved more water from the
spring watching the phenomenon he'd observed before. With bucket in hand he headed back toward the cabin.
    He had only taken a few strides when a stinging in his left shoulder made him switch hands with his bucket to slap at the painful insect drilling into his skin. His aim was true and he hit the spot squarely, hesitantly bringing his hand back around to see the splattered remains of an olive green mosquito actually glowing in the moonlight from above.
    With a defeated shake of his head Arreri headed to the cabin, his greatest wish to put this day behind him and hope to awake to a better tomorrow. He felt as if a great evil had taken control of his destiny, and was sure he did not want to see it's end.

*                          *                          *                          *                        *                    *

    Arreri was awakened by the gentle stroke of a hand through his hair, his eyes opening to find morning had come and gone. He strove to focus, vaguely recalling where he was, his feet stretched out to the granite hearth, growing cool as its embers died. The soft padding of his leather chair had ensnared him with its comfort sometime in the night, coercing him into oblivion.
    Slowly he recalled bits and pieces of the previous evening, the least pleasant of which had been relating the tragedy of Pusklava to Sulgosva. When he had concluded his tale, she had simply laid back on the bed and closed her eyes without a word, almost as if she had mentally denied the story she had been told. Arreri, not knowing what else to do or say, kissed her cheek and headed out to care for the livestock, finding that here to was another crisis in the making as he found his farm animals beginning to show signs of the infection from the contaminated water.
    Complete with his chores he returned to the house finding Sulgosva crying hysterically. He attempted to comfort her to no avail as her unconsolable grief had taken hold on her spirit. At some point pure exhaustion had overtaken him, and he sat down in his chair being instantly wrapped in slumber, unaware of the time when he had succumbed to the need for rest.
    He blinked his eyes again looking up to Sulgosva's smiling face, and for just a moment hoped he'd simply had a horrifying dream. He returned her smile and reached for his wife's hand, pressing it to his lips. His smile froze in mid grin when he focused on Sulgosva's eyes, seeing the bright green sparkling within. His expression faded as Sulgosva's smile widened, and she asked him his desire for their morning meal. 

    If not stunned by Sulgosva's smile and capable demeanor, the mention of food by his spouse truly upset his faculties. Now in her last month of pregnancy, she had turned colors for the past month just at the mention of food.
    Standing up from his chair, Arreri felt a tugging on his neck, as though his skin had stuck to the polished leather of the seat. Disregarding the sensation he grabbed Sulgosva's arm, placing the back of his hand on her forehead, then feeling of her face.
    "Do you have fever my love", he asked, sincere concern showing on his face, unable to explain this miraculous transformation.
    With a girlish giggle Sulgosva playfully pushed Arreri back into his seat, walking to the kitchen with a spring in her step. Arreri stared after her slack jawed at the metamorphosis which had apparently happened sometime during the night.
    Standing up again, Arreri continued watching Sulgosva as she began preparing the morning meal. Perhaps his luck was changing he lied to himself, stretching to relieve the kinks in his back from sleeping in the chair. A terrible itch assailed him then, and he reached through the neck hole of his bedshirt to scratch at the irritant of his flesh.
    He felt of the peach pit size lump protruding from his shoulder, at the moment having forgotten the glowing mosquito that had bitten him the previous evening. The lump exploded under the press of his scratching, filling his hand and covering his bedshirt with a reddish-green fluid of putrid composition, similar to a thick paint.
    Looking at the disgusting ooze spilling through his fingers, Arreri fought desperately to keep from following Sulgosva's pattern of morning sickness. Suddenly the thought of eating was no longer palatable.