The Mighty Kaieteur Shares a Secret (standard:Creative non-fiction, 1273 words)
Author: Terry Shaw	Added: Jul 12 2005	Views/Reads: 3237/2192	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The author indulges in a reflection of a past civilization who once dwelled on this mountain top, on top of the tallest single-drop waterfalls in the world. A legend steeped in history, seen through current eyes.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

Great One? 

An owl calls. A fox looks at them from the bushes hoping they'll throw
him a morsel or that they would stop turning so often, he could come in 
and check around the fire. The baboons howl in the distance echoing off 
the Pakaraimas, guarding the hidden depths of the treasures of El 
Dorado. And the Potaro tumbled over the side roaring down to the rocks 
below, foaming into blinding mists. 

White curtains of mist shade the sun as it rises somewhere in the east,
not yet showing its face. The young men stir as Kaie's voice rings out 
and as they listened they thought they heard old Kaie shouting for the 
Great One, thanking Him for keeping his people safe, telling Him that 
he was coming to be with Him forever, to watch over his tribe as they 
survive for all time. 

Then they are suddenly fully awake. The mist is thick but they behold
Kaie in a canoe standing stronger than they have ever seen him in their 
youth, his arms outstretched to the heavens, the canoe was rapidly 
moving to the edge, through the mists. 

Then with a triumphant cry of gladness, of joy, of indescribable
contentment, Kaie and the canoe reached the edge. 

With arms outstretched, Kaie and the canoe seem to be suspended just
over the edge, poised in a frozen moment. Then the mist embraced him 
and huge flocks of swallows rose up, swarming overhead. 

The young men ran to the side shouting for Kaie, but it was just milky
mist, peaceful, soft, slowly moving, milky mist. They finally sat and 
waited; the sun winked, then smiled, and sucked the mist away revealing 
the rocks below. Alas no sign of Kaie or canoe. They went down the 
side, climbed down until the sun was directly overhead, no Kaie, no 
canoe. 

As they went away from the top of the falls, past the burnt village,
they remembered all that Kaie had said. It was only as they related 
what he had said with what they saw, that they truly believed that Kaie 
was there with the Great one, watching over them. They then understood 
that the sacrifice he spoke of was of himself. The Patamoona Tribe was 
safe. 

The threat of the Caribishie was gone. They smiled and started to run,
as the dogs from their own village ran out to reach them and the 
children screamed their return. The parrots squawked loudly overhead. 

Parrots...parrots... there are two right above my head in those trees. I
must have fallen asleep. It's no longer warm and sunny, but bitingly 
chilly. The birds are swirling in formation and swooping down under the 
falls in a long line. Then there are more birds, more formations and 
down they sweep again. 

Again and again more birds swirl and swoop. Assemble overhead as in an
air-show, with the sleekest of airplanes. Way up in the skies, they 
swirl in huge circles, changing formation, flying in different shapes 
and patterns, before suddenly sweeping down and under the roaring 
Kaieteur. 

But wait, that's really an airplane droning in the distance, sounding
closer. I treaded water, grabbed my towel from the riverbank and dove 
for the bushes. An Islander swooped down over the falls and climbed to 
circle and swoop again! The pilot was showing off the grandeur of the 
Mighty Kaieteur Falls to awed tourists whose sole interest is viewing 
the world's tallest single-drop waterfalls. 

Terry Shaw 


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