Encompassing Reality by Richard Lord Read Free Book Online Page A

him sideways.  “Then you’re a pretty bad lover.  You don’t pay any attention to her.”
    He considered her comment.  Then he responded, “I’ve been married and I have children.”
    “Where are they now?”  She cut deep and she knew it.  She didn’t know the entire story, but she wanted to make her point.  Realizing she really didn’t know the circumstances that brought him here she brushed her fingers through her hair, ready to follow him again.  She said, “You were right.  Snake is pretty good.”
    He considered how many thousands of ways he tried to change outcomes for everyone, but he smile and said, “Cows taste a lot better.”  He replied while looking up at the sun.  He held out his hand, arm’s length in front of his face and began folding fingers back into his palm. Then he begins to walk.
    “When do we come across one of those?”  She asked.
    “There aren’t any cows in the desert.  Mostly it’s lizards, mice, rats, snakes, birds and wolves.  Although it’s been a while since I have seen a coyote out here.”  He explained.
    “Oh.  So what do coyotes taste like?”  She asked.
    “Generally people don’t eat coyotes.  Usually it’s the other way around, although coyotes, like desert foxes, mostly eat mice and lizards.  Actually most canines eat mice.  However, when they hunt in packs they sometimes eat deer or even cows.  But coyotes are usually lone.”  He picked up his step.
    She could tell he was walking faster because he was irritated with her, but she was curious.  “What do you mean by that?  The way you used the word pack.”
    He looked at her, “Ahh, Well, let’s see.”  He thought for a moment on how to explain and then decided to just begin talking.  “We, as humans, chose to be social.  For the same reasons wolves and other species choose the same survival strategy. It may not have been the best plan, but once it was conceived, it was the only plan available for survival.  Humans will kill other humans, especially if they see them as vulnerable.  Therefore, a pack may gang up on someone, meaning attack in numbers, or they will see the other person has a pack of their own and determine that it is not worth the risk to attack.  Basic Risk vs. Reward thinking.  If you are solo, then your best plan of action is to form a pack.  The same is true of species that humans hunt and vice versa.”
    She considered this concept and determined it was true.  Although her experience with other species was limited, she certainly knew how this worked down where they had come from and where she had spent her whole life.  Then she turned to him and asked, “So if you can do that magic thing and take us anywhere, why are we in the desert?”
    “Because you could use the sun.”  He smiled to himself at the joke, but knew she didn’t know about beaches.
    She nodded.  “Ok, when I get enough sun, can we go to one of the other places?”  She asked.
    “If you can find food here, then you can find food anywhere.  One day at a time, girl.”  At that, he stopped and turned towards her.  “By the way, what’s your name?”
    She asked, “What’s yours?”  Then she watched his brows furrow.
    He looked at her for a long time and then he said, “I’ve gone been called a lot of things.  You can call me by the name I was originally given.  It’s Adam.  So out with it, what is your name?”
    “My mother called me Tomorrow.  She said she got the name from something she remembered the martyr saying to her.  He said he never wanted her to stop hoping for tomorrow, so she named me that.”
    “Well, your mother is about as good at naming people as my daughter was.  I suppose they would have gotten along well, had they met under better circumstances.  And can you stop calling him the martyr?  His name was Phillip.”
    “How do you know that?  Did you know him?”  She asked, her heartbeat rising.
    “Not well.  My Grandson knew him better.”