Untouched/Incomplete - Part One

I am Untouched.

I am whole.

I have not been changed or sold.

My brother Kempo is Incomplete. He is partial. He has been changed and bought. As my father, Dunga, was before him. As was my sister Kimpa. My mother was Untouched until she died. That was many years ago.

Most others in our community are Incomplete. My friends envy me, especially that festo Brono. He has jealous eyes. He wants what he can never have. They say being Untouched is easy, that Mother Fortune has smiled upon me and blessed my body. They say the Rakas pay well, that it is selfish to be Untouched. Think of what you can do for your family, Dogo.

I say that I am exactly the way the Father has made me.

Our shelter is small but enough to survive with. We each have our own sleeping mats. Mine is made from Dawa Grass that Kimpa weaved together. It smells of the wild. Kempo sleeps on Orani feathers that he spreads out every night. He says it gives his dreams flight but Kimpa and I laugh at this. He is young and tana, a believer in things. We prefer our Dawa Grass and smells of the wild.

We live next to several families, all related to us by some distant cousin. There are the Jana, the Lipo, the Rofotopolits, the Castas and my favorite the Bengas. My best friend Dava is a Benga. He is very tall, much taller than me. He is the tallest man in all of Gaia 2, our community. I am faster than he is and beat him in every foot race.

The Rakas live in Jharana. It is many miles away, up in the Cloudlands. We only see them when they are looking for Untouched. They come into our community with their large wagons and sacks of Dengo. You can exchange them for food and other nice things at the shops in Gaia 3. Their Dengo are not like ours. Theirs are shiny and new and smell like fresh flowers and perfumes.

Because I am Untouched, I gather most of the food for my family. Mostly we live off of groundrats and wild dogs. I am a very good hunter. The groundrats are easy to catch. They live inside holes out in the Dirtlands. You can spot them easily. I use a net made from Minnabrush to cover the holes. Then I stomp on the ground to frighten them. They startle easily and run right into my net! The wild dogs are smarter. You have to outthink them. Usually I will use a gutted groundrat to lure them closer to me. Then I will surprise them from behind a rock and spear them. They are tough and proud. Sometimes it takes many spears to take them down. But they are worth it. Kimpa cooks them deliciously.

We spend most of our days singing and dancing. The Rakas say our lives are simple and sometimes mock us. We do not see it that way. We live our lives without the complications of possession. We eat. We sleep, we have joy and happiness. We kiss girls and make families. We live in safety. The Rakas fill their lives so full of things it is a wonder they even know they are alive at all.

This is my life. It is a good one. I care for my family and they care for me.

I am Untouched. I am whole. And my name is Endo.