Otzi the Iceman was a mummy found in South Tyrol, Italy. He was over 5,000 years old. Is your mind boggled right now??!! Mhm, some hikers had found him, and thought he was just some hiker who had ventured off the trail, and met a terrible death. Unfortunately, they poked at him, trying to lift him and damaged the corpse. But boy, did scientists discover crazy things from him. Like, he was lactose intolerant. Bruh?? How did they find that? We later discovered, that he was murdered/ambushed. An arrow head was found in his shoulder. Found in the Otzal Alps, he was named Otzi. Our teacher asked us to write a story in regards to the iceman, using real facts. I’m telling ya, I jumped in my seat. For once, I could write what I wanted. Not like when you had to write an opinion on a given topic. I could write, anything, and just let the ideas flow. I swear, Tightrope from The Greatest Showman was playing in my head at that moment. Obviously, base it off facts, and it can’t be fantasy, but still. I finished it, and wanted to share. I hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I did writing it! (Also, did you know Brad Pitt has a tattoo of Otzi??!!)
I was sitting beside the campfire, its vicious orange gleam glowing like a group of fireflies huddled together. The meat was still cooking, and I could hear it crackling atop the fire. The pegs were standing tall, and mighty. I was tired, and after The Festival of Arola, all the singing, dancing, and food, I was aching all over. I could see Ygnatzi’s warm smile, brighter and bolder than the fire, and her adding with a chuckle,
“Pa, you are getting older! Even old Bildi, who has been giving us milk for years, is stronger than you!” I would just laugh and say, “You are getting older. Stronger, and fiercer. And your combat skills never fail to best me. Or anyone.” She would smile and go take the staff, run outside and play with Minhil. The crackle of the fire interrupted me, and I brought my attention back to the food. I ravenously pulled the meat off the stick, and ate it hungrily. The warmth of the meat comforted my yearning heart. It filled the coldness of the mountain top. The Ibex I had caught was fresh and full of meat. It was one of the biggest I had caught yet! Even Treeti couldn’t find an Ibex as big as mine! Treeti sat at the edge of the rock, staring out in the darkness. A figure came out from behind and sat next to him. He didn’t notice until they spoke. “Are you sure about this?” Treeti jumped in his seat, and looked over. “Can’t you make some noise or something? At least so that I know you’re here?” “If I did that, I would forget how to keep quiet, and on an assignment…” The voice trailed off. It was a woman. She shrugged, and then smiled. “Narvi, what do you want?” “Are you ready to do this?” “What?” Narvi rolled her eyes and looked upward. “Murder Otzi. Are you sure about this whole thing?” The stars glimmered into view. Treeti gulped.
“I don’t know.” “Yeah? Well you better be. We’re heading out tomorrow.” “I don’t know, Narvi. I… what is your plan?” Narvi laughed. “Treeti, I am a trained warrior. I don’t need a plan.” Treeti’s brow furrowed. “In case you forgot the position of Otzi, he is a respected member of the tribe, a seasoned warrior, the wisest of our village, and a teacher to all. Do you think his death will go unnoticed? You need to have a plan to kill and hide his murder.” Narvi just closed her eyes and gazed upward, eyes closed. She sighed. “You know, my family was killed, and we were the wisest in all the village. My grandmother was the shaman of our village. She helped so many people, including my closest friend. She was out on a walk one day. Alone.” Narvi looked away, eyes still closed. “I knew someone should have gone with her. She was murdered, and no one bothered to send a search party, at least find her killers. They betrayed her. My friend just packed her things along with her family, for they feared something of that degree would happen to their matriarch.” Treeti’s expression softened. “How did you know she had been murdered?” Narvi opened her eyes, shrugging and throwing her hands up. “We didn’t, but my grandmother would have no reason to run.” “What if she got lost?” Narvi just laughed. “She knew those woods better than anyone else. That idea is just inconceivable.” Treeti sat silently. Narvi looked up. “Why do you want to kill him anyway?” Treeti gritted his teeth furiously. “The council was supposed to give me the position of tribe leader. I had it in my blood. My grandfather was. My father was. I would get to have the position. But no. They picked Otzi. I knew the festival would come, and the tribe leader would go atop the mountain and procure a bushel of apples to prove their worth. They’re deserving. I want to be tribe leader. If Otzi never returns, they will have to give me the position.” “You are a fool. First of all, they will know you are the only one who craves the position, and murder you. Plus, you want to be tribe leader? For what? To get nice things? To eat nice food? What?” Treeti boiled up. He screamed. “For what I deserve!!!” He immediately regretted that.
I heard a shout. It was loud, and furious. I couldn’t quite make out the words. Locals? But up here? No one lived here. And all the animals were down, in a lower elevation. Perhaps one had wandered off? My head was spinning with a billion questions, and a billion different thoughts. Then I thought of Minhil, my youngest daughter. She was in love with nature, and said any sound you heard was nature’s music. No matter what the noise was. I slowly stood up, wincing as I felt a shocking pain spiral up my legs. I have felt this many times before, but I can’t quite put a name to it. Our village elder says that there are forest devils that are casting lies in my head. I don’t believe him. After I had gotten up, I traced the noise. If it was truly a beauty of nature, I would want to see it, and tell Minhil all about it when I get home. It came from the edge of the snow cliff, which seemed impossible. It was a cliff! I would be able to see it. The edge was quite a distance away. I begrudgingly trudged over there.
Narvi gritted her teeth. “You idiot! How deaf do you think he is?” Narvi paced around in circles. “What are we gonna do now?” Treeti’s voice was quiet, fearful. Narvi slapped her hand to her face. “I don’t know, you just signaled him! He’s coming this way!” She kept running around, picking up pace. “We need to hide. After I left my village, I hid out here. I know this place pretty well.” She glanced below. “The rocks aren’t very steep, we can slowly climb down.” Treeti nodded his head violently, and followed Narvi. They slowly grabbed on rock by rock.
I reached the edge of the cliff, slowly, inching over to see the edge. Nothing. Just the cliff-side. I actually couldn’t see past much, but I didn’t dare look any further, or else I’d fall off. Disappointed, I went back to the fire, but it lay in sticks. The snow and wind had probably blown it out. I sought out a rock, and lay there. The sky was filled with black ink, even darker than the one that Ygnatzi wrote her stories with. She wasn’t very good at it, but was coming along nicely. She was the only girl in the village who wanted to write; best to keep that a secret. The council wouldn’t approve of a girl taking on patriarchal jobs. In tradition, the family patriarch would write all the stories of our people onto the wall, all the stories for that sun cycle. Ygnatzi wrote almost every evening, and I saw the tears in her eyes when I told her she mustn’t share these with anyone. She had simply told me, “But Pa, I want to transform everyone by the written word! I want to share inconceivable ideas with everyone! To show them my dreams!” “It’s too dangerous! What would the council say?” Ygnatzi clutched the parchment. “Why? Does it threaten your position amongst them?” I looked away. That was mostly true. But what else would the council say? They could kick us out of the village for me to allow her to perform such tasks. Where would we go? My eyes slowly closed, falling into a deep sleep.
Treeti felt his hands grow sweaty, and tired. He whispered to Narvi. “How much longer do I have to hold this? That fall doesn’t look friendly. Narvi glanced down below, at the elevation. She couldn’t even see land. “I think he’s gone.” She pointed her chin toward a rock above. “Don’t grab that one. It was wobbly.” Treeti didn’t nod, and he avoided that rock as if it were a deadly poison about to seep through his veins. He avoided even touching that area. He slowly got up, hand slipping from the rock. His boot hit Narvi’s head violently. “TREETI!!!” “Sorry.” He responded softly, hoisting himself up the cliff. Narvi joined putting her hands on her hips. “Mighty nice of you to help me.” Treeti looked, and then turned around. “Huh?” Narvi gritted her teeth. “You clueless oaf. This is probably why the council didn’t pick you.” Treeti planted his boot deep in the snow. “I will get that position. Watch me.”
The sky slowly faded into view, and as my eyes adjusted, I saw the pile of sticks, burnt to a black at the center of the pile. I slowly compiled the world around me, and got up. I stretched at first, to prepare myself for the journey to the top of the mountain. I had been traveling for three days, and I would have to wait another three to see Ygnatzi and Minhil again. The thought of seeing them again motivated me, and I continued north. Going further up, the plants and animals completely disappeared. Not that there was much life back down. The wind whistled louder and louder, and the tune wasn’t pleasant or even soothing, like a song in the distance. It was chaotic, untamed, and ringing in my ears. I trudged along, my footsteps getting louder as the snow grew deeper. Elder Baktui said the point was when you could see all the three hills united. I turned around, and saw nothing but snow. I wasn’t high enough. I kept trudging along, hoping to get there soon.
Treeti and Narvi were hiding behind a rock. She quickly turned her head, and saw Otzi walking. He walked like a fat man, in her opinion. “The ice is just going to get louder with each footstep. If we draw back, I can get a good shot at him with my arrow.” Treeti turned to her, eyebrows raised. “Why would we go down?” Narvi sighed. Treteti brushed it off. “Never mind. Whatever is easier to kill him.” Narvi started walking, but Treeti grabbed her arm. “And don’t forget; you only have one shot. If you miss, he will surely see us.” “No he won’t, you brainless buffoon! We’re behind a rock!” Treeti wrinkled his nose. “I thought you said we were going down?” Narvi grunted. “For god’s sake, just get back. Narvi took out her bow and arrow from her back, and drew. She aimed for his back, and had the arrow slightly above the desired point. She would have the shot arched, and then hit. It was a basic craftsman move. Simple, and always a winner. She squinted one eye, then… released.
I continued, feeling the ice crust around my eye. I heard a whoosh, very prominent, cutting through the wind. Stronger wind? Before I could decipher it, something hit my back, and a searing pain reverberated around my entire body. After a little while, my back ached, and it felt wet. Like a searing burn from inside the blacksmithing shop. I reached to pull it out, every so slightly turning my head, not noticing a large stone in front of me, I tripped, and hit an even larger stone, and around me spread an inky blackness.
Treeti ran forward. “What are you doing??!! If he’s alive, he’ll know it’s us!!” “He’s dead. Look.” Narvi shuffled over, bending down to open an eyelid. “He’s dead alright.” Treeti smiled and sighed. “Now how am I to bring this about the council?” Narvi raised her arms. “You only hired me to kill him, nothing else.” Treeti ignored her. “And his daughters, what do I tell them?” Narvi stopped. Still. Unmoving. “Daughters?” Treeti nodded. “Hmm. Yes.” Nothing of what Narvi was thinking came to him. “He had a family?” “Has. They are still alive. I technically have no intent in killing them.” “You hired me to kill a man, who had daughters?” Treeti lowered his eyebrows in confusion. “Do you have an issue with that?” Narvi looked away. When she turned around to face him, a tear slowly slid down her cheek, silent, but hitting the ground like a bullet. “My father left me and my family when I was a young girl. And you,” more tears ran down. “You hired me to take this man away from his children?” Treeti stared at her. “Narvi. Narvi.” “No, no. How old are his girls?” Treeti stood defiantly. “That’s none of your business.” Narvi unsheathed a blade. “It very well is.” Treeti backed away. “Now, hold on. I… one of them is small, her name is Minha, or something like that. The other one is almost a grown woman. Her name was Yggi, or something.” Narvi slowly put her blade away. “You know, I never wanted to be a murderer. A killer. But my life forced me too. My position.” Narvi looked down at Otzi. “My mother had abandoned us one day, and all that was left was me, my brother and my sister. I tried different jobs, but none of them could provide enough.” Narvi just sat there, tears falling down one by one. “Now,” She held back her tears. “Now every week, I go to a small tree, and there lie two stones, side by side, with my sister and my brother’s names engraved on them. I found that killing was the only job that paid enough. I only even wanted to be a shaman, healing people, not hurting them. But that went down the hole. I was just a child, having to care for two even yonder children.” “Narvi, I’m sorry, truly, and all, but Otzi has been driving me insane for years. I need this.” Narvi just shook her head, and with tears slowly running down, she said, “Goodbye, Treeti. I hope this was all worth it.” No one had ever seen Narvi after that. She hadn’t even collected her payment, but she, in her heart, knew she did not deserve to be paid for being a father murderer. Treeti ventured down to the village, and became the tribe leader. Ygnatzi and Minhil were heartbroken, and had waited long for their father to return, but with nothing left, they left. After Treeti became tribe leader, the village was raided and everyone desecrated. Thankfully, the two girls had left long before them. I was heartbroken, and enraged. Treeti had always envied me, but never enough to kill me. And for poor, sad Narvi, I cannot tell what happened to her. I suspect she lived alone in solitude, continuing to visit her sibling’s stones. I don’t really know though. And for my daughters, wherever you are, may the stars guide you. Take care of yourselves, and each other.
(Narvi)