Broud dreams of going back to the clan cave, wearing new furs, and new foot coverings, and holding one of the red tinged pieces of hide fashioned properly into a sling.
Spinning it around his head, and enjoying the looks of admiration on everyone's faces.
Seeing the look of fear on Ayla's face. As she backs away from him, and then lowers herself to the ground, her chin touching it.
In his dream, he puts his foot on her back.
Pushes her face down into the dirt.
'See,' he motions to the clan. 'This woman is nothing. She tried to make slings, but they were stiff and not at all supple. But I spent ages soaking this one, scraping it until it was flexible. I am a great man, and she is just a woman. So today, the day I come back, I demand that this woman is cursed with death, and my curse is lifted, and you all understand that I am your leader and you must all do what I say.'
He's still spinning the red tinged hide sling over his head.
And feeling rather smug.
But then he feels the woman underneath his foot start to move.
He glances down to see she's looking at him.
'How dare she?'
She makes a noise like a whooping hyena, and grimaces the way she does sometimes, her lips pulling back to reveal her teeth.
'Stop being disobedient,' he motions.
She makes the sound even louder, and pushes his foot away.
Stands up, and then points at him.
Points at him and then motions 'what a fool.'
He steps forward to cuff her with his free hand, the other is still spinning the red tinged sling above his head.
But then he sees that others are pointing at him too.
And they're also pulling back their lips to reveal their teeth.
And making the same noise as the woman.
'Look at Broud,' Brac motions. 'Look at what he's got in his hand.'
Broud stares at his empty hand.
'I haven't got anything in my hand,' he thinks but then slowly, he realises that Brac did not mean the hand that is empty. He meant the one with the red tinged sling, that Broud is still spinning over his head.
He glances at it.
All around him, the clan making the noise even louder.
It's starting to hurt his ears.
But then what he sees drives all thoughts of noise away.
It is almost like, in his dream, that he is in a cave alone, but the sides of the cave are see through like water, and he can see everyone outside, but inside, there is no noise.
Because as he looks up at his hand, and the red tinged sling, the red in it starts to thicken, and then bleeds, splattering his face with blood as he continue to spin it above his head.
'He's got a strap,' one of the younger girls motions. 'A hide strap that we use…'
'What do they use it for?'
The blood is thicker now, and pouring down his arm.
'Our women's curse.'
He jerks his head around to look at the young girl, and then glances at Ayla who is stood in front of him. Then slowly he looks at the bleeding sling that he's still spinning over his head.
And then he throws it on the ground, where it continues to bleed.
He looks at his arm in horror, at the blood that's staining his hand, and wrists and his arm right up to his armpit and onto his shoulder.
'That was a woman's strap for the woman's curse?' he motions to himself.
Suddenly everyone is gone, and Broud is in the clan cave alone.
'I've been touching a strap that a woman has used for when she bleeds for her women's curse.'
And then he wakes up, and realises that in his disgust at what he's just realised, he's kicked the basket filled with the red tinged hides, and they have split right over him.
He stands up, knocking them off as if they are bugs, and leaving the fur behind, hurries from the cave.
Coming out to a thin layer of late winter/ early spring snow.