The little courtyard had grown silent and attentive as Tarik told his story. They all wept when he spoke of those who perished in the water. Tarik himself stopped to wipe his eyes, and to control his grief. Presently, he continued:

"In the morning, we found that the few boats which had managed to get away from the flood had also got separated from each other. I don’t know if those in other boats made it to safety, and where they might be. The three boats that remained within sight of each other regrouped, and we took stock of what was left of our once happy and prosperous people.
Reaching dry land, we dragged ourselves to safety, and pulled to shore whatever we had managed to bring with us. We walked as far and as high as we could go from the water’s edge, the terror of the water was strong in our heart. We made camp and settled down to sleep. We decided to seek the other boats after resting, but it was necessary to get to a safe shelter for the children were terrified and the women were tired. I was glad to see that none of us had any major injuries, and that the provisions we had stored in the boats had been salvaged to a large extent.
We made for the village of the twisted tree hill.”

“That’s my village” Asha burst out. Tarik looked at her to see who spoke. He nodded at the young woman, and continued,
“The people were kind in that village. They took us in, and gave us shelter. We spoke of the flood, and found that the elder was aware of the flood. They had other people from other villages, who had also sought shelter before us, but had moved onwards, to the south, towards the high mountains where the grasslands are.
We left the women and children at Twisted Tree village, and set off towards the east, to see if there was any sign of the others from our village who also escaped the flood. We tried at two other villages before this one….not even in our dreams did we hope to find you, my sister! And you, my friends!! We believed you to be half-way to Catal Huyuk.
We must return to our families, soon. The summer comes to an end, and soon the leaves will start to fall. The winter will come, and we must find a home. We will have no food for the winter, and nothing to trade for food, either.”
Tarik fell silent, and all those that heard what he had to say were silent, too. They had lived through the devastation of the flood, but what was next?
“ Brother, it is good that you are alive, that at least some of us still live. As long as we have one another, we will yet overcome what may befall us.” said Hana, gently.

“The great Autumn Moon gathering will take place in three weeks’ time, and our village is the host this time” said Sayal, one of the village Elders. “Let all those who survived will come to our village for the Gathering.”
“At the Gathering, all the Elders together will consult the Gods, and will decide what is to be done with the survivors of the flood. Meanwhile, we will watch for any other survivors, the people from your village in particular, and we will send a message to Twisted Tree Hill if we have any news. You may rest here for two or three days before setting out again.”
The newcomers had so much to say to each other, and their grief at losing their homes was mixed with the joy of finding that were survivors.