Episode 39: Always Watching

At dawn Terrastina walks a trail on the riverbank behind the dam where ancient native rock paintings still survive on cliffs above the water line. The sun illuminates the stick figures, most of which have rayed arcs painted above their heads. She stops at one of the larger images, a wide face, unblinking, looking over the river. I, too, remember the river before it was stilled, says Terrastina in a whisper. She lights a small bundle of sage and places it on a ledge beneath the face. The smoke unfurls in the still air and disappears into the sky.