The Space Spoon novel Chapter 41

For the story to make any sense, I first must go further back in time, when the Spreahs weren’t the only race on Yacleemb. There were others. They called themselves the Yala. Nowadays, we don’t remember much about them. You should ask the supreme deity if you want to know more about the Yala since he’s the last one standing from that time.

The only thing I can say for certain is that the Yala were a warrior race. They wanted Yacleemb all to themselves, and we were in their way. Back in the days, we used to have warriors as well, but ten of us were no match for one Yala.

One day, a visitor came. He had no qualms with either of us. In exchange for food and shelter, he offered to be a neutral liaison between us and the Yala. The details are lost in time, but the thing is, he ended up not being too neutral after all.

Tejeda uncovered their wicked methods when he went to the Yala's camp, for the guest was Tejeda Hajar. They thought our meat was what made them stronger and better fighters. I'm not sure what the supreme deity saw that day, but I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant sight. We heard stories of how Yala cooked Spreah flesh and how some of our comrades survived until their bitter end.

What I do know is that Tejeda Hajar came back from the Yala’s camp covered in blood, with purple light coming from his eyes and a bloodied hoof of a Spreah in his hand. He had slaughtered every last one of that species, eradicating every male, female, and child.

An elder told me when I was a mere calf that the supreme deity stayed in this cave for days, maybe in the same corner where you are sitting right now. He refused to eat or drink. Some say he didn’t even sleep. Staring at the walls and still holding that hoof, he was dying before my predecessors’ eyes.

The Spreahs begged him to eat, to live. He didn’t move. One of us stood next to him at any time in case he decided to speak or ask for something. But that didn’t happen.

The Spreahs cried for their savior on the day he died on this floor. They did, however, hear his voice before that. "Keep an eye on what I can accomplish, but do not tell me my name or who I am when I awaken." He wished to spend a life as a Spreah.

Many didn’t believe he would come back to life. They wanted to bury him under the crops as fertilizer. That’s how we celebrate the dead, letting them bring life into the earth. But, alas, a purple goo took over Tejeda’s body before that could happen.