Page 139 of Perfect Three

Chapter Fifty-Seven

The next two weeksflew past.If anyone asked Lucy to name her favorite day, she wouldn’t have been able to.Yuendumuhad a thriving community of artists, and Sebastian jokingly told everyone he and Jack would have to build a new wing on the house just to hold all the artworks Lucy bought.

Lucy thought she was spoiled rotten.

Grandfather treated her like a daughter.The mob held a special ceremony where she was officially given her skin name ofNangala.Much to her relief, no one mentioned getting her nose pierced or having her chest scarred.The sisters and aunties painted her face and body and decorated her with shells and feathers for the ceremony.

Each day was filled with new wonders.She got Sebastian to take photographs of everyone and everything, and it was with a heavy heart that they finally drove to Alice Springs.

Lucy had cried when they left.She’d enjoyed meeting everyone and had grown close to a couple of Sebastian’s ‘sisters’ and it had been hard to wrench herself away from them.

Sebastian promised her they would return soon, and the sisters could come and stay with them anytime they wished.

The three newly-weds flew to Ulu?u-Kata Tju?a and spent four amazing days there.Lucy thought she was prepared for her first sight of Ulu?u, but she was so wrong.Nothing could have prepared her for the enormous size of it rising majestically over the flat red landscape.

It literally took her breath away.

Her voice held awe as she gasped softly, “This ...it’s...Oh, hell I can’t find the words to say what I feel.”

Sebastian smiled down at his wife and Jack touched her softly on the arm.

“If it helps, it did the same to me when I first saw it.It’s breathtaking, awe-inspiring.Makes you feel insignificant.Still makes me feel that way.”

“Yes, that’s it!On top of that, I feel like I’m in the presence of something so old, so pure.It’s ...it’s sacred.”

“Ulu?u was made during the Dreamtime,” Sebastian explained.“You can see the caves and shapes around, and in it, that represent our ancestral spirits.The local people hold ceremonies here to honor them.”

Lucy was happy to stand staring at the Rock, but Sebastian suggested they go with a guide to walk around it.She readily agreed and the three went off in search of someone to show them around.

It seemed as if Sebastian had relatives everywhere.When he asked one of the local guides what his skin name was, it turned out that they were cousins.The guide had move to the area with his family years ago.From that moment on, the whole four days took on a magical quality.Lucy felt she was in the middle of a dream.

“I can’t explain it, but this is so amazing!”

Lucy’s voice held wonder as she looked around.In front of her, Ulu?u rose majestically.Their guide, David, took them walking around the base of the Rock and told them Ulu?u was built up during the creation period by two boys who played in the mud after rain.When they had finished their game, they traveled south to Wiputa.

“Are there areas around Ulu?u that hold a special significance to the locals, David?”

“Yes, Lucy.The traditional owners, theA?angu, who are often referred to asPitjantjatjara,have sections that relate to traditionalTjurkurpabeliefs.”

“What’re they?TheTjurkurpabeliefs?”

“It’s the force that unites theA?anguwith the land and themselves from the creation time.”

Lucy felt privileged to be there, and when David took them to see some aboriginal rock paintings, Lucy thought she’d cry at their beauty.

“These have been here for tens of thousands of years.The ancestors painted their stories here, as they still do.I guess you could say they are our blackboard, our lessons of knowledge.”

“Thank you so much for showing us.I ...it’s overwhelming.I feel so honored.”

David led them on theMinymaku, Women’s Walk, showing things like how women process bush foods, children’s games.

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