August 4, 2021

In the meantime what’s changed was an expectation of how quick the progress in solving the child’s case was going to be.

Village felt stuck but learnt to accept that currently they could only speculate about what to do next, because they had no idea. No matter how precious child was becoming to them they had to restrain themselves from reaching out to him. Village realised that the child was becoming as precious to them, as their project. Actually, many people in the village saw him as wanted part of their project, sort of like a symbol, or some kind of reward from a universe, for their bravery.

Accordingly, they managed to come up with so many theories about him both contradictory and astonishing, based upon their imagination only, that they found it even amusing at a certain point. However, that was the only way for the community to cope, because there was such an obsession about child’s case that in order to control it village decided that the majority would benefit from being involved in those speculations. This was the way to switch their attention and channel the energy from approaching the child to guessing about him. Also, by participating in debates they would not feel disempowered, but contributing. As long as everyone would hold on to their conclusions and keep their judgement suspended for the time of debates, until (if ever) the most reasonable explanation was reached. Here is an overview of causes that in majority’s opinion led to child’s abandonment:

1. Disaster.

Previously, while living with his tribe the child got into danger or was exposed to an unknown threat. If so, most likely it was some contagious disease and consequently he had to be isolated from the source of disaster. Suggestions that it might have been cruelty towards the child was not taken into consideration, because the tribe was an ultimate model of kindness and respect. So if the child was abandoned intentionally that was an act of desperation to save his life from some other threats than bad behaviour in his tribe.

2. Trial/challenge.

The child had reached a milestone where it was time for him to achieve something or to transform himself to meet tribe’s standards. If that was so, the abandonment of the child was premeditated educational plan facilitating cultivation of his abilities and according to which he had to build character. Typically it involves an effort to master specific skill necessary for survival on your own, maybe finding your inner voice or maximising courage and endurance. Similarly, maybe the child had to be exposed to the knowledge of solitude. However, on the other hand, what if the child was underachieving during his trial and at a certain point just stopped trying to improve? Maybe he was someone who is unassertive or overadapts and just needed more time. Or maybe his instincts were becoming dull and he started loosing his identity? Even if it was not clear what was his curriculum , in this regard it seemed obvious that his tribe was allowing the child to be on his own by not being alongside him. Probably in their eyes there was nothing wrong with a child who wants some time alone. Furthermore, for some in the village it seemed unlikely, but not impossible, that on the contrary to any logic, those rules of not mixing up with strangers didn’t bother child that much in the end. If this was so, maybe the child was just being noughty by challenging his tribe and playing some silly hide and seek game with them. Therefore hiding for fun from them on the borders with the village, because it was taboo for them, so the best place to hide. Although by then not many participants in the debates found confidence to think like this. From one extreme that the child was like a caterpillar waiting to break through as a butterfly, to another extreme, him provoking his tribe to break their rules, even if an innocent way, playing. It seemed exaggerated. The child was too small for all of this.

3. Communication

The third option was that the child was a symbol of communication, or just as importantly, a gift. What if the tribe started to look for bridges between their world and civilisation? Based on the fact that they became interested in the experiment happening in Visited country? Or, perhaps, the other way around, the child was a promise of a bridge that would lead modern world to follow the tribe and to find its way back to the uncomplicated. That possibility of mute and deaf communicating to each other. Attempt to stop living in parallel worlds without connection. That was a great idea that the child has a role for broadening horizons. Unfortunately, because one day the child was caught in the woods by spies and enemies of country V and sent to another planet, for the majority in the village there was no way of finding whether or not it was the right guess.

Unlike the village, child didn’t feel the need to question or to justify his tribe’s behaviour towards him despite the fact that he understood his isolation even less than village did. He accepted their withdrawal form his surroundings and forgave tribe immediately. That is why he was able to face up to what have happened. Also, there was something else that was not immediately obvious to those in the village who were concerned about child’s feelings when he couldn’t belong to anybody, yet they had no words to communicate with him, only to hold back and to observe how the child wasn’t reaching out no matter how reachable they were.The truth is that there was no way of guessing that in fact the child was sent to the borders with their village by his own tribe. Chosen to be sent on “secret” mission whispered into his ears before final farewell. This part wasn’t genuine. That served as a distraction for the child to start moving. Another part was to go there and surrender himself to his fate. The child was too small to understand another part that’s the reason for the first one. Even if it was a lie. Apparently the tribe wasn’t all but saints. And although they were wrongly perceived as not far from saints in fact they were considerably different from everyone in a good way. However, like to many others when they received a call from the Planet N it was their first experience of it. An invitation to go to live there was a shock partly because it was addressed to only one person in the tribe-the child. No matter how surprising it was the tribe saw no reason to question it or to oppose it. They didn’t even try to be clever and wait for the child to grow enough to accept or refuse it himself. Their answer was total collaboration and complete acceptance which was done on behalf of the child by them as well. That’s why he was sent to be lost. That was the easiest way for the Planet N to find him.