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| Ancient statue of Romulus and Remus nursing |
Stories of feral
human beings—human beings who grow up without the amenities of civilization or
even of human care—are something we have always found fascinating. The
Romans had, as a founding myth, the story of Romulus and Remus, two baby boys
who were abandoned in the woods and raised by a she-wolf. They grew up fierce
as wolves, and Romulus went on to found the city of Rome, which had as its
symbol, a wolf. Millennia later, Tarzan, raised by apes, would become a
well-known figure in fantasy culture. And on occasion, stories of children
raised by animals crop up—some dubious but some apparently confirmed.
In "The Feral
Girl," I exploited the old idea of children taken from civilization and
becoming wild once more. The influences were many. I had written and published
a story some called "Ferity," in a now-defunct magazine, Earthspeak. In that tale, a highly
successful CEO spends time in a friend's cabin out in the wilderness and
experiences a certain amount of ferity, which in this story is simply feeling
close to nature and to natural rhythms and currents. She returns to her job more
in touch with her primal instincts, more able to function effectively in the
wilderness of the corporate world. This story shared some of that idea, but it
dealt with a child, not an adult. I had listened to a book on tape called Outposts by British author Simon Winchester,
famous for his books Krakatoa and The Professor and the Madman.
Outposts was about
the remnants of the once vast British Empire. Remarkably, there still is a
British Empire, but it mostly consists of small islands in remote places around
the world. Winchester visits and writes on these sites. In one part of the
book, he sails in a yacht to some remote islands in the Indian ocean; one, Diego Garcia, that was seized by the British. The British built a joint
monitoring base there with the Americans and evicted the local population. Winchester
sails there, his boat is impounded, and he has various run-ins with bureaucrats
and military personnel before finally being towed out of the area and told not
to return.
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| Island in the Chagos Archipelago |
In "The Feral Girl," the main character, Geoffrey, is
sailing with his girlfriend, Edith. They stop at one of the islands in the Chagos
Archipelago, near Diego Garcia, knowing they are in a restricted area. Geoffrey
paints and the two of them enjoy the unspoiled environment. Soon, however, they
realize they are not alone. They find droppings that look human and eventually
see a child, naked, furtive, and elusive, near them. Thinking she might have
survived a ship wreck and is traumatized, but not wanting to call the British
authorities because they are there illegally, they make a successful attempt to
befriend the girl, who eventually allows them to feed and clothe her. She is
particularly attracted to Edith, the basic need of a child (she looks about eight)
being the love and care of a mother.
The girl, whose name is Sophia,
eventually trust them and opens up to them. She begins to talk and tell her
story. They learn her family was sailing about the area. Her father, she says,
was "making a movie" the island. She survived (none of the others on
the boat did) and, they later found out, had lived alone on the island for
fourteen months. Edith, who in her teen years had gotten pregnant and given her
child up for adoption, bonds with Sophia. As they expected, the British navy
does show up, recognizes the girl and are astonished, and tow them to the main
base on Diego Garcia.
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| US/British base at Diego Garcia |
There they learn more. The film father had been making a film was critical of
the British government and their deportation of the native population from the
islands. Their boat was caught in a storm and all of them perished save the
girl, who had survived on the island. She has relatives, Geoffrey and Edith are
told, who are flying out to take the girl with them.
Edith thinks of Sophia in terms of
the child she bore and has never seen (she will not be allowed to contact the child
for another eight years). She knows, of course, that seeing Sophia as a surrogate
for the child she lost will not work. Still, her pain is apparent to Geoffrey.
They meet the parents. The father is a Member of Parliament, so they know it
would be pointless to make a claim of custody. The family, though, seem to be
decent, compassionate people and Geoffrey realizes it would be wrong to show
them rudeness or contest their claim on Edith. After a meeting, Sophia leaves.
Geoffrey and Edith are escorted out of the territorial waters of the Chagos
Archipelago and told not to return.
They sail off, hoping the best for
Sophia. Edith aches for her loss of long ago. The sea around them quiet
and stretching out in all directions.
The story was published in an
online journal called The Feathered
Flounder. I can now find no record of it. I wrote a blog on the story,
"Ferity." Read it here, You might be able to order a copy of "Ferity" here. The link works but I'm not sure if the offer is still active.
For more titles, see my Writer's Page.
Some great summer reading would
include The Sorceress of Time. A warrior princess is fighting a battle with treacherous invaders and with her own fear and uncertainty. She will find the key to the future--and to her doubts--when she visits the past.
I would love to hear your comments.
Happy reading.
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