A Voice the Color of Fire

The wayfarer and I began speaking to each another in sign language. I have never talked this way before, yet - I suddenly started signing as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As the legend in Exodus tells, you do not need to learn the Wayfarer language, all you need is to get in close proximity to the creature, and subconsciously your mind will react and communicate. Life on Exodus, a remote Earth-like planet orbiting Rigel, a blue supergiant star, 863 light years from Earth in the constellation of Orion was harsh. The colony ship crash-landed on arrival and we lost any form of communication with the rest of the human race. Within two generations, we no longer had any type of technology left as everything broke down or simply ran out of energy. Our colony slipped back to primordial life of hunting and gathering for our survival, migrating from one side of the planet to the other following the warmth and avoiding the harsh winters. That’s how we met Exodus natives, the Wayfarers we called them, who traveled alone across the planet offering the gift of fire which was traded for food or tools of all sorts. They seem friendly, and never stay long - yet they seem to notice our migration path and appear at the colony periphery whenever we run out of fire. They were watching over us it seems, some thought they consider us pets, but regardless – we felt blessed in their presence. We felt at home.