Several days had passed since Richard arrived at the Pulak village. The pain in her leg had subsided considerably and her ankle was no longer as swollen. However, he still couldn't fully put his foot down. From the bed in which he was lying, he noticed that the periods of light and shadow lasted approximately the same as on earth.

"It seems that, the day, has something more than 24 hours, maybe 25- he thought.-However, I can rest completely during the nights, and I wake up almost at the same time of the day, although my watch each time, marks an hour later, it's very strange."

Now that the initial shock had worn off and that he was beginning to accept the idea that he wasn't dreaming, or dead, but on another planet, Richard wondered how he had gotten to this place. -Have I crossed a space-time portal? Am I in another universe? Or in a parallel or alternative reality? If I am in the same universe, in what part of it will I find myself? - He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't realize that Ilaria had approached the bed with new intentions for him. Richard looked up and greeted her using the few pulak sounds he could make so far.

"Good morning Ilaria"

The pulak returned the greeting with a smile. She removed the fur covers that covered Richard and helped him to his feet on the bed. The boy, a little surprised, looked at Ilaria's face as if looking for an explanation. But the female made no sound. Carefully, he began to tug at Richard's clothes and with his hands made a release gesture.

"Eeeeh… Do you want me to take off my clothes?" Ilaria nodded. Little by little the human began to undress, leaving himself with a naked torso. The pulak made the same gesture again, saying a couple of sentences that Richard didn't understand. But that clearly ordered him to take off his pants as well.

"Oh? No... I'm not taking this off" Richard said to Ilaria, shaking his head.

"Little one, don't make me angry"replied the pulak after a slight roar. Richard was stunned. The fear of the first day resurfaced inside her. He looked at the animalistic face of the female and noticed that the large teeth he had seen earlier were still there. After a pause, the human agreed.

"Okay, look, I'm taking off my pants, see? Here I am, naked in front of a woman, that's fine" said Richard delivered and with some modesty. Ilaria then ran her nose over his entire body, carefully turning him over. Richard was outraged, and when he was about to protest again, Ilaria made a frown on her face, wrinkling her snout.
"What?" The human asked, instinctively sniffing at his armpits.
"I don't smell so bad, do I?"
Ilaria took a few steps away from Richard, repeating that gesture.
"Today Bakur, the healer, is coming to see you. And you must be clean by the time he arrive" Ilaria sentenced, although Richard did not understand. And after saying that, she grabbed another blanket and wrapped the human in it. Then, and quickly, she carried him on her shoulders out of the hut. Richard was surprised. But the preamble made him assume that the female wanted him to take a bath.

Since the day he arrived in the village, Richard had not had the opportunity to leave Ilaria's house. The sun that illuminated the planet was not yellow like on earth, but a bluish white. The houses were scattered on the plain like trees in a forest. They were very similar to each other, and Richard doubted that he would be able to recognize among them where he was staying. The steps of the pulak were soft as she headed for the river whose waters trickled down the middle of the valley. As she moved forward, Ilaria avoided crowded places, so as not to explain what she was carrying on her shoulders. Some village women greeted her, since it was usual for her to go to the river to wash clothes and clean herself, like most of the workers. Only the pulaks who had some trade, had their own water wells as a pool in their homes. It was common for mothers to bathe their young children in the waters of the river.

Richard felt strange, but he was not afraid. His hostess, for some reason, inspired him with confidence. He remembered that Ilaria had mentioned Bakur's name, which he also thought he had heard days ago when the females were talking to each other. He was curious. From his position he could see how the houses, which the pulaks called karongas, were gradually left behind. A soft, cool breeze blew through the valley at that hour. It seemed to Richard that the smell of earth and vegetables were familiar, the same ones that were breathed in the fields of the earth. Passing another female bathing her cub in the river, Ilaria bowed politely, receiving a bow in return. From his position, half hidden on Ilaria's shoulders, the human saw for the first time a pulak cub. The one lying next to his mother at the edge of the river was small, plump and very hairy. His mother would submerge him in the water and take him out again, lifting him carefully.

 Ilaria walked a long way up the river to make sure she was out of sight. Once the place was chosen, she put Richard on the ground, making sure that he leaned on a rock. She looked around and left a container on the ground that contained dried coelandro leaves and other aromatic herbs. Richard could see the great flow of the river, whose silhouette was lost in the distance between some majestic mountains, crossing on its way, leafy green patches that made up the border forests. The pulak, who was dressed lightly for the occasion - a loincloth and breastplate - hung a cloth around her neck and removed the blanket from Richard's body. Little by little the human began to get used to being naked in front of his caretaker. Ilaria, with the strength of her arms, lifted Richard and lowered herself into the river with him. When the water reached the height of her pelvis, she stopped short to bathe her strange pup.

"Wait! It will not be very cold?" Pronounced Richard. Ilaria looked at him tenderly, outlining a smile.
"Don't be afraid, I'll just bathe you," she whispered in his language. And immediately afterwards, he introduced the human into the water abruptly, to lift him up again suddenly.
"Shit! is cold!"
Ilaria repeated the operation several times, paying no attention to the sounds Richard made. After a while, she again took him to the shore and began to rub his body with some herbs that she had brought. Shivering with cold, the boy saw how the leaves released a whitish liquid, while a pleasant aroma saturated the environment. Ilaria scrubbed Richard's body very neatly and with great skill. Her work as a laborer and puppy caretaker in the village had given her adequate practice in dealing with small creatures without harming them. The boy, already fully surrendered, raised his arms and spread his legs, so that the female passed her hands impregnated with herbal soap all over his body.

After a while, Ilaria put Richard back in the river and with her big hands, scooped up water to wash the soapy substance off his body. By now, the boy had gotten used to the temperature of the water and was beginning to really enjoy the bath. The pulak, after rinsing, wrapped Richard in the cloth she had wrapped around her neck and began to dry him.

"Wait! I do it" The boy pointed out. Ilaria, understanding the gesture, let Richard wrap himself in the cloth to dry himself.

"Very good little one. While you do that, I'll take my bath" sentenced the female. The sun's rays were beginning to warm the air pleasantly, reminding Richard of family walks in the country. Ilaria soon undressed, leaving herself completely naked in front of him. The human no longer flinched as at the beginning, because he was getting used to seeing her that way. The pulak was introduced to the river in a deeper part. After soaking his body and cooling off, he went back to the shore again to rub himself with the celendro leaves, which the pulaks use to clean themselves and remove parasites from their hairy skin. Richard was watching her curiously.
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Fragment of The pillars of Sanyahona book. Translation and beautiful
drawing by  sethtriggs