"Algonquian!"
"Come again?" Ashley asked, knitting her brows.
"Algonquian. It's a tribe of the indigenous folk of America." Professor Bartholomew had enunciated the word three times, but the young lady before him had failed to get it right.
The Professor had been in the middle of a lecture to an undergraduate class when his assistant had barged into the classroom. Apparently, a billionaire wanted to donate fifty grand to his department.
The old Professor had dismissed the students and rushed to his office to meet the potential benefactor. Usually, such donations came from alumni who wanted a library section or pillar named after them.
However, the benefactor had turned out to be a young billionaire heiress by the name of Ashley Palmer. She had urgently asked him to translate a piece of text of old English.
"You know, you could be scientifically attractive," Bartholomew added in an off-topic comment.
Ashley, who had been trying to pronounce the tribe's name, was confused by the Professor's odd statement.
"Scientifically?"
"Why, yes!" the seventy-year-old scientist exclaimed. "The distance between your eyes, the width of your forehead, and the placement of your cheekbones perhaps make you scientifically attractive to men. If you leave your facial measurements with me, I could compare them to our best anthropological data."
Ashley could not figure out whether to take it as a compliment. Bartholomew was HOD of the anthropology department, a decorated scholar. However, the old man kept getting distracted by his own observations. He had started off inquiring into Guiscard's heritage. He had narrowed it down to a specific region of France. Interestingly, the inference had turned out accurate.
"Professor, I would appreciate it if you stay on the subject," Ashley said, pursing her lips. "Could you explain the Alongy thing and help me out? I am willing to make a generous grant to your department if the information is useful to me."
Ashley was sitting inside a dingy office at the University of Norwich. The University had been founded along with the city in the 1700s. Professor Bartholomew looked as antique as the building.
Ashley was merely following up with Harry Doyle's suggestion.
"Uh, very well," the scholar said, twirling his thick white mustache. "Let me break down the word for you. Al-gon-kwee-an."
"Al-gon-kwee-an."
"That's right. Algonquian. One of the oldest indigenous, non-Indian tribes of America. They trace their origins to the first woman."
"Don't you mean the first man?" Ashley asked.
"Woman. I will get to that later. First of all, it is traditionally believed that the origin of humankind was in the hotspots of Africa. However, recent data suggest that the specific evolution began simultaneously in different parts of the world."
"Okay, great. I appreciate the prehistory lesson, Prof. Can we get back to the phrase I mentioned? It is in their language, right? Could you translate it for me? Leah Utceare Evacgaca."
"Hmm. It means- Leah is the bringer of Eve."
"Bringer of… "Ashley bit her lip and gave the translation some thought.
Eve? Evelyn? Her mother?
"Professor, I will need some more information."
"Wait," Bartholomew muttered. "Bringer would not be accurate in this context. It's more like- Leah is the 'seed' of Eve. Yes! That's better."
"Who is Leah?"
Bartholomew chuckled. "It's your phrase, dear. Leah is a pretty common name. The person referred to in the phrase could be anyone. But-"
"But?"
"Now that I've come to think about it. Did you know your name- 'Ashley' is a derivative of the name Leah?"
"That's... Uh... That somehow makes sense. Could you tell me more about the Alongy people?"
"It's ALGONQUIAN! Ahem. Well, the Algonquian people believed Eve was their direct ancestor. Please bear in mind that I am talking about a community dating back to earlier than 10,000 BC. You see, Eve was a sinner according to the Book of Genesis. The Algonquian treatises are both derivatives and extensions to the Old Testament. They believed Eve was cursed with everlasting life as punishment for her mortal sin, never allowed to enter heaven. She would come back to life every time she died. Her essence was passed on through her progeny, who in turn became carriers of the curse."
Bartholomew paused to clean his glasses.
"Of course, this is entirely symbolic and perhaps has philosophical roots. Everlasting life could mean that the Algonquian legacy lives on to this day through their culture. Otherwise, we are dealing with fantasy and fanatics."
Ashley tried to put things together in her mind.
She was the legacy of Eve and carried the curse that her mother had passed on.
"Where did you get these words, dear?" Bartholomew inquired. "My research suggests that this tribe is extinct—no direct living descendants. Moreover, any literature on the subject is vague and misleading. There's barely anything about it on the internet."
"That's not important, Professor. Forgive the secrecy. I have my reasons. But you have been really helpful. Can you tell me one more thing? How does one go about getting rid of the curse?"