by Deb Sartoris
Our wives were waiting for us outside the cave. Sofia knew that I must eat soon so we left Ely and his wife alone for a while. Sofia and I traveled out away from the village so that I could eat and show her the many things that had so much meaning to me. I showed her the graves of my birth mother and father and the broken down structure that was once their home. The sounds of the jungle often times scared my wife but she never asked to be returned back to the safety of our village.
The next night brought to us sad news. Mesquil informed me that our great elder Vijay was growing weaker and that he feared that his father would not be with us much longer.
Mesquil had a strange request from his father. He asked that Ely be brought to his home. Mesquil and I both thought this to be a strange request. Ely agreed and was taken to the cave of our leader. Vijay asked to be left alone with Ely and we stood quietly outside the cave while Ely visited with Vijay.
After some time had passed Ely came out of the cave and asked that Mesquil and I be brought into see him right away.
Vijay told us that the reason he asked to have Ely brought to him was to explain where the writings on the wall came from. Vijay began having visions some time ago. This was the original reason why he had given his son his blessing to search for me. He thought that he might be going mad with age and felt that I needed to be found in case his life was ending.
Many times the visions would come to Vijay and they would last for several days. He would always awaken with additional writings on the walls. Each time he felt that he was getting closer to meaning the of the words but each time when he awoke he had no memory of the dreams, only the strange language was left on the walls.
Vijay did not know why the words were coming to him only that they were important and that I should be found right away.
The words had some meaning to Ely but he did not understand all of them. He could make out references to Armis and dangers happening to the planet but most of the language was lost to him. Ely felt that the only way to finish the message was to use Sofia as a messenger and have her meld with Vijay to complete the last of the message.
This was not something that Ely knew I would be happy about. I only knew that Sofia would have to meld with another man. I understood this was my elders request and yet the meaning of this request weighed heavy on my heart.
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Chapter 24:
Ely and I stood quietly. Ely knew that my heart was heavy with the request of my elder. My Sofia would need to meld with our leader in order to complete the message that was being given to him in dreams.
Ely felt that the message was of a high concern. I found it odd that Ely could not in words tell me the meaning of the message that my leader was receiving. It was as if Ely knew more then he was telling me. I had not known of any secrets from Ely or Sofia since the time of our first meeting so I was becoming concerned about Ely’s strange behavior.
Ely asked if we could both speak to Sofia very soon as he felt that our leader did not have much time left in this world.
Some days passed as Ely and our leader tried to translate and understand the writings on the wall. Ely had not pressed me any further to allow Sofia to meld with Vijay. I had not yet made the decision to allow Sofia to do this and Ely understood that unless I gave my blessing Sofia would not submit to such a procedure.
Sofia as like other times before had a feeling that both Ely and I were keeping something from her – only to protect her. It was time that I told Sofia of the request of Vijay.
I did not find this to be a simple task and yet Sofia was not afraid to submit to this procedure. She also believed that the message was of such importance that she must do as requested by Vijay.
The night was chosen for their melding and a few people were asked to take part in this melding. Sofia needed her brother present as a safety net in case she might need help returning back to her earthly form.
Our leader Vijay was showing all the signs of his death coming soon. We all understood that this melding procedure would most likely take all the remaining strength that Vijay had left to offer.
We entered the cave of our once strong leader. Vijay was sitting up in his bed. He was ready and my Sofia had prepared all the previous night for this melding. It would be Ely, Sofia and Vijay who would be melded together.
It is difficult for me to write in words how this process takes place. I will try and relay to you how and what happened on this night.
Sofia, Ely and Vijay sat on his bed. They held hands and a soft humming sound began. I could not tell which of the three was responsible for the sound as it seemed to be coming from all three of them yet only a single sound was heard.
As time passed the sound grew steady and the appearance of the three began to fade. I had seen this happen before when Sofia had to help bring their off spring into this world. I understood that this was an extremely personal experience and that once they had faded to a thin vale that the three of them would be joined in what Sofia called their body and sprit.
I watched as their bodies became the thin vapor and knew that time would now pass while the three of them would meld together.
Was it a day or more? I did not know. I stood in silence along the back of the cave with Vijay’s son. We both were there and waiting for the three people that we loved to return back to this earthly world.
Ely arrived back to normal first and stepped away from the other two. He did not seem tired as I had expected. He removed himself from the vapor and walked to greet us.
He told us they had reached Vijay and that the message was being delivered to Sofia as we spoke. Both should be returning soon as Vijay would not be able to continue much longer. I understood what Ely was saying but I’m not sure if Mesquil fully understood this message.
Ely went back to the bed just as I could see my Sofia returning to her natural form. Sofia fell into Ely’s arms and I was at their side in an instant. Sofia was tired but her eyes told me that she was pleased with her melding.
We watched as Vijay’s body slowly returned to normal. Sofia was able to take his hand now as they both had become solid once again.
Vijay asked for his son to come to him. I watched as Mesquil took his fathers hand and the flesh slowly began to fade away. I could see the bones of Vijay’s hand in Mesquils until at last our Elder gave one last greeting to all of us – smiled with sad eyes and slowly faded away into ash.
We stood for some time in the cave that was once our great Elder’s. No words were spoken as was the custom of my people. Ely, Sofia and I left so that we could give Mesquil some time to find his thoughts. We would need to inform the rest of the village of the passing of our Elder and my friend.
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Chapter 25:
We enjoyed the festivities of the night from my clan. Good allies were made as we mourned the passing of a proud leader of my species. The induction ceremony that made me the leader of my people was an event that I will not soon forget.
Never have I felt such love and admiration from my people. There are many who did not believe in the forced exile that I had to endure these many years. I never dreamed that I still had so many friends here.
During one night while many of the Armis and my people were dancing and enjoying themselves Ely stated that he must talk with Sofia and me.
Ely had been in contact with the Armis people for most of the time during our travel to my village and after we arrived. After Ely had visited with our leader Vijay he started showing signs of secretiveness that had Sofia and I worried.
Ely was very tired and this was not something that I was use to seeing in his people. Ely showed signs of concern and confusion.
Vijay, Ely and Sofia shared a secret. No words had been spoken of their melding. I knew that I would be informed what was in the message that Vijay gave his life to tell them.
The secret was the writing that was all over the walls of the cave of our elder. I re
membered that Ely had an odd expression on his face when he first came into the cave but I did not understand why. The writings on the wall were a warning or telling of the future. It was written in the language of the Armis people. A long lost language that only Sofia and Ely would understand or be able to translate. Our Elder had been given a vision of these words and with the melding of the three of them it was fully understood.
The Armis home planet was in grave danger. It was being destroyed by another race of people. Sofia could only explain to me that Armis is a planet like no other. It is part of its people and all the life on the planet must live in harmony or each would suffer and perish. The race that had come to the planet did not understand the symbiotic structure of the people and the planet and now both were crying out for help. This new ruling race was the reason why Ely and Sofia had fled the planet so long ago.
Ely told both Sofia and I that he had been working on something of great importance with some of the other Armis people. It turns out they were trying to repair some of the ship parts that were salvaged from the original craft that had carried the Armis people to my planet. Ely felt strongly that some of the equipment might be of good use to them.
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Chapter 26:
I did not fully understand what Ely was saying and Sofia somehow sensed that. Ely was trying to repair the ship so that the remaining Armis people could return home and try and save their planet from certain death.
This idea was extremely upsetting to me. I did not want my Sofia to leave and I did not understand how this could happen. It was my understanding from what Sofia and Ely told me that many years were needed in order to travel through space to arrive at Armis.
I could not comprehend what this would entail. Sofia saw in me the anger and frustration that was due to my lack of knowledge. I have known for some time that the Armis people were far more advanced than our planet and our races but until now this was not something that would have given me reason to be afraid.
We had not yet left my village deep in the jungle. Yet we could no longer wait as the message was a clear warning that the Armis people had to find a way back as soon as possible. It would take us some time to travel back to our home and the cave of the hidden Armis people and their broken ship.
We informed everyone at the village of our need to return home. Mesquil knew that we had fully translated the message that his father had been given. He had a right to know. Especially since Mesquil’s mate was of the Armis people, he had to make the same choice that was heavy in my own heart. Would we choose to stay in the jungle with our people or travel home with us to be with his mate? I did not know how long it would take to repair their ship. I did not know how much time I had left with my Sofia.
While we were packing and getting ready to leave, Sofia and Ely came to me with a request that would forever change my life.
Sofia and Ely had an understanding of my people along with many other species on this planet. Many of the mated pairs were of mixed races. Sofia knew that many of her Armis had transformed into their mates species. She knew that no one wanted to leave the other on this planet. It would be agreed and accepted that any and all who wished to travel with the Armis people to their home planet would be able to do so.
The ship if repairable was large enough to take everyone. Many of the Armis people who originally traveled here had died when the ship crashed into the planet. With this loss during the early years and the fewer than expected births, everyone felt that the ship could accommodate all that wished to be with their mates.
Sofia asked that I inform my people. She said we would perish as a race if we did choose to stay here in the jungle. She told me that while we had stayed in the village many of her people and mine had found their mates. She had such a smile on her face to tell me something that I was not aware of. I had no idea that so many of my people had taken the time to bond with her people. She simply stated that each must find their true soul mate and each understood that the survival of each species was dependant upon their bonding.
So it was discussed with my remaining brothers and sisters. They were all informed and told that should they decided to travel back with us to the ship that a place would be available for them and their mates within the ship if it was repairable.
Word was sent out to the Armis people that we would be departing my home. Mesquil sent word out to all that remained of our people. He hoped that we had enough time to reach everyone. Many of the mated pairs of our people and the Armis asked to be dispatched around the planet so that each may find others of their kind and give them the choice to travel home.
We left my village some days later. It was decided that we would travel as quickly and safely as possible and this would mean that my people would need to be held under cover in order to travel by day as well as by night. Sofia and Ely rented a shipping boat and all our people and belongs boarded the ship for our home.
I was not upset with these travel arrangements as this would give me and my Sofia time to be as one. We had not had much time as a couple since we had traveled to my home village. Since the passing of my elder, and the message translation, so much work was put into getting us home that we hardly spent any time with each other alone.
One beautiful night Sofia and I were walking along the top deck of the ship. The moon was full and the stars were twinkling through the light clouds. I was always touched by how the moon made my Sofia’s skin glow. This night she was wearing a stunning red dress. Along the sleeves was a white lace. The front of the dress had a cross mark of the lace that went down between her breasts and along her waist. I could hear the dress as it slid along the metal decking of the ship. It was a little chilly and I had taken my jacket off and placed it around her arms to keep the night air off.
We had stopped to sit near the front of the boat. Each of us was staring up at the sky. Sofia turned to me and told me that she could no longer keep a secret from me and felt that now was the time to tell me something.
She and Ely had kept a secret from me during our time at the village. Sofia told me that never in her recorded history had an Armis person melded with anyone except one of their own. It was something that had been forbidden for all the time she was aware of. When my elder had asked Ely this request it was something that had not been spoken of since before Sofia’s birth on her planet. Only a limited few of the Armis people had ever spoken of a melding of other races with the Armis.
It was this secret that she was now telling me. She and Ely felt that the message and the knowledge of such melding that had been told to my elder made the importance of this procedure to be held above all myth or fear she or her people might have.
Sofia had asked Ely to be present because she had no idea if the melding would work or if she would survive such a procedure with another species. They had decided it was best not to inform me as both knew that I would forbid the melding process if I was aware of the grave danger she was in. Sofia wanted Ely to be there in case she had not returned so that I might have someone with me should she die during the process.
I let Sofia take a breath as I did not know what to say to her. It was the first time that I was aware of that she had held a secret from me. I was unsure if there was something that I should say to her.
She turned her face to me and took my hand in hers. She told me that she was sorry that they had withheld such information from me but she did this because of the great importance that the process held for our elder and her people.
She told me that she would never have agreed to the process but that the writings on the wall were telling of the instructions of the melding of the two species as if this knowledge was being told to my elder as a gift from her planet. She and Ely felt that while the risk for loss of life was high the instructions were specific enough that each felt the risk was worth taking given the grave nature of the requirement for the melding process.
When Sofia was done with her
telling of the secret, she looked to me for a response. I stood and turned toward the railing of the boat. I could hear the waves as they brushed back and forth across the metal boat. Somewhere close to the boat a pair of dolphins swam. The sound the dolphins reminded me of how many species of life lived on this planet - and how many more must also live on Sofia’s.
I turned back to Sofia and held out my arms for her. She came to me without any hesitation.
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Chapter 27:
The boat arrived at our home very near where the hidden cave was located. It took several days to move all of the people and belongs to a safe place near the cave. The entire group had decided that it would be best to house everyone at a safe location so that no one from the local village would notice all of the activities around the forest.
I purchased several large apartment complexes and warehouses near the village. Our guests from my village and many of the Armis people took up residence at the new housing. People were chosen to help any new comers adjust and get settled in.
Many people arrived in the following months. Some from far away places I had not heard of. Sofia was confident that all of her remaining family had now returned. Since I did not know the exact numbers of my species I could not tell if all had returned or not.
