‘Didn’t you listen to me? You can’t keep living in the past with hatred in your heart. That surely is not the comyenti way! Also we’re more than our bodies and no one controls me or my body! My idea is the best for the security of our future. Besides, we can’t have our comyenti children interbreed with one another! Surely you do see that?’
He grumped at that.
She raised one eyebrow. ‘It’s wrong, unnatural and selfish! The burden you put in their shoes! What and who are we to do that to anyone? What happened to you that you started to think this way?’
He stood tall and shouted, ‘Genocide! That’s what happened! To see your only family getting slain and burned in front of your eyes and still to this day hearing your baby sister’s cries for help in your ears!’ His eyes were filled with tears now.
‘I know and I’m sorry, Shazar. That must have been horrible, but those evil people who did that are all long gone. So are we…’ she mumbled and looked sad, shaking her head.
‘No, they’re still out there, Sula! People who think and act the same and they would do it all over again to us! I’m not looking for trouble, not anymore, but I know that if we were with more comyentis living close to humans, history would repeat itself all over again. I’ve seen what they do to other animals, and so have you. They haven’t changed! You can’t possibly be safe in this village, sooner or later they’ll be the end of you.’
‘Look, we can’t bring our people back, not the way you want to! If your sister would have been alive today, you wouldn’t even think about having a child with her, would you?’
His eyes narrowed, he sniffed but he saw what she was getting at.
‘Then stop thinking this way. I love where I live and I will not give up my life. I’ll discuss having your child further with Felix, although I really don’t see what good it will do and I’m sure that won’t be the end of it. And he or she will grow up with Felix and I, which I know you don’t like, so you must respect our decision in the end, Shazar. You must!’
He dropped his head but gave no reply.
Chapter 23 Opponents
‘So, how did it go?’ Felix asked, looking up at Sula. He sat in front of the tent he had built with Fay, carving some wood.
Sula shook her head. ‘He still won’t come to meet you.’
Felix continued working on his wooden figurine, Fay who sat next to him, watched his hands closely.
‘Rude, but well I suppose it is hard for the man to realise I have taken his one and only potential mate.’
She flopped down beside him, knowing he wasn’t as relaxed as he appeared to be. That he was carving wooden figurines indicated that he had a lot on his mind, because working the wood de-stressed him.
‘He just has his mind stuck on one idea that he hardly listens to what I have to say. He is more stubborn than I am.’ And she briefly told her husband what had happened.
He stopped carving, holding the knife firmly, he read her face and quickly came to the conclusion what had occurred.
‘Maybe I should have a word with him. Your children interbreeding with one another, sick bastard! Besides he can’t expect you to run off with him and leave us behind! You have made a life, found a home!’
‘No, Felix. I have to do this myself. I mentioned the ideas we discussed, but he said he has to think about it.’
‘Think about what exactly? What right does he have and who does he think he is?’
‘Er, the last comyenti?’ Sula replied. ‘And I’m only half of one.’
He grumbled at that. ‘He is nothing more than you! If…you hadn’t met me…would you have-’
‘Oh, Felix, I know it must be hard on you. I won’t let you think this way. Here and now is all that matters. He cannot come in between us, I won’t let that happen.’
He hugged her and held her longer than he normally would have.
‘What’s next then?’ he whispered in her hair.
‘He will let me know.’
‘It’s your body and your life, our life we’re talking about,’ he got upset. And you’re my life, he added in thought.
‘Yes, but his dream is shattered.’
‘Hmm, it’s not his dream either; it’s the comyenti dream and what would he have done if you’d been a man? He would see that the best shot you have is to both mate with a human female to continue the line and join your children together later on. Simple as that!’
‘I agree honey, it should be no different now that I’m married, except for the fact that I am not a man.’
Felix grinned sheepishly at her. ‘Thank the Great Bhan for that!’
She punched him teasingly in his side and they laughed together.
‘Mummy,’ Fay said suddenly. They had forgotten all about her, she had been listening all along. ‘Tallon said he wished he was a girl like me.’
Sula looked at her questioningly.
‘Why, sweetie?’
‘To make his mummy happy. She wants a girl. Tallon has four older brothers and they all make his mommy crazy he says with their fighting and making the house look like a mess. So he wants to be a girl for her.’
Sula chuckled at that. ‘Well, I can imagine, but Tallon mustn’t worry about his mummy, darling, nor should you. You’re too young for that.’
And she realised again what madness she found herself in. Putting children on this world was not something to be thought of lightly and their future and the burden they would have to carry.
~~~
‘Do we have to wait for him?’ Felix said sighing. ‘Fay is getting restless.’
‘You are getting restless,’ Sula corrected him.
‘Well, that too. We still have a long walk back.’ He thought of the animals, his sister took care of while they were away, as well as their vegetables and Sula’s garden. It was hard work for her on her own, but she was helped a little by friends in the village or his parents, but they were getting older.
‘I can always fly you back, you know that,’ she laughed and added, ‘Perhaps he will walk back with us.’
‘I thought he didn’t want to interfere?’
‘Yes, but it will be a good lesson for him to meet a kind human and learn something from our family.’ She winked at Felix.
Felix smiled at her. ‘Hmm, so that he might change his mind and go and do the same or see that I’m not a bad father, good thinking, love. I will pack our things.’
~~~
Sula’s hair hung loosely around her face, clinging in damp curls at the base of her neck. It was already hot, she could easily cool down using the ability of the elephant but she usually decided against it. She tried to set the right example to her daughter so as not to get too dependent on their skills.
She glanced at Fay and a shaft of sunlight glinted in her eyes, making them sparkle in the green shadows. Fay was as always amazed by her mother’s beauty and once more her heart was touched. She drew near, almost cautiously, as the forest light caressed her mother. They stopped by a river and her mother undressed and laid their clothes down beneath an old gnarled pine tree. Pine needles were tangled in her wavy hair, and the white remains of a sticky cobweb clung to her arm. She knelt down in just her underwear. Her hand was cupped around a single bright orange blossom of a yandala, blooming in the shadow of the old tree. It was an orchid type of flower but with only one single flower on its single stem. Its petals were exquisitely shaped; orange with yellow stripes. Its heart was ruby red with yellow pollen.
‘Oh,’ Fay exclaimed. ‘It’s beautiful.’
Sula smiled at her, close to tears at finding the flower here. ‘And very rare,’ she added softly, sitting back on her heels, her hands resting on top of her thighs. The sunlight cast a hard gleam in her eyes, and they glowed like those of an animal caught at night in torchlight. ‘Like you, Fay,’ and she paused before she said, ‘My mother; Almaz, your grandmother, showed me a yandala once and told me it only flowers every four years,’ How coincidental! Shazar told me comyenti women are fertile every four years!
‘And not only that,’ Sula continued in a mysterious voice. ‘It relies solely on a specific bee; the billbee, for its pollination.’
‘The billbee.’ Fay giggled.
‘It’s called that because of its bill-like long mouth; but it’s really just a long tongue.’
‘Just like a butterfly! But mummy, what if the bee doesn’t find this flower?’
‘Well, bees have a very good sense of smell and sight and will travel miles to find their flowers. This one has a very strong fragrance. Here can you smell it?’
Fay inhaled whilst closing her eyes. ‘Mmm, yummy!’
‘But if the bee doesn’t find her…then the yandala will eventually die out.’ Sula concluded.
Fay nodded sadly and Sula wished she hadn’t mentioned it to her, even though there might be another yandala around, growing nearby…like Shazar…
What would mother have said about this all?
Sula turned away her face, thinking about her mother whom she so missed and hid her face from her daughter as well as her thoughts. Fay could tell and this frightened the girl a little. Sula sensed this, so she quickly distracted her by freeing herself from her underwear and jumped in the river. Fay soon followed and they went on with the business of washing themselves with their self-made jasmine soap. Fay splashed her mother, trying to cheer her up, which worked and now they were both laughing.
Suddenly Fay stopped, looked up and asked, ‘Mummy, who is that man?’
Sula was shocked to see Shazar standing on the other side of the river, watching them.
Quickly she covered her breasts and dipped down to her chin, glancing to Fay, luckily the child was in the water up to her shoulders. You never know, for all she knew he might have his hopes on her daughter if he had heard their conversation from earlier. When she looked again he was gone.
The sick coward! He won’t come here but he can watch!
She decided not to tell Felix since it would only anger him and she knew he kept all his emotions inside for her and Fay’s sake.
Instead they left the spot, but she hoped that he would reappear and confront them instead of following from a distance.
He did follow them, both Sula and Fay sensed him, but he didn’t show himself.
It was only when they reached their next camping spot which they planned to stay at for just one night that he appeared again. Felix and Fay were building the simple tent and Sula tended to the fire alone. Shazar took this opportunity and approached her slowly.
Without looking up at him she said, ‘What took you so long?’
He raised his chin at Felix, who had not spotted him yet, being too busy with the tent. Shazar did not wear his headband tonight.
‘A fire?’ he said questioningly. ‘Why do you have a fire if not to cook meat?’
Sula looked up at him, annoyed. ‘I told you we don’t eat meat. It’s to boil the water for our tea and porridge.’ And she rattled with the pans.
‘Tea, when you can drink fresh water? Porridge?’
‘Look, I don’t want a discussion with you about our lifestyle. We make porridge with oats, dried fruit and water. Fay and Felix love it. At home we have goats milk but only for Fay. And we love herbal tea; it is healthy and soothes the mind. If you just eat leaves and berries, that’s your decision.’
Shazar wasn’t fazed.
‘It is the comyenti way,’ he responded. ‘We eat everything raw; we steer away from cooked food. In fact I hardly ever eat; you know we don’t need to. As you probably also know kangaroos can live without water for up to five years and cold blooded animals need less food than mammals. I can go into marine iguana-mode and live off vegetation that would not keep a rabbit alive and I would still flourish. So could you.’
Sula grew annoyed. ‘You sound just like my mother!’ she snarled.
Shazar just grinned at that. ‘I would have loved to have known her.’
She stood up suddenly and walked towards him, grabbing his hand. His eyes grew bigger in surprise, but he did not protest as she gently urged him toward the tent, towards the human.
‘Felix, there is someone who wants to say hello.’
He looked up from his work to stare at the handsome man. Shazar’s ears were so much bigger at the tips than Sula’s or Fay’s were. Yes, he could understand why Shazar kept himself hidden from people. They wouldn’t understand his strange beauty and above all his ways and abilities; knowing Sula’s all too well.
‘Hi,’ Felix said with a strained voice and came to shake his hand. The stranger did not withdraw but took his hand in his, feeling the strength of Felix, squeezing his hand; was that a warning? Shazar had to admit she had chosen well. He nodded in greeting, letting go of Felix’s hand as soon as he could.
‘You are welcome to join our little camp and the warmth of our fire and food.’
‘I have no need for such things,’ Shazar retorted, a bit too harsh for Sula’s liking.
Had she once been like this?
Felix smiled, taking no offence. Definitely a comyenti, he thought bemused to himself.
‘Suit yourself,’ he answered calmly.
‘Shazar, I want you to meet my daughter Fay. Fay, could you come here please?’ Sula said.
Looking up from her play area underneath a tree, where she had been watching a trail of busy ants. She eyed the man intently and came running towards her family.
‘You are the man who’s been observing us,’ she said with narrowed eyes, then frowned her little pretty brows when she noticed his ears.
Felix frowned as well and stared questioningly from his daughter to Shazar who did not flinch and then to his wife who coloured slightly and shrugged.
‘Hello, young lady,’ Shazar said to Fay.
‘Hello,’ she said and gave him only a small smile, still staring in wonder at his pointed ears.
‘Can I look closer?’ she asked innocently and he knelt so that she could. He didn’t mind. He stared with soft eyes at the girl as she touched his ears gently.
‘They are huge!’ Will mine be that big one day?’ she asked him, knowing she and he were related somehow.
‘No, Fay, more like those beautiful ears of your mother.’ he answered, pointing at Sula with love in his eyes. Felix noticed it and flinched.
Fay stared at Sula’s ears and smiled warmly, touching her own ears at the same time.
‘Okay.’ she said nonchalantly and ran away again.
Sula sighed, watching her daughter leave, apologising for her.
‘She is like a sparrow; one moment here, the next gone.’
Shazar smiled lightly. ‘You have a lovely daughter, Sula.’
‘Yes, we are very proud of her,’ Felix said a little irritated, stepping in between them, wanting to entice Shazar’s attention away from his wife.
‘I’m making us all some supper,’ Sula said. ‘Please Shazar, I know you don’t need much food and can do without it for a long time but we would like to share our meal with you. It’s a social thing as well, you know; sharing food, just like most primates do. It would be an honour if you would stay a while.’
He stared back at the woods he belonged in and then at the woman he needed. She was his future, so it wasn’t hard for him to decide. Slowly he nodded.
Sula smiled relieved. So far so good. This is not an easy step for him.
They sat around the fire that evening, eating a simple meal of pancakes and blueberries and drinking mint tea. The atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed, even though Shazar didn’t say much, just listened to Fay telling little funny tales. After Sula had taken Fay to bed, something usually Felix did, she returned hastily, not wanting to leave the men alone for too long, immediately sensing the mood had changed while she had been away.
‘You must have seen a great deal of the world?’ Felix asked, sipping his hot but refreshing tea. The evening was warm and oppressive and Sula knew a thunderstorm was on its way. Dark clouds were forming overhead as they spoke. She knew they would be safe tonight and dry, as those clouds w
ould move on, but tomorrow they would surely need to seek shelter.
‘I have,’ Shazar answered him plainly.
Felix watched him closely waiting for him to share an adventure with them, but he just locked his mouth and closed his eyes as he inhaled the scent of the mint tea, leaves that he had seen Sula pick that morning. He had to admit; herbal tea was indeed very soothing.
‘Sula, you must tell him the story of the magical flute.’
Shazar looked up and stared expectantly at Sula, ignoring Felix. She smiled sweetly at her husband.
‘I don’t know if Shazar wants to hear about my adventures, Felix.’
‘Oh, but I do, Sula,’ Shazar objected.
‘Well, there isn’t much to tell.’ But to ease the tension somewhat she started to tell him the story of the enchanted flute that a group of nomads carried along with them; it had been stolen from a sea witch in the west. The nomads weren’t able to play a tune on it as she soon found out but she knew somehow there was magic at work and curiosity got the better of her. She followed them through the desert and along the plains, for she knew they had plans to sell their stolen goods at a market in a nearby city, including the flute. Sula had waited until one night when the group was asleep but as she was about to take the enchanted flute, one of the desert men woke up. He spotted her holding the instrument; the moment she laid her hands on it, it started to play. It had called out to her!
Sula found herself very vulnerable at that moment; enchanted, shocked and confused. The men acted quickly and tied her hands so she couldn’t escape. But they soon spotted her unusual ears and shifting eyes and immediately backed off; thinking her some sort of evil in the shape of a beautiful woman. They came at her again and although she tried, she couldn’t ward them off. After they had beaten her half to death, leaving her bruised and half-conscious, she realised that they were taking her to the city in their wagons to try and sell her along with the flute.
The Comyenti Series Book Bundle, Volume 1 and 2 (Epic Romantic Supernatural Fantasy) Page 19
