“Where am I?” Ashat woke up in discomfort. His chest felt tight and his back hurt when he moved. His throat felt dry and scratchy as he talked.
The last thing he remembered was the taste of blood in his mouth. The last thing he remembered was dying.
He opened his eyes but shut them when the light stung.
He wondered if the light was that of the spirits and of his ancestors welcoming him to them. He raised his left hand to cover eyes, to get a good view of which of his grandfathers had come for him but he put it back down when a sharp piercing pain tore in his back. He clenched his teeth and swallowed the scream in his throat. He wasn’t sure if this was true, but death wasn’t supposed to hurt, wasn’t that why they call it eternal peace?
“Ashat! Ashat my love, you are awake!”
Rosa. Ashat smiled to himself, happy that her beautiful voice had accompanied him in death.
“Ma Tepeu, he’s awake!”
Ashat lay there wondering why Rosa was calling for his mother. Fear gripped him, sending chills down his spin. He felt an ache in his chest as guilt tore through him. He believed his death had killed the two women he loved most in the earthly and spiritual world.
“My son!”
Ashat heard his mother’s voice, and then felt her warm hands caress his face. She always did that when she woke her sons in the morning. Now, she was waking Ashat into the new world.
“Mother, I’m sorry. I’ve killed you!” A sob caught in Ashat’s throat. He reached out for her hand pressing it against his face then brought it to his lips and kissed it.
His mother laughed, “This will teach you to think of your mother when you put yourself in danger. Rosa, please send someone to get my men.” Her voice was cheerful, happy.
Have I killed my brothers and father too? Ashat thought to himself, the guilt building up in his chest.
“Mother, are they also dead?” Ashat’s voice was anguished, the remorse weighing heavier on him. Then another laugh filled the air. “Mother, what’s so funny?” He didn’t understand what was so humorous about death.
“My silly son! Ashat, open your eyes and look at your mother!” Her voice still had a laugh in it.
Ashat opened his eyes slowly fearful of the sharp light, but there was a shade over his face. He opened his eyes fully, blinking a couple of times to get them in focus. His mother’s beautiful face was there, staring at him, a smile pasted on her face. Next to her was Rosa, her eyes full of tears and red, her cheeks wet. Then six tall huge figures came crushing into the space.
“My son!” his father’s booming voice made Ashat jump. Even in the afterlife his voice scared him.
His brothers were all there smiling down at him. Ashat didn’t understand any of this.
“Kiyo, will you please tell your son he is alive. He’s under the impression that we are all dead and it’s his fault.” His mother spoke, her smiling eyes still on Ashat.
“Son, if our ancestors aren’t ready for me yet, then they aren’t for you.” He laughed, his booming voice making Ashat jump again. Everyone in the room had a similar reaction to it, except for his mother; she was used to it.
Ashat was definitely not dead.
Ashat supported his weight on his right hand as he tried to get into a sitting position, biting down the pain that had started stinging in his back and torso. His mother’s face changed, a shadow of worry crept over it. She reached out for Ashat’s shoulders, gently trying to push him back down.
“Ashat, you are still weak.”
“Let the boy be! He is my son, we are strong!” Kiyo sounded proud; his face reflected it. Tepeu turned and gave him a slit look, Kiyo dulled out, the pride in his face wiped out.
Ashat was stunned, something had changed. His father and mother had switched roles!
Ashat looked at his brothers for some sort of explanation, but they were too busy trying to hide the smiles on their faces, muffling the laughs with their hands. Their father turned and growled, they took a step back, their faces sober.
That hadn’t changed. Ashat leaned more on his right hand, making sure there was not that much weight on his left.
“So what did I miss?” Ashat asked, trying to draw the attention back to him, killing the tension in the room.
Rosa moved around the bed to sit at his other side. She dried her eyes and cheeks, her breath-taking smile beaming at him. Ashat felt a sweet burning sensation inside him, completely masking the pain. He smiled back, grateful that he was still here to keep seeing her gorgeous face.
“Well, you’ve been unconscious for over a month. I was so worried you wouldn’t…” She swallowed hard, fighting the sob that was threatening to leap out of her throat. Tepeu placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Rosa took a deep breath before she stared at Ashat, her smile back on her face. “You are fine now, that’s what matters.” Ashat saw the pain he had caused her. It made his heartache imagining the torment she must have been in, they all had been in.
Rosa placed a hand on Ashat’s cheek. Her touch felt warm, familiar, like it was back where it was meant to be. She inched closer, placing her other hand on his left arm, and then she moved closer again until they were shoulder to shoulder. She carefully lifted his arm and placed it on her thigh, keeping a good grip on his arm, now with both hands. She was trying to support Ashat’s weight, leaving as little as possible to him.
Tepeu had an eye on her, watching her carefully. Ashat thought she would find this inappropriate and rebuke Rosa for it but she looked very amused. Rosa shied away, keeping her gaze low but her hold was still fastened.
Ashat looked down at his very happy and comfortable appendage. His arm was longer than her thigh. His fingers were hung close to her waist, her tiny beautiful waist. Ashat couldn’t resist it. As inconspicuous as he possibly could be, he raised his arm slightly then moved it closer to her waist to touch her. He rubbed his knuckles on her side, caressing her lightly. She gasped and jumped, her face turning a darker shade of pink. Ashat smiled; he loved the way she reacted to his touch. He had missed touching her.
Ashat looked up to meet his mother’s disapproving eyes, but he shrugged it off and turned to face his father who was talking. A man deserved some pleasure, as small as it may seem, especially when he had escaped the clutches of death. Ashat kept caressing her ignoring everyone in the room but her.
****
When he was well enough, Ashat was moved back to his teepee. He had missed watching the sunrise and listening to the wind sing as cool air blew the sweet scent of the lake into his teepee. He had missed the privacy of his home, which he had been deprived of during his recovery, but his mother was instrumental in filtering how many visitors he had. But now back in his own home there was no one to limit the number of people who came to see him. Every single person in the village had been there to see him, all singing praises to the spirits for saving his life.
Nalu and Cano explained all that Ashat had missed. But the discussion was mostly based on Baku. Ashat was furious that he wasn’t able to kill Baku himself.
Ashat tried not to think about it anymore. He focused on the second chance the spirits had given him and a victory over Baku. The Angakut didn’t see any reason not to have Rosa’s and his binding ceremony as soon as possible. He gave the village a month to prepare. He was finally going to marry the love of his life, though he was still worried about the chief thing. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be any good at it. He was a bit relieved when his father was appointed chief adviser. It didn’t bother him that Kiyo would still be giving him orders but whether or not Kiyo was appointed chief adviser, Ashat really didn’t think he wouldn’t be giving him orders when he was chief.
Rosa walked into Ashat’s teepee holding a dish covered with banana leaves. Ashat smiled taking in the beautiful sight as the sun bounced off her dark skin, caressing and magnifying her beauty. He drank her in, re-familiarizing his mind and imagination with her body.
“Brother, we’ll leave you now.” Cano rose as he spoke. Ashat nodded, keeping his eyes on Rosa.
“I don’t think he heard you. Oh well, he’ll realize we are gone when he comes back from his fantasy.” Nalu followed him, laughing heartedly. Rosa stepped out of the doorway to let them pass, keeping her blushed face down.
She moved closer, placing the bowl in front of Ashat. She kept her eyes down, not daring to look at him, but her gentle smile dominated her face.
“Your mother asked me to bring you some food.” She uncovered the dish and rose, walking across to fetch some water. Ashat kept his eyes on her, appreciating the graceful movements her body made.
“I am hungry, but not for food.” Ashat’s voice was low and seductive. He kept his gaze on her face; she was turning redder. She came back and knelt down, placing the cup of water next to the dish.
“Oh. And what would that be?” She busied herself moving the beddings behind and fiddling with his arm that was tied over his chest.
Ashat grabbed her hand and placed it on his bare chest over his heart. “Would you like to take a guess?”
She gasped, and then drew her hand away from him. “Ashat, have you lost your mind?”
“We are going to be married soon, so why shouldn’t I kiss you?” Ashat looked at her surprised by her reaction. He had stolen a few kisses before and didn’t see why she was so offended by his request.
She laughed covering her face with her hand. Ashat stared at her confused by the sudden change; he didn’t say anything funny. “What’s so funny?”
“I thought you were asking me for…” She pointed behind him.
Ashat turned; there was nothing there but his beddings. He turned back and looked at her, still confused. Then her eyes lowered, her face pink, and then it hit him. He laughed at how shy and innocent she was.
“Rosa, the first time I make love to you, it will be on our marriage night. I want that to be special, untainted.”
“I’m the luckiest girl on earth. Now eat.” She pushed the dish closer to him and sat in front of him and watched as he ate.