I learned that Maeya and Terra are sisters, with Terra just two years older. Giff and Sar are brothers, but not related to the women. Sar is two years older, (even though shorter than Giff). The two men were from another village and came here to live in this village a few years ago. The men from one village will often leave and go to another to find a mate. Generally, if young males arrive in the village from another and begin working and living in that village, it is assumed they are "eligible".
By the way, I learned that the cosmetic color that the women wear on the corners of their eyes indicate "eligibility". Red coloring means unmarried; lavender is used for a married woman. A few years before I came to the village, Sar and Terra were married. Trem and Leea were very proud of their new son-in-law, and felt that Terra had made a good decision to choose him for a mate. Sar was a fortunate fellow to win her heart. I really grew to like Terra. She is so full of life and a very giving person. During my struggle to learn their language, I would seek her out to help me when I couldn't communicate something to a family that I was staying with. She would patiently repeat the needed phrase to me and listen to my pronunciation of it until I got it right.
Sar is quite a shy person. When I was staying with another family in the village, I was told a story about him. The man that told me the story is Shen, who married Ka-mae'. Shen said he worked alongside Sar in the fields, and while chatting during a break; they had gotten on the subject of marriage. Sar told Shen he was very fond of Terra, but didn't have the courage to tell her. Sar knew that Terra would be the perfect wife, but figured he didn't have a chance with the competition, from inside the village, but also from other men who came from other villages, like he did. Shen said Sar would ask him to put in a good word for him to Terra.
Our hut was next to Terra's family, and we spoke quite often. I did as he asked. I would steer the conversation at times with Terra about how hard Sar worked in the fields and that he would sure make a good husband for some fortunate woman someday. I knew that Terra felt he was a very good man, but she needed a little prodding to consider him as a mate. Eventually, I managed to talk Sar into being a little more aggressive by making sure he visited the family more often and asking Terra to go for walks with him. Soon afterward, he summoned up the courage to ask her to be his mate. I'd like to think that I had a hand in bringing them together... That’s the story that Shen had told me.
Giff is very fond of an attractive woman in the village named De-nay', and visits with her family often. She is the great granddaughter of the old one named Bren. Bren is quite respected in the village, having been a descendant of the first families of the Sarn to settle in this area. Giff, a tall healthy specimen, is always quite sure of himself, and not the shy type like his brother. I'm sure that he will win her heart before long. Looking around the village, I don't see much in the way of competition for him.
Maeya ... the one who seems to be the most distant, the one who is the most difficult to get close to. It's not that she's aloof... it's just that there is something about her that is... let's just say, different. I've noticed that she disappears from the village for a day or so at a time, slipping in and out without anyone hardly noticing. Those in the village never really seem too concerned about it, like it was expected.
If I could sum up Maeya's role in the village, I guess it could be best described as the “village physician". If someone has a wound, she'll make salves that will keep the injury from getting infected, and also dull the pain. If there's a start of an illness, she'll gather various types of herbs outside of the village area and make medicines from them to give the child. She always seems to know what combination of plants to use for any situation.
She's definitely a mystery, even to the villagers, but Maeya is quite compassionate and deeply cares for all in the village. No one really knows where she obtains her knowledge, but everyone is sure glad to have her around! Trem and Leea, her parents, love her as much as Terra and are proud of her because of her importance to the village, but are quite concerned about her. By that, I mean her "status" as far as suitors are concerned. Single men coming into the village, or the men within the village for that matter, don't seem to think of her as someone they would choose to be their mate. I think they consider her, using my words now, sort of "spooky". She also doesn't have the physique for work like the other women do, and really doesn't seem to be as domestically minded as they are either. I guess, with this combination, she isn't really what the average Sarn male is looking for. Maeya is just... well... Maeya.
One day, while I was harvesting sibannac with Sar, I asked him about her. He stopped his work and sat down, thinking for a moment on how best to answer me. I sat down with him to listen. In his own way, he tried to tell me that she was different from most of the Sarn people... something about a different "spirit". He said in his lifetime, he had heard of only one other woman like Maeya, and she was far away from this village. I brought up how she was the first person to meet me from the village, and that she seemed to be very curious as to my presence at the lake. He remembered that day, of course, and told me what had taken place before our encounter. A couple days before our meeting, he said, she seemed to be disturbed about something. Maeya didn't speak about it but we knew something was on her mind. Later, she felt as though she needed to travel away from the village and towards the lake. She asked us to come along with her. That sure surprised us! This was the first time she ever wanted someone to go with her, so Terra, Giff and I came along. She seemed to know exactly where to go as she led us directly to you! He suggested that I should talk to Maeya to ask her more about the day we first met. I agreed and felt that there was more to this story, and that the answer would come from Maeya herself. I knew I could talk to Sar, and that he would be open with me. He gave me a pat on the shoulder, smiled and said, well... let's get back to work.