By the Pond
I'll Fly Away
Snap.
He turned, but there was no one there to answer his gaze.
The day was growing old, and his passionate friend had not arrived. But, could he still consider the lovely creature, the one he had tightly held in his arms, a friend? The boundary had become blurred since their last encounter. He remembered, with a faint smile, the warmth he had felt with her in his arms. Everything had felt so right, yet, so utterly wrong.
And, he was getting that exact same feeling once again.
His heart skipped a beat.
Perhaps, she would not show? What if he had scared her?
He sat down and leaned against a rock.
By Ra, what if she believed him to be a rapist?
Ja-Kal threw his head back in anguish, running a hand through his hair.
His mind flew back to the last image he had of Nefer-Tina. She had smiled at him--not a fake, uneasy one, but a genuine smile.
It was the same smile she had given him throughout their younger years. Yes, the ambition had been revived.
From his first encounter with the fiery creature, he had known within the depths of his being that she was destined for greater things. His stomach tightened just by the mere thought of her.
Ja-Kal saw a bird out of the corner of his eye, and turned to observe it. The insipid bird contrasted sharply with the luminous sky. His monotonous features melted into a sly smile. The sky was clearly making way for an overdue spring rain.
There was something about standing in a spring shower that made his flesh tingle. The rain was a sweet embrace. Nefer-Tina had smelled like spring rain.
He vehemently shook his head. No, he had to forget about even the remote possibility of a relationship with the young woman. Even if she did manage to escape her future marriage, being the resourceful being that she is, they both had their futures to go on to. Perhaps, one day they would be free of their duties and would be able to consider a future together, but, now, it was not the time.
By Ra, how could a single person make his emotions and logic blur together? Half of himself was shouting at him to find Nefer-Tina and claim her. Perhaps if her parents saw what a bright, young man he was, they would reconsider sending her off to the old goat? Ja-Kal shook his head in defeat. Logic had won this argument. What would truly happen if he did go to her family would not be to his benefit. Her parents would see the opportunity and hold an auction for their precious jewel. Frankly, the occupation of a hunter did not have the assets one would require in an auction--he only had one cow.
Ja-Kal tightened his fists and clenched his teeth in frustration.
"I vow to become the greatest hunter the people of Ra have ever seen!" he proclaimed to the air, throwing a fist at the sky.
If Nefer-Tina could not achieve the future she desired, then he would work twice as hard for both of them. Nothing would stand in his way to become an elite huntsman.
Picking up the smoothest rock he could find, he threw it across the pond. Ja-Kal could always find peace by applying himself to a task, no matter the magnitude.
The rock sailed through the air before sliding across the membranous surface of the pond.
It reached the other side of the pond.
End.
[Endgame: "Uh… what just happened?!" Well, I'll tell you my friend: metaphors up the wazoo! Thank you, everyone! (Especially Julie for helping the gears turn in my head!) I'm glad you enjoyed my little gander at Ja-Kal and Nefer-Tina's past.]