(Author's Note - Giles Point of view)
- Wayanas Village
The native brought us into the village, and stopped at a large hut. The fishboy's parent took him inside along with Elisa and Zelda. A native woman with flower crown walked to me, I guessed she's the leader here due to her outfit, but honestly I barely see any men here beside women and boys.
"Greetings, men from afar." she greeted as she raised her right hand to touch her forehead with her index and mid finger, and pulled out, "I'm Alpha Mai'ana(MAI-A-NA)" she introduced herself.
I know the hand moving things that similar to 2 fingers version 'Hello' in ASL is their greeting, but what surprise me was how good their English is.
"You can go with her, I'll look after them" Dimitri said before he entered the hut.
(Author's Note - Back To Elisa's Point of view)
- Cedrica's House, Wayanas Village
A pale creature with 6 pink external gills placed blue salts on my lover's wound as he remained unconscious in his round wooden tub. His parent and Dimitri stood by him as Zelda, and I waited at the door way.
"His wounds is pretty bad, but he'll be fine." The pale creature confirmed his parent, "I used sapphire salt on him, it heals fast, but it will be painful for a while,"
"It's okay, we'll look after him" Dimitri replied.
I can hear all the creature talked loud and clear as if he just said it in front of me. I never hear my lover speaking before, so I guess it must be some kind of telepathy I guess.
"God, they don't even move their lips" Zelda chuckled.
The pale creature crawled closer to us before it will stopped in front of me, and stood up with it's full height. Which is taller than me.
"You're the woman who's carrying the child, right?" I nodded after I heard his voice in my head. He raised his hand up to my forehead, "May I?". I nodded quickly, he placed his hand on top of my forehead, and for a moment I can felt the baby kick inside me before he pulled his hand out, "They will be fine" he said to my lover's parent, "But she might need potion when she gives birth."
"What does it mean? Is the baby okay?" I signed quickly.
"They are, but I'm not sure about you."
(Author's Note - Giles Point of view)
Mai'ana showed me the village where the women were practicing their march as few of them were cooking, and crafting. I noticed few weird animals and a Giant Anteater playing with the kids.
"I know you are anxious because I had asked you for a private talk, but I can assure you that I mean no harm. We have been protecting gods and hide them from the eyes of the world for centuries until we got attacked by the white men in the previous harvest month(September)" she stopped and sighed, "Most of our men, and my partner, died that day."
She stopped as we finally near the fishboy's hut.
"I need an answer, from now, it will be a war or not." she said firmly.
"I'm sorry for your lost, your highness" I meant it, "But don't worry, he...he..." I stopped as I tried to come up with new name that sound more appropriate to the people who look up to him as a god, "The..." I struggle to come up with the new name as my thumb is pointing at the house he went in with his family.
"Charlie?" she asked.
"Yes! Yes! CHARLIE!" that's his name?, "He'd erased everyone's memories about him, and my friend, she loves him above all else, she-she..." I don't know how to say it out.
She've did everything...she've risked everything, and gave up everything...and the result that came back to her isn't fair at all, but still she stood by his side even there was no chance for them to be together.
"I understand" she replied kindly, "I hope we will meet again, hearty" she finished with the same sign she did when she greeted me.
She walked to her daughter who ran to her with a giant guinea pig. They left as the giant guinea pig walked to me with its hind legs. It gave me a trilling squeaked with one of its pawl, and a smile on its face.
"Oh!" I chuckled, and we shook hands "Nice to meet you…" I glimpsed his vines collar, "Hardy! I'm Giles."
He squeaked, and let go of my hand. He got down on his 4 legs, and cock his head at the fishboy's no! Charlie's house, offering invitation.
"Lead the way" I replied and it jumped into the pet door.
I opened the door, and enter the house where everyone gathered in the living room except Zelda and the fishboy's father.
(Author's Note - Back To Elisa's Point of view)
The pale creature looked at my webbed hands through a magnifying glass as it immersed in a water bowl. The webbed part was light blue, blending with my skin. He lifted my hand off the water, and the webbed slowly shrunk back to my normal hand.
"Does your gills work the same way?" The pale creature asked, and I nodded, "Your marine blood is undeveloped, how long you've been living on land?"
"37 years" I replied.
"Born premature?" he asked, how do I know!?
"She is" my lover's mother confirmed, she was there when I was born?
"So it's the side effect of her premature birth, right?" Dimitri asked the pale creature, "It caused the crack in her genes, combine with 37 years without salt water, making her body goes dormant."
"Yes" the pale creature replied, and look at me, "I'm surprised she survives this long."
"So is there anything we can do?" Giles asked.
So many questions I have in my head, but I barely have time for any of them. I don't give a damn about the incompleteness in my gene, all I care about is my baby, will it be okay when it's born?
"What will happen to the baby when it's born?" I signed, and pointed at my lover's room "He's my cousin."
"WHAT!? You mean Charlie?" The pale creature squeaked, "Wait, you're Jacquira's daughter, right?" he asked, and I nodded, "Then you both aren't relative."
I gasped with wide eyes, does he meant it? He really meant it, right?
"I'm sorry, dear. But where did you get that idea?" My lover's mother asked.
Everything was empty until we felt the burning on our skin waking us from peace / Where is Elisa? we remember our bedroom ceiling and water bed but that barely matter / Where is the woman we love?
We looked down at the seaweed bandage and hissed in pain / It's the blue salt no wonder why it's so painful / We rose our head up, and found father sat right next to us with Zelda behind him /
"Elisa?" where is she?
"Take it easy, son" Father replied and placed a hand on our shoulder "She is with your mother" /
"You gave us a wee scare" Zelda added /
We sighed and laid back on our bed / She is safe now...tears flow down our cheeks as we sighed in relief / Not because we are home or the pain of the scar...it's because she is safe now / She would no longer need us after this...we can finally rest now /
(Author's Note - Zelda Point of view)
"Take care of her…" The fishguy signed weakly with a chirp.
His father shook his head, and pointed at his son. He must do it, he must get better and take care of Elisa, and their baby.
"No, son...you take care of her" I can hear his father's voice echoes the room like a telepathy.
"It's time…" he signed with a choked, "I can't stay" and chirped sadly.
"Seriously?" I asked, "After everything?"
"She'll be fine…" he signed in tears
NO! she won't be fine! SHE'LL NEVER BE! I won't lie that his scars were pretty direful, but he had no right to use that as the reason to ditch his wife who was carrying his child!
"You have made it very far, son...How can that be your decision?" his father voice echoes the air, "Have you forgotten? That she is pregnant with your child."
"She is our blood...our kin…" he replied.
His father screeded in surprised and shook his head. Was that a 'no' or just a disbelieve reaction? His reaction weren't something like, 'No! that's not true! that's impossible!", it's more like a 'What!? no! are you joking?" or, "How do you know!?"
"No, son...She's not our blood" YES! I thought as his voice reflecting the water, "I know why you think she is, but I can assure you, son... she's not our kin."
"She is your wife" I reminded him, "Think of everything she did for you...she drag herself all the way here for you." I emphasized the last word, "How would she feel if she hear what you said?"
Actually he didn't say a word beside signing and chirping unlike his father, but that's all I can say to him for her. What will happen next is depended on his choice.
"Do you remember what happened to Colwyn? You were young when he lost" he stopped as if it pained him, "everything...but you saw what it did to him...right? How it slowly killed him until he lost his will to live." he asked, and the fishguy nodded, "Will you let that happen to Elisa?"
He gasped in tears and shook his head desperately as his colors shifting into blues and lilac. I guess Colwyn was the name of his uncle, and I'm sure the fishguy remember him. I don't know what he've been through before his death, but I'm sure Elisa won't be able to cope with it alone. The fish guy chirped desperately, and tried to get off the wooden tub, his father stopped him with a hand on his bicep. He made a gentle rumbling sound, lulling his son to sleep. He'll have plenty of time to catch up with her when he wakes.
Welcome to Charlie's world! I'm sorry for the slow update. The pale creature that healing Charlie is based on the axolotl. I know giving the idea that the fishy and Elisa is related is crazy, but well, I made her dad sibling to the fish guy's father in the previous book. So I guess I better make them unrelated, so it won't be awkward.
It's real hard to come up with the reason for Elisa's fish genes. We all know that she's not 100% human, but she still has 98% of human physical body(2% for the gills), and she can't be over 70% fishy, or else she wouldn't survive on land for 37 years!
I'm planning to add more part of the villagers that protect the gods land, and the other gods land around the world, because human technology will keep moving forward even after Charlie erased their memories. So I think it would make more sense if the villager have corporate, and preparation.