Part 10: Torches To Burn Bright

My bare painted feet felt the firm dirt underneath me, my exposed skin felt the cool breeze that flowed from the river, my nose caught the smell of wood, smoke, and spices from the pots and pans that stood over the fire, my ears heard the birds in the jungle, the crackling of the fires, the waves against the shore, the quick breathing of the hundred members of the tribe before me. My eyes tried to focus on one thing. I tried focusing on what was in front of me, the black-eyed stares and closed-mouth giggles of all those whom stood before me. I tried casting my gaze on Nahuel, his large white smile exposed upon seeing me in full costume. Yet neither seemed to comfort me.

"Oh, goddess divine. May your beauty shine light upon us." Nahuel followed behind the tribe's leader as he approached my frozen figure. The leader extended his hand towards me. Upon Nahuel's nod I placed mine in it. "Tonight we honor the blue moon and its blessings."

Nahuel smiled as he tried to come up with the right words to translate what was in their native tongue. Upon seeing his mouth the chief held up our clasped hands and the tribe let out a large cheer. The drums started again and they all began to dance. It seemed to continue on for a good five minutes before the chief raised his voice and his other hand to silence them.

"We honor the moon who gives light in the darkest of night, who marks our passing of time, whose radiance leaves us without words." I felt myself blush as Nahuel spoke aloud over the silence. "Yet, we not only celebrate the arrival of the new second moon, but we celebrate it's union with the sun, for it is through this act that all life is given."

Another cheer rose high above us as the chief and Nahuel's words drifted over the clearing. Yet the cheering did not stop, it continued as a group of torchbearers moved through the crowd. Their steps matched in rhythm with the drums that played all around us, its sound echoing through the night. People parted quickly as the group of men, who looked more like fierce warriors passed. The fire from the torches flickered casting a glow upon each person as their feet stomped the hard earth. Yelps rose among the men as they chanted in their native language above the sound of the drums. Ten torch bearers made their final steps toward the chief and I. Their voices rose together in a bellow of words that rolled of their tongues. The drums picked up speed, as if the melody spoke of a great battle that had reached its climax.

Their words and the drums fell silent, both coming to a sudden halt. A moment passed before the group divided and made an opening. As they parted I caught sight of something comforting. Jacob stood before me, his bare arms and chest painted in bright intricate yellow paint, red dye covered his eyes in the same design as mine. He wore a leather cloth around his waist much like Nahuel's. I felt myself smile upon seeing him, for with his dark features he looked like a member of the tribe. Yet he was nearly double the size of one of their warriors.

"Glorious sun, whose strength gives us warmth, whose rays plant the earth with life. We honor you." Nahuel words echoed over me.

My smile deepened upon realizing the part Jacob played in all of this. It seemed he too was taken aback, and a little uneasy about having to play a part. Well, for that I was grateful. It made too of us then. The chief extended his hand. Jacob took a step forward and placed his hand upon the chiefs.

"We honor our friends and the gift their union has bestowed upon our tribe. We feast and make glad in their presence."

The chief looked to both of us and then to the crowd before raising all our hands high above our heads.

"Let the feast begin!" Nahuel clapped his hands. As if on cue the crowd moved and shuffled into their next respective places, leaving Jacob and I with the chief.

"You both look—"

"Ridiculous." Jacob crossed his arms as he glanced from Nahuel to me. "Well, at least I do."

"It's a part of the festival." Nahuel said with a smile. "The sun and the moon."

"What's next?" I asked looking at rest of the tribe who now gathered around the large fires, the men already sitting in circles, the women seeing to the cooking food.

"The meal will be served. I suggest you try to eat what you can, it would be offensive not to. Then usually the eldest member of the tribe will tell a story. Dancing, drinking." Nahuel looked to an approaching Rhurita. "It seems we are holding the feast. Let us go and sit."

Rhurita large body shook as she moved towards us, her hands outstretched for what I assumed was mine. I gave it to her more freely this time trusting her, for she I hoped would be my guide throughout the rest of the night. With more force than I would have liked she ushered me through the circles upon circles of members of the tribe, past delicious spiced meats and plants, to the elongated low-residing table in front of the largest fire. She pointed to a seat to the right of the chief, and then she pointed to Jacob and bayed him sit to the left of the chief. Nahuel nodded to him as he took the seat on the other side of me.

"We will wait until we are served, then the tribe's, what is the word…holy man will perform a blessing, to ward off any evil spirits who would desire to enter our stomachs." Nahuel eyes directed me to a strange dressed, what I assumed, man, whose whole body was clad in beaded thatch, his face pierced multiple times.

The chief was silent beside me, the only sound was of that of his breathing and a low groaning as if he was chanting under his breath.

"Pay him no mind." Nahuel whispered as he leaned towards me, his breath warm against my bare shoulder. I caught myself turning to see him. His eyes pierced mine, the firelight echoing across them.

"This is a lot to take in." I took a shallow breath as I turned my eyes from him to the crowd of strangers whose strange chanting I still had not quite gotten used to. I saw the women move toward us, it would seem we would be served first, for all the others already held their empty bowls still within their hands.

"You are doing very well, Renesmee. The goddess herself would be proud." Nahuel laughed to himself, the sound unfortunately was drowned out as the enticing drums began to play again.

"Do you believe in her?" I asked surprised by the reverence he seemed to hold within his words.

"I have seen a lot in my many years not to hold honor for the great legends our people have built their lives upon. Some say that at night, on a full moon, you can glimpse her walking through the jungle, leaving a trail of silver footprints in the dirt, and a shimmer of pearl upon the leaves her body has grazed."

"Have you ever seen such a thing?"

"A long time ago, when I was but a boy." His eyes glazed over as his mind drifted away from this place and this time.

"Really?" I turned my body towards him fully enraptured in his words.

"I awoke in the night, the full moon's glow more bright than I had every seen it. The light penetrated the dense jungle, rays of silver shown all around me. I stood and touched the leaves believing them to be more metal than plant. I followed the light's trail and came to a clearing, the lagoon shown in the moonlight, the reflection of the moon bright amongst its rippling waters. My eyes caught sight of a single form escaping into the other side of the brush, a garment of emitting light disappearing as quickly as I had seen it. I rushed to find the owner of such beauty, and yet they were gone."

"You believe it was her, the goddess of the moon?" My eyes glanced up at the moon. Almost half of it was already black.

"Yes, a part of me hopes it was." Nahuel's eyes took hold of me once more a deep smile crossing his face. "You are beautiful Renesmee. A rare but true daughter of the moon."

I felt his hand cover mine and for a moment I let him, until the drums stopped abruptly forcing me to pull my hand away, a rush of warmth finding its way to my cheeks for being so jumpy. Nahuel turned his attention to the chief who rose beside me his hands extended to his tribe.

"Brother, come and make way for our food." Nahuel echoed the chief's words into my ear.

The holy man approached us his hand holding a large wooden stick. The drums played up again, this time in a heightened rhythm. The man danced a weird strange looking string of movements and grunts; he finally raised his stick to the fire until it caught. Once the burning seemed evident he circled his staff around three times in the air all the while the while his legs moving forcefully about until his shouts stopped. He smacked his staff on the ground and the end burned no more. As if on cue the crowd cheered and began to feast.

I glanced for the first time to the spiced smelling food that lay before me. Even in the light of the fires and torches around me, the black masses were a mystery. Nahuel words were clear to eat what I could, a sign of graciousness. My eyes looked over at the chief, his hands and fingers were already plentiful with food. Jacob however seemed much like I was, taking his time and hoping no one saw him simply move it around the bowl.

"It is not as bad as you think. Eat." Nahuel swallowed a handful.

I followed his lead and picked up a handful and quickly without thinking brought it into my mouth. The flavors blended together in an array of spice, a custom I was not used to. I held my breath to keep from coughing as I swallowed. I reached for my wood goblet in front of me and drank a large sum hoping to get rid of the burning on my tongue. Yet the drink was more potent than I had believed. My eyes widened at its taste.

"It has a kick to it doesn't it." I heard Jacob exclaim as he leaned his body back past the chief.

"Just drink more slowly." Nahuel chuckled obviously amused by my past reactions.

I made it a point to take smaller bits, and more appropriate sips from the heavy drink that seemed to keep refilling itself in my glass. After the chief seemed satisfied with his fill, having nearly belched half the time he ate, he raised his hands once more and waved them in the air. The music stopped and the crowd silenced. The chief's native tongue vaguely carried over his people, but it seemed they did not look concerned. I assumed they already knew what was to come next.

"The chief's mother, the eldest of the tribe will now recant the legend." Nahuel leaned towards me his breath warm against my neck.

My eyes tried to focus on the woman who was being brought forward into the middle of the great circle. Two men carried her and set her wooden pallet on the ground bowing as they took several steps backward. Her ruddy skin was wrinkled in creases all across her face, her eyes could barely be seen, her hands lay folded in front of her. For a moment she seemed more like a statue than a living being, for she neither moved nor spoke. Yet in a swift moment her black eyes opened wide and she stared directly at me, it was only then that she began to speak.

"Ina cue a la tourna des amouras" Her words drifted over us all, thick and rich, her voice did not shake despite her age, it held strong with purpose. I was mesmerized.

"Before time and creation, bound in the Heavens were two ill-fated lovers," Nahuel translated. I never turned my gaze from the wise woman, even as Nahuel continued to whisper the story in my ear. "Descendents of the opposing gods of light and dark, one a son of light and one a daughter of darkness. Jealous of their combined power and fear of their union, the god of light and the god of darkness agreed on one and one thing alone in their existence, that their children should never be allowed to spend eternity with the other. Light and Dark banished their children from heaven and exiled them to live eternity without the nearness of the other, Light's son born in fire and day became the Sun, Darkness' daughter, born in cold and night became the Moon. The Moon in her grief cried the Stars and created the night's sky. The Sun in his anger burned bright and vivid for a full day creating the first Sunrise and Sunset. Heaven reveled in sorrow at the act of its own sons, Light and Dark. For although the act could not be undone, Heaven granted the two lovers a gift, once every so often the Sun and the Moon would be able to meet, to align and become one. The first time the Sun and the Moon meet in the sky the Earth was born, from whom we all now have life."

The woman's hand shook as she pointed overhead to the sky. My eyes gazed up into the night only to see that the eclipse was almost complete. I looked back curious to hear more when I saw her vivid black eyes on me once more.

"Louna." Her hand extended towards me.

"You must go to her." Nahuel whispered. I nodded my head and rose from where I sat. I felt the world spin as I did so, it seemed the drink had affected me. I crossed the distance between us the best I could and stood by her side, where his finger was firmly pointed.

"Solara." Her hand extended towards Jacob.

Jake rose, his body bridging the gap between us quickly, the drink it seemed had not affected him as it had me, or at least he wasn't showing it. He bade me a nod, his eyes glancing from me to the elder woman in between us.

"Dous courbina una, dous laterinta una."

At the sound of her last words the tribe rose up a mighty cheer and stood swiftly and began dancing around their fires, the drums rattled hard and the music exploded all around us. I glanced at Nahuel for his guide but he was lost in conversation with the Chief.

"Ness, look." Jacob's voice called above the rest. His eyes glanced from the night's sky to mine and smiled, then as if beckoning me to follow his gaze he looked up once more. I let my eyes follow.

The lunar eclipse was complete, the blue moon, a second new moon this month was in full alignment with the sun. The Sun and Moon were finally one.

"Una, una!" The woman cheered with a large smile on her face as she too glanced up into the sky. Her hands clapped together and I knew that if she could she would be dancing with the rest of her tribe. Instead she grabbed my hand in hers and Jake's in the other and placed our hands together.

My eyes met Jacob's and I couldn't help but smile, for his hand felt warm like the sun in mine, and I knew mine must have felt colder, like the moon, in his. I laughed and for a moment I didn't think of all that had happened between us, I simply let Jacob pull me into his arms and let him lead me in the dancing. The rest I figured I could think about tomorrow.

I awoke the next morning to the high-pitched sounds all around me, the clanging of pots and the grating noise of a machete on wood. The shrieks of children, the native tongue played on in my ears. The tent was dark fortunately, for I knew any sunlight would be too much. The soft layers of cloth upon which I lay were warm. I touched my fingers to my head sure that I would find a wound there, for it felt as it were literally splitting into two. I took a deep breath hoping that doing so would alleviate the pain. I sat up swiftly when I recognized a second familiar sound, someone was in the tent with me, someone was in the corner, someone was there sitting in the darkness. Yet rising had caused my vision to blur and my head to spin again. I couldn't help but moan from the pain.

"You're up." Nahuel spoke from the chair in the corner. "Don't move too quickly, it'll only make it worse."

"What…what happened to me?" I mumbled breathlessly as I rubbed my head in hopes that that would alleviate the siring pain, and abate the growing sounds around me.

"Too much of that drink I am guessing." Nahuel's mouth only tightened as he spoke.

"I never thought…I mean I didn't know we could feel that…this way."

"You're half-human Renesmee, there are still some things that can affect us. Especially when you don't head my advice." Nahuel's had yet to smile, which in any other circumstance would have worried me, yet it was my perplexed expression that bade him to continue. "You seemed to enjoy it, you never slowed, you simply continued through out the night."

"I did?"

"You don't remember?" Nahuel tilted his head a questioning glance in his eyes.

"I remember the feast…the story of the Sun and Moon…dancing with Jacob." I rubbed my forehead again as if doing so would help the memories. Yet there were none, total darkness after that.

"What happened?" I looked up at him. "Nahuel—"

"Do not trouble yourself, Ness." Nahuel spoke softly, he brushed a piece of my hair away from my face.

I watched as Nahuel's gaze found its way over my face as if studying me. His eyes were kind and thoughtful, for the first time since last night I watched a smile spread across his lips. It was that smile and his thoughtful and longing gaze that made me suddenly shiver. What had happened last night?

"Take your time. I will be outside with the others." Nahuel stood and walked towards the long piece of leather that separated the darkness of the hut from the light of the day. He opened it cautiously hoping to spare me the harshness of the sun. "The women have left a few items outside the door for you." His head peeked back in. "Should you need…anything." He simply nodded and left, leaving the flap to fall swiftly back into its original position.

I took a deep breath hoping that doing so might stifle the river of emotions that flooded me. I lay back down and it was only then that I began to feel the coolness of the layers of cloth under me and the breeziness of the blanket that covered me against my bare skin. To my utter horror and bewilderment, I realized that I was not wearing a single piece of clothing. I was completely naked underneath the covers. My cheeks burned red and my mouth ran dry. I frantically searched the sides of the shiftily made bed in hopes of finding what I had been wearing last night. Yet there was nothing. Not a single piece of either fabric lay anywhere. I began to panic. I racked my brain for any explanation, for any memory within my mind of how this had happened. Yet there was nothing. Nothing but darkness where there should have been a valid reason.

I stood and wrapped the blanket around me tightly as if doing so would help stop the overflowing shame and confusion. I gently opened the flap and blocked the sun with my hand. My eyes began to water from the sudden intensity and I waited for a good minute or so before my vision came into focus. Glancing to the side of the hut I noticed what Nahuel had mentioned. There in a basket were several articles of cloth, for what I assumed I could wear. I grabbed the basket and the other one containing some bread and fruit and quickly retreated back into the safety of the hut.

I set to discarding the blanket and wrapping the articles of cloth around me as quick as possible. Once I was sure that every inch of my chest, waist and as much of my legs as possible were covered I felt better, more myself. I ate the slices of bread quickly, and grabbed the strange smaller pieces of fruit as I made my way out of the hut.

The sun once again blinded me but this time it seemed easier to handle than before. My head hurt less and my vision cleared. It seemed I had slept in the middle hut within the village, for tribesman were all around me. The men were stocking the fires, the women scurried around with pots on their hips, or some crouched near their huts using a mortar and pastel, others stood in groups talking and laughing.

Yet it was as if a spotlight suddenly hit me for upon seeing me emerge their eyes turned towards me, a large smile spread across their faces and all at once they began to chant and cheer. I had never been more utterly embarrassed in my life, and I had no idea what to be embarrassed about. I walked on simply trying to nod and smile as if I knew what they were referring to that it wasn't a big deal. I played along as best as I could.

My eyes caught sight of Jacob through the other line of huts, he seemed to be in a game of some kind with the local boys from the village. The boys were of all ages, from five or six, to nearly our age. He bent down to help pick up a younger one who had fallen. I smiled seeing his kindness and gentleness, the way the boys tears seemed to be abated at something Jacob had said. Soon the boy was up and moving swiftly along with the others.

They all held sticks with a mesh or netting on the end, passing a ball of some kind trying to pass and score into a single large wooden circle at either end. Upon hearing their fellow tribe members their game stopped and all their eyes turned to me. They all too joined in on the fun. Yet Jacob's face, which had only minutes ago been lit up, upon seeing me had become lifeless. His eyes averted my gaze and he simply patted the older boy on the shoulder as if motioning for them to continue the game. They did so but not without another round of chanting.

I felt unhinged. I felt foolish and ashamed. I felt betrayed. I felt alone. I felt embarrassed and humiliated. All emotions that stirred from a memory I had yet to remember, and had yet to be told. I knew Jacob, his face had said it all. I had hurt him last night. In some way, in some action, I had pained him greatly. The hardest part in all of this was that he still stayed. Despite it all, despite whatever I had done, he hadn't fled. He had stayed. That was what gave me hope that maybe I was wrong. Maybe just maybe there was a reasonable explanation for it all.