After All

                                                                           CHAPTER TWO: Fyeyntu

Village life starts early. I quickly eat some fruits, and join my cousin, Euevam, on the seawall terraces, to collect shells for the clan. Today is a very special one. Tse'hay will complete the last step of his Iknimaya, which is to bond with a tsurak, then, he'll finally gain his place among The People, and I'll tattoo him.

The last step of Iknimaya is very important, and requires a lot of concentration and courage, which is why I won't stay as long as usual with Euevam to motivate Tse'hay and provide him with my last advice.

Euevam, the last child of my grandparents on my mother's side, is technically my aunt, but our small three-year age gap makes us feel like cousins. I have the same kind of relationship with 'Inaeng, my other grandparents' last born. 

I call my favorite ilu, Ikxini, and jump in the water. Other clan members are already busy, and I think that, now, everyone is awake. I enthustiastically greet my former teacher, Yaat, as Ikxinu and I ride past her marui.

Euevam is already here when I arrive, crouched and focused on gleaning the best shells.

"Kxì!" I exclaim as I arrive next to her and let Ikxinu leave.

"Kaltxì ma Lei'wan!" she replies, her curls twirling as she instantly turns her head to face me.

I hop in, unsheathe my knife, and start working.

I like doing this. Picking shells, deciding which ones are better, washing and collecting them in a basket. It might seem repetitive but it's not boring, and it's also useful.

I don't know if she's already been informed of our departure since it was announced to Tse'hay and I two days ago, but, either way, I have to tell her. Being away from her is going to be very difficult for me. We've been sharing everything since our birth. Even our spirit sisters are close to each other. 

"I...have something to tell you", I utter, breaking the comfortable silence that we were wrapped in for a few minutes.

"Go on."

"My parents are taking me and Tse'hay to the forest for a few months. My grandparents and aunts are coming as well"

"I knew about this already, ma Lei", Euevam says, as she puts her knife down and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Really?" 

Despite the tone in which I say this, I'm not surprised. Euevam is a very observing and analysing person, and those skills enable her to understand things, even the subtler ones, quicker than most people.

"I simply overheard your parents talking to mine about it, and how they asked them to take the leading roles while you'll all be away".

"And are you okay with it? I mean, us leaving".

"I'll miss you a lot, of course", she shrugs, "but you won't be gone forever. I will be fine, don't worry about me."

"Yes, that's right".

"But I want to know how it looks, how it feels like! The forest, I'm saying. When you're coming back, you'll have to tell me in great detail!

"Don't worry, I will!" I answer, with a laugh.

Euevam is almost as curious about the forest as I am. When I venture to the mainland, she's the one who accompanies me, most of the time. She spends a lot of time with my brother and I, and she's close to my father's parents. In fact, she's more than a cousin to me, she's a sister. Tse'hay has the same kind of relationship with her. She's our beloved big sister.