As we get closer to Tetyh’s men, I’m getting more and more nervous. The way I feel now makes yesterday’s events look like nothing. I’m not sure if I’m more concerned about them liking me or accepting me and not questioning how I look. I don’t think I’ve ever been more aware of how different I am. 

Tetyh senses how I feel because he turns and gives me a smile.

“You don’t have to worry too much. They won’t cause you any trouble, and you’re with me, so they know you’re okay.”

That almost makes me feel better. Almost. We’re basically on them, and they’re turning to look at me. I was right. They’re way taller and bigger than me. A lot of them are at least Maeren’s height or taller. One major difference is that they seem to be way nicer. They stare a bit and whisper to each other, but no frowns or narrowed eyes. They have the same dark wavy hair, brown tanned skin, and dark eyes. Some have their hair pulled back low while others have it down.

“Men, we have a guest of Denchi’s with us. His name is Aderran, and I know you’ll treat him well and make him feel at home,” he tells them with a soft yet firm tone.

They all either nod in agreement or give brief hellos. Now all eyes are on me more than ever. I’m not used to the attention, ut so far, so good. I think. One of the men steps forward, tall, broad build with a slightly narrowed face. He slightly resembles Tetyh except with more hair, which is loosely tied and over his shoulder.

“Uncle, how long will our guest be staying with us? Do we need to prepare anything?” he asks. These introductions are definitely going better than I thought.

“Just for the day,” I tell him. I need to say enough not to look too suspicious and still play it smart and not say too much. Tetyh already gave me a good story, and I shouldn't ruin it running my mouth.

“Well, good to have you here. How far have you traveled? We don’t get too many people who wander through here with the harsh coldness west of here and the dense forest that surrounds us.”

I hide how lost I am. I just found out this area existed this morning, so how am I supposed to pretend to know what exists beyond here? Never mind that I’m not sure where I’m supposed to tell them I’m from. When I usually try to get out of something, the more talking, the better. I don’t think that’ll work this time.

“Let our guest rest, Azichi. He hasn’t been here long, and he still has a lot to see. No need to ask all this at once. And he may possibly be back, so there will be time for questions later,” Tetyh says. What a lifesaver. Did I mention he was my favorite?

“But that was only one question,” Azichi says, looking confused. He looks at me, and I look down at the ground, partially to avoid eye contact and because Tetyh basically said that he wants me to come back. My face feels hot, and I’m trying not to smile.

“At any rate, we have to get going. I trust that you can get today’s haul prepared and get things settled here,” Tetyh says with that same tone Mother gives when she doesn’t want me to ask any more questions. I need to learn how to do that.

“Yes, Uncle,” he says, still looking confused but says nothing more.

Tetyh turns to leave, and I follow after giving a quick wave and “nice to meet you” to the men. Once we’re a good way away from them, I can relax a little. Even though my mind is racing, I don’t have to worry about everyone hating me, for now. 

I try to forget everything that Maeren told me. I can’t help but remember what he told me about the other people in the village. If those men were fishing, more people gather and tend to the land and hunt in the forest. I still have to meet them, and how will that go? What if they don’t treat me with the same kindness? I’m getting nervous again. I slow down, and Tetyh notices.

“What’s wrong? Do we need to stop for a while?”

“No,” I say. “It’s not that. I just—I don’t know how everyone else will treat me. And Maeren told me about the island and—"

“What exactly did he tell you?” He looks worried. Did I get Maeren in trouble? I hope so.

“He said that’s where you all bury your dead, and those that get banished get sent there and that if you all didn’t like me, that’s where I could end up.”

That last part is not exactly what he said, but Tetyh doesn’t need to know that.

He looks at me wide-eyed, then frowns. Oh, Maeren will definitely hear about this.

He takes a deep breath and looks at me. I’m not sure if he’ll confirm what Maeren said or not.

“You don’t need to worry about what’s on the island. Yes, we do bury our dead there, and those who get banished end up there. We have a peaceful existence here, but there are times when even that is interrupted. We don’t believe in killing those who’ve done wrong, so we send them to the island to help those that have passed on transition at the last place on this plane before they meet Her. We think that even when those do wrongly, they can still be of use.”

“Her?” Maeren mentioned this too, but for all I know, he could have been lying.

“The Mother of all things. She’s the one who gave us this land, water, the food we eat, everything around us. She gives to us, and we do what we can to give back. We do all this in the hopes of being able to meet Her when we die to complete our journey here. While we are grateful for all that She gives, other things need to be done. Before your mother found us, we were going through one of our worst droughts. Not even the fish stayed. Our crops also withered away, and the animals we hunted moved on. 

"This was one of the worst times we had ever seen in our lifetimes. It took a lot for Denchi, Emerta, and me to keep us all afloat. We even wondered what we did to anger Her so. Then Denchi told us about this woman who came and wanted to help us with our crops, and all we had to do was make sure none of our people went too far into the forest. Soon after she came, everything drastically changed. Our crops were renewed, the river flowed to refresh the lake, the animals returned. It was almost like she was our Mother walking among us. 

"She might have kept you from us and probably may keep things from you, but after what she’s done for us, I don’t mind not asking too many questions. I don’t think there’s enough we can even do to repay her. I know it may seem like Emerta doesn’t trust her, but we’ve had some instances where travelers have come through to promise us prosperity or trade goods, and things don’t work out in the past. 

"It has been quite a few years since she’s gotten here, and he’s actually gotten better with his attitude towards her. I’m afraid that that’s been set back a little with you being here, though. But that doesn’t mean he won’t come to like you too!”

“I’ll just try to keep out of his way for now,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. That will be easier said than done if I want to help out here.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll fit in just fine,” he says, giving me a smile. I knew he was my favorite for a reason.

If this is how he treats people he almost likes, I don’t want to see how he treats people he doesn’t like. I can already tell that Emerta’s the wariest of Mother out of them, but it’s beyond obvious how his son feels about me. I don’t even want to think of his name.

“Have there been other people come through that have been from far away recently? Some that could possibly…look like me?”

“No, not any that have stayed for a significant amount of time or have bothered to meet with all of us. For a good reason, Denchi usually meets with them. I don’t think that we have had anyone come through for a long while,” he says, mouth downturned. 

We continue walking, and I’m thinking over what he just told me about Mother. She came here and basically saved these people’s lives, and they don’t even know it. Knowing this, I can’t help but feel a little proud. She can be aggravating with her secrets, but I’ll go easy on her for keeping things from me. Today. Funny how she told me that I’d probably find out more about myself than she could tell me, but I’m actually finding out more about her than she’s told me.

“Come, there’s more to see, and I know you have to be back before too long,” He says as I follow behind him. “I can take you to our ceremonial area. There we gather for big feasts and when we have our festivals, marriages, and other rituals.”

“Marriage?”

“Yes, we have day-long celebrations. Ah, I remember when I got married, almost seems like it was yesterday though it was probably before your—"

“What’s a marriage?” The look he’s giving me lets me know that I asked a weird question. That wasn’t one of the words Mother taught me.

“Well, to put it simply, when you get married, you’d find a woman you love and want to spend your life with. Certain steps are taken, and we have a ceremony to celebrate it. If even helps if that woman is related to someone with good social standing,” he winks as he says that last part. Am I missing something?

Finding a woman you love? I don’t know any women besides Mother and the one I saw in my dream. I’m not even sure if she’s real. If marriage means spending your life with someone, I don’t want it to be Mother. If it’s about finding someone else, would it a different love? And where? I don’t understand any of this.

“Did I confuse you?” Tetyh asks. 

“A little.” I can honestly say I’m getting more information than I thought I would. “I’ve never heard of marriage before, so it’s all new to me. The only person I’ve known is Mother, so…”

“Oh, haha. I can see why she wouldn’t tell you. I’m not quite sure if it’s my place to tell you any of this, but when your time comes, it’ll be different from anything you’ve known. It’s something extraordinary, and who knows, if you stick around long enough, you could really come to live with us. But let’s keep that between you and me.”

He pats my shoulder and squeezes so hard I think my arm is numb. He really has to stop doing that. Is he saying that I can have a marriage with one of the women here? I’m not sure I all of the way understand it, and he’s, hopefully, joking about me doing it? Does he mean with one of the women here? Sure, the looks are there, but I’m now reminded of how much experience I don’t have with…anything, actually.

There goes my mood.

I push that part out of my mind and add it to my list of things. I’ve slowed down a bit, so I quicken my pace to catch up to him.