105, The tent in the valley

Friday morning, the family and closest friends set out with Tenac and Ayya to go to the clan to prepare the wedding the next day. The rest of the guests would be arriving the next day. Ayya and Tenac were riding Addon and Estrela. Jason was riding between them on Niwil. He was a natural on a horse, and Ayya was proud of how he handled Niwil over the plain. Sinhera and Jontak were also riding their own horses and Ken had borrowed one. Kopa was on the coach box of Tariana’s white carriage. Inside Tariana, Bettina and Anna were sitting. In a waggon full of supplies, food and decorations, Firlea, Hinat and Terway were sitting. They were surrounded by a number of riders as both Tariana and Ayya were travelling at the same time. The clan was only two hours from the city. Ayya smiled as she saw the group of tents. Cetu had chosen a beautiful location with the rolling hills on three sides and the river on one. Cetu and Beruda stood waiting for them with other clan members. Ayya also saw Nontuf and his new wife standing beside his father. 

“Tenac, Ayya, Jason, I’m happy to see you all. Jason, you look like a clan boy riding that horse. You take after your father,” Cetu greeted them. 

“Thank you, uncle. We are happy to be here,” Tenac said. Then there was a long period where everyone was introduced. They were all welcomed into Cetu’s tent and offered coffee. For the first time, Ayya hadn’t brought something to give to the clan, and she felt a little off because of it. Jason drank his coffee and ate the dried fruit that was offered to him. Beruda told him what a good boy he was and after a while Ayya saw him glancing at some boys outside the tent, running around, playing. 

“Go on, you can join them if you’d like,” she told him. 

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes, you have been polite and done what was expected of you. Now go and have fun. We will call you if we need you. Just stay away from the river,” she told him.

“And the heard?” he said, halfway between a question and a statement. Ayya looked at Tenac. She knew he had heard what they were talking about.

“I trust you to know how to behave with the horses. But listen to the older children and the adults when they tell you something and when you mother calls, come straight back,” he told Jason. 

“I promise, thanks dad, mom,” he said, quickly standing up and running out to the other boys. 

“He looks more confident,” Beruda said to Ayya. Ayya nodded.

“He is. He has settled down, and the riding lessons with his father have done him good as well. I know by experience how much self-confidence they will give you,” she told Beruda. It was Beruda’s turn to nod. The rest of them went through the itinerary for the wedding and everything surrounding it. During the visits with her mother and Tariana, Beruda had walked Ayya through all the ins and outs of a Che’hul wedding. They then went on a tour around the camp to look at all the guest accommodations. Kopa, Bettina, Anna, Ken, Jontak and Firlea had got a tent to share. Tariana, Ayya, Sinhera and Hinat would be staying with Cetu and Beruda. Terway, Tenac and Jason would sleep with the herders. 

“Tenac, Ayya, could we have a word?” Cetu asked. 

“Of course,” Tenac said, and they followed his uncle and aunt. They walked up on a hill next to the river and, on the other side, settled in a valley between the hills and the river, stood a tent in traditional Che’hul style. 

“This is our wedding gift to you,” Cetu said. “My father had it made after you first brought Ayya to meet us. It has been a joy to finally set it up. We will bring it with us and set it up. It will always be ready for you when you wish to visit,” he continued. Ayya looked at the tent and her vision blurred by the tears in her eyes. She took Tenac’s hand and looked at him. He was staring at the tent, his eyes full with tears just as hers. 

“Thank you, uncle, this means a lot to me, to us both,” he said and his voice was heavy with the emotions he felt. 

“You are one of us. It is only right,” his uncle told him, putting a hand on Tenac’s shoulder. Ayya smiled and rounded Tenac to give both Cetu and Beruda a hug. 

“Thank you,” she told them. They both nodded.

“We’ll give you some space. But remember, it’s not to be used until tomorrow night,” Beruda said, and then laughed as Ayya blushed. Cetu and Beruda walked back to the other tents and Ayya put an arm around Tenac’s waist. He hadn’t looked away from the tent. He put his arm around her and they stood there for a while. 

“He asked me that first time if he should get a tent ready,” Tenac told her. 

“He did?” she asked, surprised. 

“Yes, I told him no. I loved you, but I knew you weren’t ready. But I guess he did it anyway,” he said. Ayya was moved. She felt the pang of grief she always felt when thinking of Ceran, followed by the love she felt for the old man. 

“He saw more than either of us. But it wasn’t his way to push,” she said. 

“No, it wasn’t,” Tenac agreed. 

“Do you want to take a closer look?” she asked. But Tenac shook his head. 

“Beruda is right. It should wait for tomorrow,” he told her. She nodded and once they both had collected themselves, they walked back to the group to help with the preparations. The afternoon disappeared in a flurry of activity. Ayya was swept away with her friends, mother, Tariana, and Anna to help decorate the camp with long braided garlands of grass that grew all over the plain. In between the yellow grass, the women added twigs full of newly opened leaves they had found by the river. Beruda and the other clans women showed them how to make the garlands, as they sat in a large group, braiding and gossiping. From the talking, Ayya understood they had all been convinced Ayya and Tenac would end up together. Ayya felt like she always was the last to know things. But Ayya enjoyed herself. The men were off doing something else, and the women laughed and asked Ayya questions and gave her advice on how to make a marriage happy. Some of the advice made her blush, but she still listened and filed it away as good to know. The children of the camp ran around, helping where they could. The older children kept an eye on the younger ones. Ayya was happy to see Jason sharing the responsibilities as well. 

After the evening meal, that were eaten together with the rest of the clan, outside, Ayya was sitting in Cetu’s tent, talking with Anna and her mother. Tenac came inside, showing her the two blankets he had. She smiled at him and got ready to go with him to sit and watch the herd in the dark. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Beruda said, getting up from where she had been talking with Tariana. Tenac looked at her with surprise.

“She is right. Ayya need her sleep,” his mother said, joining Beruda to block him from Ayya. Bettina and Anna shared an amused look and stood up to join the other two women. 

“Sho, Tenac. You’ll see her tomorrow,” Ayya’s mother said. 

“But we always watch the herd at night,” he objected. 

“Not this time,” Anna told him. 

“Should we join them?” Hinat asked Sinhera.

“I think they have it covered,” Sinhera told her. Ayya was doing her best not to laugh at the look on Tenac’s face as he was being blocked by the four women. 

“It’s no use,” Cetu told him. “There are times in a man’s life when he has to realise he needs to surrender. This is one of them.” Tenac looked at his uncle and then at the women in front of him.

“Do I get to say goodnight to her?” he asked.

“Sure,” Beruda said, not moving an inch. They all looked at him and he finally shook his head. 

“Good night, Ayya,” he told her over the head of the women. 

“Good night, Tenac. Sleep well and I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ayya said as she tried not to laugh. When Ayya went to bed, she shuffled around to get comfortable, and she found she missed her and Tenac’s tradition of sitting and talking half the night away. Then she thought about the fact he would be her husband this time tomorrow, and it made her smile.