20, Going home

Ayya didn’t quite know how she ended up standing beside the chief in the town square under an arch of birch branches and wildflowers. But as she watched Mirio and his bride walk up to them, surrounded by the villagers, she didn’t care. She was just happy and honoured to be part of this moment. The chief did the officiating and got the official part out of the way. Ayya then asked the couple to join hands and as they did, she placed her hands around them and said a blessing, not unlike the one she had used for the child at the beginning of her stay. There was something comforting in the circle’s closing, to start and end their stay in the village with a blessing. Then, for the second night in a row, the party started. Ayya and Sinhera laughed as a horde of children sprinted across the square. They had sneakily raided the dessert table and had been caught in the act and were now chased by a group of women. Ayya could see that the women didn’t intend to catch the children. They were just indulging their belief that they had done something naughty, but soon they gave up and let the children scurry off to feast on their spoils. Kahane came walking up to them. Ayya hadn’t seen him since the questioning of Miri. He had been absent from the wedding. 

“Ayya, do you have a couple of minutes?” he asked. 

“Sure. Sinhera, we will just be over there,” Ayya said and nodded towards a couple of barrels that had been placed to sit on. Sinhera nodded and Kahane and Ayya walked over and took a seat on the barrels. 

“I am truly sorry for what Miri did, Ayya. I feel partly responsible for what happened,” Kahane started. He wouldn’t look at Ayya, but kept his eyes locked on his feet. 

“It’s okay, Kahane. I don’t blame you for any of it. Not the fire, at least. It’s not my place to judge, so I won’t comment on your relationship with Miri. But regardless of if you have a broken heart, you don’t set fire to buildings. That was her choice, nothing that you have to feel bad about,” she said to him.

“Thank you. That is generous of you.” There was a pause, where they both looked at the party that was going on around them. “If it was your place to judge, what would you say?” Kahane suddenly said.

“I don’t know if that is a good idea, Kahane. I don’t have all the facts and matters of the heart is difficult to have an opinion about,” Ayya said hesitantly.

“Please, I need some outside insight,” he begged. 

“Fine. Do you love her?” Ayya asked.

“I do,” Kahane said.

“Then, if we exclude the fire, I think you are being an idiot.” He looked up at her with surprise. 

“You say you love her, but you have to think for almost a month if you want to be with her?” Ayya pointed out.

“But the other man.”

“So what? Did you ask her to go out with you? Did you ask her not to see anyone else?”

“No.”

“Then she did nothing wrong. She wanted to see what was out there. She realised she loved you and returned to you. If you love her, that should have been enough. And if you don’t love her, then you should have said so instead of making her wait.”

“So you think I should accept her back?”

“I didn’t say that, Kahane. Now there is this thing with the fire. I don’t know what kind of punishment that usually gives here. But if we ignore that, are you okay with being with someone that you know could do something like that?” Ayya asked.

“No,” Kahane said, shaking his head. “I am to be the next chief. I can’t be that if I marry a woman that values life so low.”

“I’m sorry, my friend.” They sat in silence for a while before Kahane escorted Ayya back to Sinhera and then excused himself. 

Sinhera woke Ayya up early the next morning. Ayya felt rested and was looking forward to starting the journey home. The riders and Ayya gathered their horses on the square, as most of the village had come to see them off. The chief, his advisors and Kahane stood on the steps to the village hall. Ayya walked over to them. 

“Thank you for having us. It has been a truly interesting visit,” Ayya said with a smile.

“Thank you for responding to our plea for help. The help you have given us is beyond what we expected. For your help, we would like to give you a gift, aari Ayya,” the chief said. A man handed him a roll. The chief held it out to Ayya. Ayya stepped forward and took it from him. It was fur, she discovered. “It is the pelt of the great white wolf. Our gift to you.”

“Thank you,” Ayya said. They exchanged a couple of more pleasantries and Ayya told them to keep in touch and if they needed help again, not to hesitate to write. Sinhera helped Ayya secure the pelt to one of the packhorses. 

“I didn’t kill the wolf, I don’t deserve the pelt,” Ayya whispered to Sinhera. 

“Yes you do, you did all the hard work on this trip.”Ayya snorted at that. “And besides, white is your colour,” Sinhera said. They all mounted their horses and, with three new members in their group, they rode out of the village and started their way home. They had been in the village for three weeks. If Ayya included the time they spent on the road, they would be home about a month after setting out. The journey back was just as uneventful as it had been going to the village. Ayya’s muscles still got sore, but Sinhera’s ointment worked its miracle. Ayya also got to spend some time with Mirio’s wife. She was a sweet girl but nervous about moving to the big city, still she hadn’t hesitated when Mirio had asked her to come along. On the afternoon of the third day, the city came into view. Ayya took the site in and felt a sense of being home. The sand-coloured city walls looked inviting. They didn’t stop to freshen up. Everyone had their sight set on the city and they just wanted to get home. The journey ended where it had begun, on the river field. There were riders helping to unload the horses, and amongst the people that had gathered to greet them, Ayya could see her mother. Ayya smiled at her and then turned to stop one of the riders that were helping with the unloading.

“Can you make sure aari Magath get this report straight away?” Ayya asked her. She nodded and disappeared towards the sanctum. With the report of their mission being handed in, Ayya was now free from duty for a week. She walked up to her mother and was immediately pulled into a tight hug. 

“Welcome home. It looks like a month away have suited you,” Bettina said. She studied Ayya and then gave her another hug. 

“Thank you, mom. It’s good to be home.”

“Are you going to stay in your apartment or do I get to enjoy some time with you?” her mother asked.

“I was thinking I could spend most of the week back home, if that is okay with you.”

“You don’t have to ask. I would be delighted,” her mother told her. 

“Dad, Tenac and Tariana aren’t back yet?” Ayya asked. She didn’t need to ask. She knew that if they had been back, both her father and Tenac would wait alongside her mother. 

“No, In his last letter, your father told me they will be at least two weeks delayed. Things apparently got complicated,” Bettina said.

“Okay, I just need to take care of Estrela and then I’ll come home.”

“I like that. I’ll get dinner started while I wait. And I want to hear everything that you have experienced,” Bettina said with an enormous smile before giving Ayya another hug.