Worlds Apart: Volume I

The During: Making Sense

Ney'ite and Neyetam sat next to each other as they watched the ikrans fly and the eclipse start to take over the land. Ney'ite hugged her knees close to her chest as she watched. It had been a week since Aytanin's death, and the twins had barely spoken to anyone but each other. It was one thing to have a friend die like Tysal or Marali. It was another to have them die like Aytanin.

The twins had done this many times this past week. They just needed to be with each other. None of their other siblings understood their sadness. Lo'ak was never close to anyone in his training group, Kiri never underwent training to be a warrior, and Tuk was barely seven. All they had were each other in this moment.

"Ney'ite, Neyetam," Jake said from behind them.

Neyetam turned to look at their father while Ney'ite kept staring at the sky. Ever since the day of Aytanin's death, Ney'ite had pulled away from her father. She knew that it wasn't fair to him: he was thinking about the entire clan and Aytanin was responsible for making the final decision, but all she could think about was him dragging Neyetam away while they watched her run to her death.

"Father," Neyetam said.

"Father," Ney'ite said quietly.

"Can I join the two of you?" Jake asked.

Neyetam nodded. He would be the one to answer for both of them today. Jake sat next to Neyetam and was silent for a few moments. It seemed he was trying to find the right words.

"I know that both of you are upset with me," Jake finally managed to say something.

"We're not upset with you," Neyetam said. "We're just upset with the situation. We both know that it was Ayatnin who made the final decision."

"Was it your idea or hers?" Ney'ite asked.

"We were talking about the Sky People's forest destroyer," Jake began to explain. "We were trying to figure out the best way to destroy it, but all we came up with were plans that were doomed to fail. Someone threw out the idea of explosives. Your mother and I dismissed it because we don't have the technology to avoid detection once we've engaged with the Sky People or to detonate explosives from afar. Aytanin said we didn't need that. We just needed one warrior to make a sacrifice. I told her that I would not ask that of anyone. She said that she would go willingly." Jake stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. "I told her that I would not allow such a plan to happen. She told me that she would do it with or without my permission." Jake opened his eyes and looked at the twins. "It would not have mattered what anyone would have said to her. She was going to enact this plan no matter what. Your mother and I decided that we would not dishonor her decision."

"What did she say about us?" Neyetam asked. "Did she have any regret about leaving us alone?"

"Leaving you two and Omocan broke her heart," Jake said. "Tsanten begged her to reconsider for all of your sakes. She would not be swayed by his words no matter how sad they made her." Jake looked back at the sky. "I wish I could have stopped her. You both know how she was. I know the two of you haven't visited the Spirit Tree out of respect for her, but your grandmother has told us that she is with Ewya. She is at peace with her mother and your friends."

Ney'ite finally looked over at her father. She saw that sorrow that was on his face. Ney'ite wanted to know what else was going on in her father's mind, but she didn't want to ask. He was speaking from a place that seemed to close to the heart.

"I know how the two of you are feeling," Jake said. "I was a Marine on Earth. One of the most important parts of being a Marine was your team. My last mission resulted in my entire squad being killed and me being paralyzed from the waist down. After that, I was a mess. I drank too much and didn't care about anything." Jake looked at the twins. "You two have lost so much in so little time and you're being so strong. Both of you are stronger than me."