sixteen. more than just a fairytale
THE NIGHT SKY CASCADED DOWN ON THE GROUNDS OF PANDORA, THE STARS ABOVE SHIMMERING ITS GRACIOUS LIGHT. Juniper stared into the sky, her eyes holding a sense of calm and tranquillity. Breathing the air of the surroundings near her with the plants glistening, the leaves of the trees softly glowing, and the skin of the Na'vi illuminated its hue of glory. The Vespera girl had her knees tucked close to her chest as her head laid against the man's shoulder next to her.
Jake was also peering up at the sky with a deepened fear that he'd see the lights of the sky people returning back to Pandora. Juniper could sense the stress from the Sully man, yet didn't question it. The Vespera girl noticed a lot of the time when Jake was wary. Every time he'd come to visit Juniper from the tree of souls, Juniper noticed the anxious behaviour of Jake increasing. And it worried the girl.
She sighed heavily, moving her gaze from the sky and lifted her head from Jake's shoulder. Jake glanced next to him from this action, feeling at peace as he stared into the golden eyes he missed dearly. The Sully man found out that coming to the tree of souls—whether it was to relive the memories that Juniper and he shared or whether it is times like this that it was actually Juniper sitting next to him—was his comfort. But, he'd hate coming back to the world that the Vespera girl was no longer a part of.
Although, whenever Jake would come to see the girl—which was as much as he could with the new responsibilities of being Olo'teykan of the Omaticaya since the passing of Tsu'tey, and Neytiri being pregnant with his first child—he'd update her on all the things that happened since he last visited. Juniper would listen, not daring to interrupt the man as he was intrigued to let the girl know of the stories he experienced.
At first, Jake would tell the girl how difficult it was without her, not being able to move on. But as time passed, Juniper began to see the old Jake shine through the new, pained man. It brought Juniper some contentment to see that he was beginning to accept her being gone, but the two knew deep down that he could never fully fall into acceptance, especially with his frequent visits to the tree of souls.
Juniper finally spoke up, feeling Jake's lingering gaze bore onto her, "what's wrong, Jake?" He frowned and went to protest that nothing was wrong until Juniper cut him to it, "Jake, I know something's wrong. You are acting more cautious than before. It's worrying."
Jake knew he couldn't hide his emotions from the teenager as she was seemingly great at reading the man. Maybe it was all the time he'd be spending time with her, getting the closure he needed since Neytiri dragged him over. He didn't know but hated it. Jake didn't want to put his worries on top of Juniper, but as she stared at him pleadingly, wanting to know what was on his mind, he spoke hoarsely, "it's the baby," An expression of dread overwhelmed Juniper's face, which Jake noticed and was quick to comfort the girl, "the baby's fine. I guess I'm just worried."
"About the baby being okay?" She asked, not giving Jake enough time before she softly comforted the man, "the baby will be fine, Jake. More than fine. Whatever it is—whether it is a boy or a girl—they'll grow strong and into a warrior."
Despite Juniper's encouraging words, Jake couldn't rid of the nagging feeling in his stomach. It wasn't about the baby per se, but about him—about how would he be like as a dad. If he couldn't protect Juniper, how the hell was he going to protect a child of his very own? He shook his head, lowering it down, "I know that. I'm more worried about being a father," Juniper knitted her brows together, staying silent to give Jake space to talk, "I couldn't protect you, June. How am I supposed to take care of the kid when I've already failed as a dad."
"You have not failed as a dad," She remarked instantly. Jake was slightly surprised at the stern tone she used, portraying her voice as strong, "you can't change what happened. So you live with it, and you carry it with you. You learn from before. It was Quaritch's doing, and there was no protecting me, Jake. That kid needs you," Juniper sighed, feeling the words she knew she had to say being trapped against the back of her throat.
Jake noticed her hesitance, taking the girl's smaller hand in his own, "Juniper," He called out her name, his voice being gentle, "what is it? Baby girl?"
The Vespera closed her eyes briefly before opening them up once again. Juniper cleared her throat and fought back her emotions trying to rise to the surface, "you need to stop coming here and see me," Jake felt as if his heart had been ripped into two. He felt the same way right then and there when he watched Juniper's life fade from her eyes, "you're about to become a father, and you need to focus on that. And to do that, you have to let me go, Jake."
He shook his head, "no ... no, I can't. I won't," Juniper hated the man's stubbornness towards the situation, but remained to sit through his words, "Juniper, I was your dad, and I can't let you go."
Juniper smiled solemnly, turning her body around so she now faced Jake whilst he stared ahead. The girl grasped his shoulder, leaning into his figure, and Jake wrapped his arms around the girl tightly, knowing that this was going to be the last time in however long it would be when they see each other again. Continuing to grasp each other in solace, Juniper whispered, "you can, Jake. I know you can. Not only as Jake but as Toruk Makto. As the father of your unborn child. It's okay. I'm ready."
Juniper remembered back to when she first found out about Jake siding with the sky people before he changed and fell in love with Pandora. Juniper sniffled at the memory of her sitting down with Zuzip, a single thought plaguing her mind: Juniper felt like she was never going to have the courage to be let go of. Now ... Juniper was ready to be freed. For Jake to let the girl go.
The Vespera girl pulled out of the embrace with a grin plastered on her expression. She nodded her head, and when Jake blinked, he was back at the tree of souls with no Juniper in sight and was left to disconnect his queue from one of the leaves of the tree, silently crying to himself as he came to the realisation that Juniper was right.
He had to let his little girl go so he could be the father he wished he could have been to Juniper.
Years passed since the last time he visited Juniper, yet that didn't mean the man forgot about her. He could never. The older Jake was more mature looking, having his hair in dreadlocks rather than before. Not only was his appearance different, but his feelings. Now that he had a family of four, coming up to a total of five including the baby growing in Neytiri's stomach, Jake was happy.
He was finally happy after letting the Vespera girl go and accepted her death. Jake stuck to his vow on making sure that everyone knew the story of Juniper and how she saved his life. At times like this, with Neytiri laying on his chest as their kids—his eldest son, the daughter of Grace's Avatar that the parents agreed on taking in, the middle set of twins, and the unborn baby—surrounding him, Jake shared stories of the girl.
It took a while for Jake to openly talk about her without feeling the need to break down. Juniper Vespera was a story—a memory—that was shared with his and Neytiri's children. The story was told as it was: a young girl that had the mind and soul of a warrior. And she would forever be known as the girl who saved Jake's life. The kids would listen with a smile on their faces when he would talk about the good times with the young girl and how she wanted to kill him at first as Neytiri did.
Jake was content with how his children spoke about her amongst themselves, telling each other how much they wanted to be like the Vespera girl. It didn't take Jake or Neytiri long to see how each of their kids shared traits of Juniper as they grew older. Juniper was a part of their family—she was like a sister whom they'd never met. It meant the world to Jake when the kids asked their dad to talk about Juniper, feeling honourable to share her story.
He left some parts out, such as the torture she had gone through from transitioning into a Na'vi and how his brother was the cause of it. Jake never spoke of his brother. His kids didn't even know that, what felt like a lifetime ago, Jake had a twin brother. As much as he wanted to, especially with having a set of twins of his own, Jake kept silent. He never wanted his kids to know of the man that Jake once looked up to because of the pain he inflicted on Juniper.
However, Jake spoke highly about how she was a sky person once. One of the best. He hoped it would get his kids more comfortable with their father being one of the enemies before, yet none of the children saw Jake or Juniper any different. To say it brought a sense of fondness to the man was an understatement.
This is where he belonged. And he thanked Juniper every day for the opportunity she had given him—knowing if it wasn't for her, Jake could never be the dad he was today—and knew that she was going to continue to look down upon him and his family.
authors note.
WELCOME TO ACT TWO OF REMEMBRANCE ! this act has a totally different vibe than act one ( at least for me ) and juniper will not be forgotten ✊. every chapter i've wrote so far has mentioned juniper and will stay that way. i'm not going to spoil anything as i'm so excited for the scenes i have planned, especially with the twins and siblings dynamic. but i hope i can go into depth with jake's character more—being protective towards his kids and the grief he feels towards juniper.
although my girl is gone, i hope you continue to enjoy this book as much as i do. and i wanna say thank you for the support you've given to this book. i can't explain how much it helps with motivation and seeing y'all love the characters and story means a lot. anyways, that's all i wanted to say. love you all so much ❤️