Eleven
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"Hey, Daniel!" Ronghei called to him in high spirit as he climbed down from his Scorpio. "You're the man! This is what I have been talking about. Well done!"
"Daniel, this is too good. Your house even looks better in real life than in the picture," said Shangdar as her eyes stayed glued to the cabin in awe. "Are these the flowers that you and Lily bought?"
"Yes. Lily bought them. Not me. She even watered them every morning and evening while she was here."
"Oh, I hope she was helpful to you."
"She was. She didn't make me do anything," he stretched it a little and Lily burst laughing from the car door.
Ronghei smirked at his daughter and went forward to meet Puh Khozii and Che Dune who appeared on the porch. Behind them, Daniel's cousins Sahriine and Veihriine followed, every one of them thrilled to be seeing each other again. Daniel went towards Lily.
"Isn't this Sahriine's daughter?" Lily asked. Sahriine had married a man from the same tribe five years ago. She'd moved to Imphal since to be with her husband who worked in a private hospital as a Radiographer. They had all come for Daniel's party.
"Yes. This is our smart and beautiful Miss Veidone. Say hi to Aunty Lily."
Veidone shied away and hid her face into Daniel's shoulder, smiling embarrassedly.
"Oh, what is this? I thought you were smart," chuckled Daniel. "Come on, you can talk to her in either English or Manipuri. She understands both. She can even paint your nails."
The girl shook her head.
Daniel laughed again and kissed her head fondly. Lily could almost picture how warm and loving he would be as a father. When the girl heard her father's voice calling for her mother, she moved and Daniel set her down on her feet. Off she went toward her mother.
"She seems to grow so fast," Lily said. "I feel like she was born only last month. I brought you something, by the way. A housewarming gift."
"You didn't have to bring anything. Your presence alone is enough. You're the guest of honor today."
"My Lord! I'm so so honored. Just let me grace this party with my shining presence." She laughed and reached out for her present in the backseat.
Daniel watched her open the box, a metallic, musical chime ensuing from it. He waited curiously. Then, pulling it up by a silvery hook, Lily turned to him holding a wind chime in her hand. She ran her fingers along the cylindrical tubes, sending a string of light musical notes in the air.
"Do you like it?" she asked, raising to her toes in excitement.
He grinned at her. "It's perfect."
"Lucky you. It's yours now." She handed it to him.
"Thank you," he took it from her and planted a kiss on her head.
Lily followed him to the porch where he hung the wind chime, right in the direction of the wind. The wind came sailing through the metal tubes, sending another tune in the air. The elders sat in the way of the breeze in the front yard, basking in the warm sunlight, and Eziine was serving them a glass of water each. She was a nurse at the district hospital and the one home with her parents.
"Are you going back with your parents today?" Daniel asked Lily.
"Yes. I have classes going on."
"Why don't you stay back for a day or two? I haven't gotten over the heartbreak you gave me when you left the last time." He looked down at her with mischief in his eyes.
"Oh, are you in love with me now? I was starting to worry you might get a wife who'd kick me out of this house. Thank God you're loyal to me."
"Well so far, you're the only girl prettier than your boyfriend."
Lily laughed and then in an act that completely took Daniel by surprise, she pulled him down to her and pressed her lips on his cheek, giving him an endearing kiss. And then she danced inside the house, leaving him frozen on his spot. Lily had never kissed him in any way at all before. This was a first and the way it floored him inside embarrassed him in front of her parents. For the first time in years, he dare not look up and meet Ronghei's eyes. His gaze on the floor and chewing on his lips, Daniel quietly slipped inside.
When all the guests had arrived, they set the table out in the front yard under the sun. Daniel announced that the pork had been specially cooked by his cousin Pavei and he thanked those who had helped him prepare the lunch, all those who had helped him build his cabin and his school, and when he finally came to thank Lily's parents, Puh Khozii and Che Dune, Daniel had to pause more than once to fight back his emotions. When he thanked his Che Dune and Darcha Shangdar for providing him with ample motherly love despite never getting to experience the love of his true mother, both the women were a mess. They had tears pouring from their eyes and water running from their nose and they blew them into the tissues in their hands. Even Lily's eyes glimmered with tears. Ronghei and Khozii braved the emotional acknowledgment of their support and love for Daniel throughout his life. This was the little boy who they had raised together, who had now become a very wise and respectable man. They couldn't be more proud of him.
When he finished, the pastor gave thanks to the Lord for the new house, the new school, and the food prepared. After a hearty lunch, they stayed in the Sun. Daniel and Lily kept teasing each other merciless and Ronghei wondered if anything had changed between them. They seemed to have gotten even more intimate during the summer. And he wondered if anyone else saw what he saw. He wondered if the two idiots had already realized it. Both still seemed pretty clueless and stupid in his eyes and he found them hilarious. He wondered how he would handle it if these two ever came to realize it.
"I often see Daniel and Lily in my dreams these days," said Shangdar. "I'm not sure what it means but I often saw you playing in our front yard like you used to when you were kids and I'd watch from the door with a heavy heart. My body doesn't feel very great either these days. I'm telling you both now, you can never stop loving each other. Even after we die, you have to look out for one another. If you ever stop loving each other the way you do now after we're gone, I swear I'd rise from my grave and strangle you both. You have to stick together till the end. Especially Lily, your Mocha is all you have."
"Okay. I'll take care of him," Lily responded, causing everyone to laugh.
Daniel took them to his school later in the afternoon. He had renovated an old community hall that was left in ruin and partitioned them into three classrooms. Over that, he added two more classrooms with mud walls and tin roofs, perpendicular to the hall to form an L-shaped campus. Standing under the sun and shading his eyes with a hand, Ronghei surveyed the school and turned to Daniel on his right with a heartfelt smile, seemingly absorbing an abundant amount of sunlight and emitting them back all at once.
"Daniel, to be honest, I thought you'd lost your mind," Ronghei grinned at him. "But now, seeing the school and what you've done so far, I'm starting to understand you. This is excellent. You've learned as much as you can, and now you're giving back to society. I'm very proud of you."
"I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you. All of you," Daniel returned wisely.
Ronghei went and pat him on his shoulder. Lily watched the two of them interact. It was a tender moment of pride and gratitude. If Daniel were his real son, Ronghei couldn't have loved him any greater. This was it. It didn't matter whether his blood ran in Daniel's veins or not, he was his own. He loved him like his own, and Daniel reciprocated that same love with every part of him. They were his family. He was one of them. Nothing would ever make him feel any different or apart. When they finally said goodbye, the sun hung low in the western sky.
"I wish you could stay for a night or two," Daniel said to his Darcha and Paate.
"We truly wish we could, Daniel," said Shangdar, ruefully, "Only because of your Paate's conference in his office tomorrow; we'll have to go back. But I promise we'll be back before long. Maybe next week, and if there's anything I can do to help..."
Daniel put his arms around her and embraced her like his own mother, wishing he could accompany them back home. "There's no need for you to do anything now. You've done everything you can. Let's just hope I see you soon. Come and enjoy the village with Che Dune and Puh Khozii."
"Okay. I won't do anything then. I'll come and just have fun," she smiled up at him and pat his cheek. "When will you cut your hair?"
Daniel's face split up into a wide, naughty smile. "Very soon. I'll chop it off before I start teaching."
"Please do that. Otherwise, all the kids will copy you."
With one last hug from his most beloved, Lily, Daniel watched them leave in the sunset. Puh Khozii, Che Dune, and his cousins and friends were still with him. He had asked them all to stay back for a late-night dinner together.
As they followed the narrow, long-winding road, Ronghei kept wondering what his kids were really up to.
"How is your Mocha's girlfriend?" he asked Lily, who sat in the back seat.
"They broke up some time ago. It was impossible."
"Huh." He met her eyes through the rearview mirror. His daughter looked pretty much unaffected so he guessed she had no clue.
"But he'll get another girl soon if he's interested. I've noticed most girls in the village are interested in him."
"Huh."
"Keep your eyes on the road, Papa. It's getting dark," reminded Shangdar.
Ronghei saw the nearly-full moon rise high in the sky to claim the night, luminous and gigantic. A man driving a Pulsar bike sped past them from the opposite direction, leaving a trail of dust behind him. He seemed to be rushing home before it gets too dark. The sky darkened within fifteen minutes and Ronghei put the headlights on. Suddenly out of nowhere, something jumped right in front of them and Ronghei hit it, a whip of blood sprayed across the windshield. Shangdar jumped in her seat, screaming. In the spur of the moment and panic, Ronghei stepped on the brake, but instead of coming to a stop, he found himself rushing for the edge of the cliff. A high screech of tires shrieked into the dark as if in a desperate cry for help... But nothing could be done. They flew off the edge and Ronghei closed his eyes in prayer. Defeated
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Love, Hermyne
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