'Ripened Glow'
He started CPR,
when he heard Alexis and Chloe laughing.
“What could possibly be funny?” he yelled.
“You’re a Hatfield, what do you need CPR for?” Alexis said calmly.
Kries felt so stupid for a second, and then let it go, and healed me in one quick kiss. I gasped in a breath.
“Air is nice,” I whispered.
He could not help but stare at her beautiful eyes. They sparkled under their bright green shade.
“How are our babies?”
I breathed quietly, not realizing until that moment how much I liked being able to breathe.
“They’re fine. They are healthy and happy and hungry,” Chloe answered smiling.
She carried Jaela while Kries carried Sidtka and lied them next to me.
“Didn’t I just feed them?”
I nursed them both loving them dearly.
“Babies eat a lot dear.”
She smiled.
We staid living at the little cottage for two months, though I argued constantly throughout. Kries and Chloe felt I was not ready to make the trip and we all agreed the babies should be a little older. When the day came that Kries announced we were moving back to our new home, I cried.
“Yes!”
I was so happy running around with tears rolling down my cheeks. I started packing everything up. Chloe helped me with the babies and Emery helped Kries load the carriages with our things.
Our first stop along the way home
was of course the tall and looming lighthouse. I could smell the cool ocean air. It was fall now and I could see the grass browning and the leaves turning red. The once green, leafy vines that grew along the lighthouse were now mostly stems, as most of the leaves had fallen off and blown away by the ever-moving wind.
After unloading the essentials needed
for a couple nights stay, I fed the babies and laid them down. They were so beautiful, I could not have asked for better. As I walked downstairs into the main room, I was overcome with the urge to go to the water. As I stepped out the door, Kries called to me.
“Where are you going babe?”
He looked at me with concern.
“Just to walk along the beach, don’t worry baby.”
I smiled sincerely.
As I let my warm feet touch the cool sand I was immediately rushed in memory back to the days of drawing by my tree. Those days seemed so long ago. I stopped to pick up shells periodically as the water lapped at my feet. The air smelled so good, I wanted to fill my lungs over and over again. As there wasn’t much beach to walk on between cliff beginnings, I repeatedly paced back and forth. Before I knew it Kries had joined me and it was nightfall. He said nothing as he wrapped his arms around me. We swayed back and forth in the wind. It was a perfect night, the stars were masterfully shining, and the ocean was cleansing the sand of all filth.
As we walked together back to the lighthouse, he stopped me and leaned in and kissed me.
“I love you, forever.”
“I love you too.”
I kissed him again, and we entered the lighthouse.
Chloe and Alexis had gone to bed in Emery’s room and Emery was sitting up drinking tea in the main room with Itna. They had added an extra cot to the one near the window for them to sleep on. We sat down and drank a cup of raspberry tea each, then we said goodnight and crawled into bed upstairs with the babies. I fed the babies three times during the night. I loved those moments with them, we bonded so much or so it seemed to me. I had good dreams and slept hard, even with the disruption of sleep.
The next morning I woke to the babies crying.
Kries got up and brought them to me in bed. I fed them and kissed their little heads. We dressed them and headed down stairs. We could smell sausages and eggs cooking. It smelled delicious like Sunday mornings. Emery and Chloe were cooking, and Alexis and Itna were drinking tea at the table. As we approached, Alexis held out his arms for his granddaughter.
“Come to grandpa, princess.”
He smiled, receiving her gently. As I handed her to Alexis, Kries handed Itna, Sidtka.
“They are perfect,” Itna said aloud.
After eating, Kries and I took a dip in the water
while the rest of the clan watched the babies. It felt so good on my skin to be in the salty water. My hair rejuvenated. My soul exhaled a relieved sigh. Other than the brief time during the storm, the water was always where I felt the calmest, since I was a child. We made love in the water, enjoying every sensation allowed to us. We hadn’t been able to do so in quite some time, and it was as amazingly magical as it had always been. It felt like my soul was singing a beautiful song. Everything was as it should be.
When we had packed the carriages up
and headed out, I was sad to see the lighthouse fade into the distance, as I had been to leave the cottage. I had grown close to both places. When the children were older I promised myself I would show them both spots. Let them play in the woods by the cottage and in the water by the lighthouse.
As we traveled along I rested my head on Kries, and fell asleep. When I woke up we were home. It was mid afternoon, and beautiful out.
“My darlings, you’re now home.”
When the carriage came to a stop,
I laid them down on a blanket near us while we unloaded the carriages. Chloe and Alexis kissed the babies and headed home. We agreed with them to meet at my parents for lunch the next day. Itna and Emery made themselves comfortable in the guest rooms downstairs, while we laid the babies down for a nap in their new room. For now they would share a crib, but Kries had full intentions to make another crib for Sidtka and to let Jaela have the yellow one he had already made. That night we all slept safe and sound.