Eternally Yours

He had time to salvage her only till then. Once the shade of the tree merged with the tones of dusk, she will be lost even to him forever. She will spend the rest of her life locked in a room under the shrine. No one will get to see or hear her again. Only the Treilma Ara would be able to speak to her if necessary, that too across closed doors. She will only be given rejects of the community to eat and wear, and she will never venture outside again.

As for Derek, he would be free to leave the island now as he was not initiated into the community yet and the tie that held him there will dissolve with the completion of Iva's ritual. He could go anywhere he chose to, but to never return again.

"Are you nuts?" Derek had yelled at this revelation. "I cannot let her do this. She is the only family I have now. I cannot afford to lose her."

"But you had decided to renounce her today, Derek Meigo. Do not deny it." Treilma Ara had calmly pointed out.

"I had planned to marry her off elsewhere." Derek had tried to reason.

"Against her desire. Yes? She would have been lost to you forever even then. You chose one fate which seemed terrible to her. She instead choose a different fate."

Derek had held up his hands in defeat and to regain his calm. "I realise my mistake now. I cannot live without her. Please tell me, what do I have to do now? What do I have to do to salvage her?"

"Give her what she desires the most. Accept her as a woman born to you, in every sense of the term. Claim her as your own and carry her back amidst us. Start a new life with her, which she has been offering you so long."

He had bowed in submission to this last resort and headed towards her. If this was what that had to be done, then he would do it. The second shock however had suddenly hit him when he had stepped in the shade of the golden maple tree and had been thrown back by a strange force.

On looking at Treilma Ara completely baffled he had been informed, "Quit this self sacrificial attitude, Derek Meigo. No one can be coerced on this island. The Circle of Free Will surrounds her. You have to accept her with your own free will to reach out to her."

Derek had to grit his teeth to prevent shouting his frustration out. His daughter had given him an ultimatum, dusk was fast approaching, and he was being asked to muster his free will now?! Ridiculous!

"Shun the ideologies of your previous society that binds you, son." The calming voice of Treilma Ara had reached him like a balm. He turned to look at him utterly surprised. He had never been called son by this elderly man before, nor had he been spoken to with such compassion. "You belong here... amidst us. And here, she is legal to you. She belongs to you. Would you have shunned her thus, if you knew from the start that she was not denied to you? Have you not fled her presence every time because you feared submitting to her will. Let go all your fears, and reservations today. If you still do not desire her from your heart, you need not feel guilty for her choice. You will be informed of your daughter's well being on your requests." Derek had calmed enough now to understand and contemplate. The time to argue over morals had passed. His free will was all that was left to him now. He had looked at Anne once again and realised she wasn't a little girl anymore. She had grown into an amazing woman- in form and character. A woman allowed to him. He recalled the various times he had admired her beauty (of body and soul) as she grew up and envied the man whom she would choose to spend her life with. And now she had chosen him! She was rejecting the whole world for him! Would he not have considered himself lucky to be the object of such love if she had not been tagged off-limit to him? Would he have still refused her if she had been another's daughter? Then why was he refusing her now? She was not taboo to him anymore. She could be his to keep, love and nurture.

This time when he had stepped in the shade of the tree it had prickled him slightly but let him pass. He had knelt before her on one knee, and calmly called her name again. She had lifted her eyes to him then. They had become puffy and red by then.

He had reached out with shivering hands to hold her hands gently and asked, "I am accepting you in my life, Anne... As mine, in every sense of the word. I'm going to lift you up... and take you back to our tribe... And our home. You will come with me. Yes?"

Her tears had finally escaped her hold at the quiver in his voice. All she could manage was to nod her head in accrual.

He had smiled at her in return a deep sense of relief flooding his heart, even his tears flowing again, and gently carried her back to the shrine. Her body was cold due to the exposure and she nestled closer to him drawing comfort from his warmth and relief from his long at last acceptance.

The whole island had rejoiced for them and Treilma Ara too had welcomed them with his eyes moist. Derek had lowered her on one of the steps of the shrine, and covered her nudity with his own coarse shirt.

"I'm sorry, Anne," he pleaded with a sad calm, holding her hands again. "I pushed you to such extremes. I... I don't know what to say. Please, forgive me."

"Do you accept my love for you now, Papa?"

"Yes! I do. I do now."

"Then, that is all that matters. Please do not feel so bad. I understand. It was not easy for you. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have dragged to such limits either. But I was scared by what I read in your mind. It would have ruined me, Papa. I love you. I really do."

Derek had kissed her palms at that before treading further. "I love you too, Anne. And I will make up to you. I promise."

"You still need to restore some of her rights to her before you leave, son." Treilma Ara had intervened softly. "Bring her along."

He had then led the new couple to the middle of the shrine and asked them to sit across each other. Anne's usual clothing and other necessary objects were placed around them. Derek had followed every instruction given to him, and clad her in her usual clothes and soles, and fed her some fruit and water, to reacquaint her with the items she had given up during the rite. He was then given a sacred veil to drape over her head, to symbolise his acceptance of her as his woman. A new tiara was presented to her to herald her new status. This one had a shrunken ensemble of lotus, tiger tooth, and a brown feather of an eagle, woven over Blumes tendrils encased in the usual glass covering each signifying eternal love, strength and wisdom respectively.

They were bestowed the title of Preizo and Emory to be exclusively used for each other, describing their new relationship. Just as the couple and the gathering had moved to go, Treilma Ara had made another announcement.

"I also take this opportunity to initiate you as a part of our community too, Derek Meigo. I give the name Adonis."

The smirk on the Head's face confirmed Derek's doubts. He had indeed been named after the Greek hero- an incest child of a father-daughter pair. It was a clever pun. He had to give him that. A foreign name for one who had cherished foreign idealogies for so long. A reminder that incest existed even in the society he came from, and this tribe knew more about the outside world than they let on.

Derek had bowed his head in silent acceptance and a smile. "Thank you. I will always endeavour to live up to this name," he shrewdly promised Treilma Ara. Two can play this game. All, including the Treilma Ara, had laughed at this clash of wits. Derek was presented his brooch to wear- a shrunken ensemble of figs, stag's antler, and a leaf of clover; to symbolise his dedication and love, power of instincts, and his gift to produce food. He was then allowed to carry Anne home.

He had made love to her that night as if was his first too. His hands fumbled, his approaches were unsure, and he touched her ever so carefully as if he was afraid to hurt her. He had woken up in the middle of that night with the nude image of Anne abnegating the world under the maple tree terrorising his mind, and found Anne too awake but not in his bed.

She was sitting by the window bathed in moonlight, with only her veil covering her form. She was cradling her new tiara in her hands, gazing at it lost in some thought. Her eyes glistened with an unshed tear, and his fears had returned with increased ferocity. What if she actually regretted it now that they had crossed the bridge? Like so many daughters around the world? What will he do now? She was stuck with him for life. He cannot even brush it all away as a mistake and send her on her way.

He padded up to her and she had looked up at him and smiled. "You are awake?"

He had smiled back and nodded sitting across her. He had tried to read her face and she had laughed divining his thoughts once again.

"I woke up just a little while ago with my back feeling a little sore. So, I came and sat here for a while. I do not regret any of this. In fact, I've never been more happy."

"But I saw you cry." He couldn't rest his fears yet.

She had laughed her little laugh again and replied, "Tears of relief. I was admiring how beautiful my new tiara is, when the thought suddenly crossed my mind as to how close I had come to losing you. If not for my power to read minds..."

"Hush!" Derek had silenced her and wrapped her in his arms again, a deep sense of relief flooding his heart for the second time that day.

"You are all I will ever want, Preizo." She murmured into his chest. "Please do not push me away from you ever again."

"Never, Anne. Never again. I'm finally yours, honey. Completely, eternally yours. I love you so much."

"But I see you like my new title already," he observed a little while later, amusement clear in his voice trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

She lifted her face up with a seductive smile, looked into his eyes but and replied endearingly, "I love the feel of it. It feels like love."

"And how does Emory feel?" He asked back, his voice lowering to a murmur, one arm still around her and lifting the other to caress her nape.

"Like a blessing," she rasped leaning in closer.

He smiled at her words. His daughter was madly in love with him. And he found himself falling equally in love with her, with each passing minute.

"You are my blessing," he declared, overwhelmed by these exhilarating emotions. His eyes flicked to her lips, and his hands moved further up to cradle her face, and his thumb tracing her lips gently. He wanted to take her lips once again then and there. But he had one more promise to make to her first." But you deserve so much better, Anne."

She tried to say something at that but was cut short with him continuing, "You do. And I feel so blessed that you chose me. I will make up to you, my love. I will try to meet all your expectations from me. I will fulfill your every wish and desire you will ever have from your life partner."

"Be careful what you promise, Preizo." She warned, a mischievous glee lighting up her face. "I can be really demanding at times. You know that."

"And you think I cannot fulfill your demands?" He rose to her bait. "I have catered to your every demand since day one, if you recall."

She had laughed again and pulled him into a deep kiss which had soon escalated further.

But this had also started a little personal joke between them, with her demanding such and such things in the name of expecting from her partner whenever inspiration struck, much to his amusement and sometimes to his utter chagrin. Sometimes she made him climb Palmyra trees to get her the fruit, sometimes she would ask him to fight lemurs over a bunch of bananas. He usually entertained her whims sportively, but there were also times he had to drag her away from that place. The lovemaking it usually resulted in was always great.

This way, they had slowly adapted to their new relationship, and come to treasure the new life they were building together. There were times when he found it a bit twisted, but he was always eternally grateful for the second chance at happiness Anne had ensured for them. He was even really glad he had come to live on this island and that he belonged to the Soga Mroa tribe. These people were brilliant.

"Did you just see that?" Anne suddenly exclaimed sitting up straighter. They were still on the Beach and the sun had just set. Derek looked at her in confusion. What had got her so excited all of a sudden? What did he miss this time?

"The Green Flash at Sunset! It just occurred. I witnessed it with my own eyes! Oh, Preizo... Please tell me you did not miss it."

"I missed it." He admitted pouting his lips in mock dejection.

"It was beautiful! You had to see it." She groaned. "What were you thinking about?!"

"I was thinking about you."

"I'm here right beside you, and you miss an exceptional phenomenon lost in my thoughts! Preizo, You don't get to see the Green Flash every day! They are a blink and you miss phenomenon!"

"Well, we can always look out for them every evening for the rest of our lives. Who is to stop us?"

Anne gave up trying to hide her smile. She had to give him that. She stood up offering him her hand, "Come, let's head back. It will soon be dark." She also had her gift to give to him, and she wanted to do it on their island.

"Just one more stop. Then we will head home." Anne looked at him in surprise. What was left? They had seen so much already. Her surprise turned into confusion when she realised where he was leading her to. "The memorial? But we have already been there during the day?"

"It was on your insistence. I had planned it for the end of the day."

"What difference would it make? And you could have insisted too if you wanted to visit it now."

"So, you could have seen through my plans? I couldn't take chance."

"What plans? What can be so special about a visit to the memorial at dusk?"

"You ask too many questions, Emory. Just come. There's a gift waiting for you in there."

He was surprising her more and more these days. He had used this endearment for the first time ever. "A gift? But you've already given me so much today! You"ve already made the day so special," she managed to squeal.

He suddenly stopped on his tracks, pulled her tight to his chest like he had done that afternoon, and gently caressed her lips with his thumb; reminding her of their kiss earlier, and she said no more.

He smirked and resumed his steps, urging her along.

Apparently, the staff were already aware of his plans. Two personnels were waiting at the main hall to welcome them warmly. They were led through a maze of corridors and down hallways to a darkened, sheltered balcony. The sky too had darkened by now and the gentle breeze rendered a romantic atmosphere to them. In the open end of the balcony a little telescope stood grandly tilted towards the sky, and next to it was a laminated and beautiful 'Name a Star Certificate' supported on an easel.

"You have named a star after me?" She asked turning around to him clearly astounded.

"After us," he corrected, leading her to the objects waiting for them.

"Oh, Preizo! This is... Amazing. Thank you so much! We have a star named after us!" She exclaimed reaching out to the certificate which declared the star will be known as 'Adonis and Iva Meigo' henceforth.

"And it belongs to my constellation too!"

He nodded proudly, very glad to see how much she really loved the gift. "Wouldn't you like to have a closer look, love?" He asked gently tugging her to look through the telescope, and wrapping his arms around her from behind. It was already tuned to the exact star.

A smile lighted up her face as she peeped through the lens. The star looked really beautiful in closer proximity. It still radiated with a silver sheen and twinkled but through this telescope, she could even see the red glow to it. Bitelgues! She thought.

"Won't you have a look too?" She entreated leaning back on him after she had gazed to her heart's content. Her arms reached down to wrap over his. The glimmer in her eyes spoke how special she felt.

"Of course," he accrued still not letting her go, and bending slightly to look over her shoulder.

"I too have a gift for you," she whispered in his ears after a while had passed.

He looked at her with surprise and excitement. "Really? What?"

"I wanted to give it to you after we were back home, but this moment is just perfect."

"You have it here with you?"

She nodded. "And I will carry it with me for a long time too."

"What is it that you will keep to yourself even after gifting it to me?"

Her coy smile made her look even more beautiful as she gently tugged his hand to travel lower and pressed it against her womb.

"You are with child?" He gasped, the implication of her gesture dawning on him.

He turned her around in his arms, and asked again to see the confirmation in her eyes. She nodded this time glad that he had understood. "I came to know a few days ago. But I wanted to give you the news as a Valentine's Day gift."

Derek was beyond himself at the news. His Anne was carrying his child! They would be parents together! He pulled her in a tight embrace as his mirth became his tears, and held her to him for a long while. Anne was offering him a whole new world of happiness again, and he didn't know what to say to her. That it is wonderful news?? That It's amazing?? Tell her again how much he loves her??

"Anne!" He tried, freeing her from his embrace and cupping her face. She was crying too now. She couldn't remember seeing him so happy in recent years. The way his joy radiated on his countenance and the way his eyes shone with his emotions was precious.

"Anne..." He tried again. "This is... This is... Thank you so much!" And unable to find anymore words he pulled her in to a searing kiss that expressed his feelings more than any words could.

Later that night after they had retired to bed, and Anne had fallen asleep exhausted, he still lay awake. He was tired too, but his excitement wouldn't let him sleep. He slowly reached out his hands to where Anne had indicated the baby rested in her womb. "The moon!" He gasped. Deiro was right. The feeling was beautiful... Really special... Almost ethereal. And he promised himself that they would make wonderful parents together.