Chapter Eleven

Bindi woke up from na long sleep. The light was dim in the research hut, but Bindi was used to it. Only a few people slept in the research hut; Mali, Thema, Hokou, Hakea, and her. After that day at the pond, Bindi had moved in with Hakea.
Bindi got out of bed to wake Hakea up.
"Hakea." Bindi whispered. Hakea didn't stir.
"Hakea!" Bindi said a little louder. She pressed her ear against Hakea's chest. Nothing.
"Hakea, please don't do this to me." Bindi whispered. Hakea still didn't move. Bindi understood. She wiped her stray tears and went outside.
"Papa, Hakea's dead." She sobbed. Hiji's face fell and ran to the resarch hut. Bindi followed suit.
Hiji had his head on Hakea's stomach and cried like a baby. Bindi wasn't sure to pat his back or something.
"She would have liked you to know, Pa, that she loved you very much." Bindi said softly. That made Hiji cry harder.

The next day, Hakea Love was the first villager to be buried. Also crying were Thema, Atepa, Bindi, and Tamil. A large bouquet of flowers were placed on her grave.
"I'll keep our promise, Hakea." Bindi said. She felt the slightest breeze ruffle her hair.

Chapter Eleven, Part Two

A scream flollowing a splash was heard from the pond. The villager raced just in time to see two figures stagger out of the pond. One looked remarkably like Hakea, making some of them fidget. The other looked like the son of the woman.
"Do anyone of you have any idea of who my mother is?" the woman asked hesiantly.
Bindi opened her mouth, then closed. Hiji stepped forward, angled so as to protect the tribe, although physically, nothing needed to be protected.
"What do you want?"
"My mother came here after I was born. I want to present to her her grandson, Seven." she said, waving her hand to the boy, who looked about 16.
"Nobody has come here beside me and a friend of mine. What's you name and who is your mother?" Hiji asked, his tone more agressive by the second.
"My name is Dada Heat. And my mother is Hakea Love."

Chapter Twelve

"Mother loved me, she did. Only legend says that she left with a good friend into the cave and never came back.
"Everyday, since I can remember, I'd go to he cave and listen to the voices there. The elders say it's the spirits of my mother and her friend, but there was too many. I realized Mother had uncovered a new side of Isola!
"After some time, I concentrated on work. I got married and had my son, Seven. Then the plague came and killed many, including Seven's father. WE were lucky.
"That's when I decided to come here. I wanted to see my mother, who I have little memory of. I don't even know what she looks like! I'm too late, I guess.
Dada was telling her story around the fire, all eyes on her. SHe stopped.
"Dada." Hiji suddenly said, eyes somber."I drew Hakea once, and I still have the picture. You could look at it if you want. Even though it'll just look like a mirror to you. You look just like her." He stood and left, coming back a few minutes later. He showed Dada the picture, and her eyes welled up a little bit with tears. She showed Seven. He smiled, then nodded. Then, Dada stood.
"Well, thank you all, but Seven and I think that we will be more comfortable together back home. Thank you."
"Spend the night here. In the morning we can give a few things for your journey, it'll be harsh going around that jungle." Mali said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Dada and Seven were gone before Bindi woke up. She went outside to the pond, and cried a bit.
She felt a hand on her back. She looked up and saw Hokou, smiling a half-smile, his inky black hair pointing in every direction. With instincts in control, Bindi put her head on his shoulder and cried, because she just lost the closest thing she had to a mother, and to Bindi, she never wanted to feel that way again.

Chapter Thirteen
Some years later

Atepa held her son, Laki, in her arms. He looked just like Kuruk, only with the air of elegance around him. Chip, the oldest, was a wanderer. He was never seen near his family. He hung out a lot with Bindi. She and Hokou spent a lot of time together now. It crazed Chip a lot, but he held strong.
Being 16 and already a master scientist, Bindi had still a long way to go, but she didn't wanted to become an elder, like Yap, who after being granted a totem, ran all over the village dealing with problems.
No, Bindi wanted to be a mother, but with who? She desperately wanted to keep her promise to Hakea. With a lot of free time on her hands, Bindi decided to do some farming.
Lala was still beautiful, even with her shiny golden hair a little duller. Her blue eyes sparkled, and she loved being beautiful. She was arrogant and loved to gloat. Yet, she spent the rest of her days buildning a new sewing hut with her own two hands.
Hiji was buried next to Hakea. Mali came next, along with Thema. Hokou could hardly believe it. He had just turned 22 and both his parents were dead. Hokou, being very careful, buried both of them. Bindi was there, with comforting words.
Tamil became very private after Hakea's death. He had become more withdrawn from the world since Dada had come to visit. Almost nobody remembered him. Even his doting mother forgot about him, living as if she had never married and never was a mother, just a free young spirit always.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Bindi's seventeenth birthday, she and Hokou celebrated by the lagoon, behind the waterfall.
"Bindi." Hokou suddenly said, solemn.
"What is it, Hokou?" Bindi asked, getting worried. She hoped he didn't have to ruin her birthday by speaking of the dead.
"Bindi, I'll like to give you something." He took out a beautiful shell necklace, intertwined with feathers.
"Bindi, on your eighteenth birthday, I want to marry you."
Bindi spaced out. Her mind went blank. Then, she imagined, with all her new free time, many children playing around her. Bindi immediately smiled at that thought, because she would share her life with Hokou. And she couldn't think of anything better than that.

Chapter Fourteen
Years Later

Again, the little group of villagers gathered round the clearing as they buried Atepa and Yap. The Land brothers, Chip, Kuruk, and Laki, were silently burying their loving parents. Bindi watched with her husband, Hokou. Holding Bindi's left hand was her first daughter, Aziza Water. Aziza had black curly hair and deep blue eyes. She was fair skin and mostly quiet and dutiful. On Bindi's right hand, between both her parents, was Safari Water, the life of the family. Her brown hair fell around her little waist and her brown eyes were certainly something to look at. Safari proudly wore a headband which she claimed was made of gold and could never take of or 'her family will disappear.' Hokou held hands with his only son, Okau, which Bindi had named after him. He also had brown hair, curling like crazy just like Aziza's.
Bindi was due any day now, to give birth to her fourth child. Old Atepa and Yap had died just weeks of each other. Bindi thought that they couldn't stay away from each other that long. She smiled at the thought of Hokou and her like that, dying days of each other because of the grief. Which was nearly impossible since Hokou was a few years older than Bindi, and that could make a lot of difference.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next week, the baby was born. It was a boy. He looked just like his brother Okau.
"I guess the girls take after Papa, cause the boys are just like Momma. Although I look better than Azi here." Safari had sniffed. Bindi sighed, thinking how much her mother and Safari were alike. Lala had died not too long ago. Lala had asked for an apology of her awful behavior to Bindi, which she regretfully refused. Bindi gave in though, just two days before Lala's heart gave out.
Bindi named her new son Mau, named after Okau for looking so much like him. Hokou thought his wife didn't have a lot of imagination.

Chapter Fifteen
Few Years Later

Bindi was crying tears of joy. Aziza and Kuruk were finally married. Hokou squeezed her shoulder affectionally as a fresh roll of tears came down. She wasn't even that old and she was to be a grandmother soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just a few months after Aziza's wedding, Aziza ran up to her mother, showing her the bump growing in her.
"Oh, Aziza! Guess what?"
"What, Mom?!"
"I'm pregnant too."
"No way!"
Bindi nodded.
"Although yours will be older than mine." Bindi laughed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aziza and Kuruk named their little girl with short black hair and bangs Chirita, Bindi's and Hokou's first grandchild. Safari had happily taken the post of an aunt. Okau and Mau, both grown boys, had taken a liking to Chirita, who was like her mother in every perspective, quiet and loving and caring. Bindi was overjoyed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bindi had a little girl with chin length black hair and thick red lips. Paima was to be her name. Safari had let her theory of the girls taking after her handsome father fall; Paima was a bit too much like her mother. Hokou laughed and saw that his favorite little girl was no longer a little girl. Safari Had grown lovely, but her way of talk either sometimes made her more appealing or more rude and dislikeful. When told she was now to pick either Chip or Laki Land, she said "I would marry Laki. Chip is too old. I think Paima would do good with him." Bindi had scolded her, but Hokou and the others just laughed. It would be such a prize for the either of the Land brothers to marry beautiful loud-mouthed Safari Water.

Chapter Sixteen
Few years Later

Bindi felt a wave of emotion. She felt happy, sad, anxious, giddy, and overall confused. She was 49 and with her last child. Her last, she was going to miss this.
She had already told everyone. Aziza laughed and told her mother that Chirita would have an aunt or uncle younger than her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Bindi looked at her son, she saw the spitting image of her father. She bet that if her new son would talk, she would hear the echo of her father's voice.
"That's it! His name will be Ecco." Bindi annouced.

Chapter Seventeen

And now Safari turned 18. The Land brothers that were still bachelors, Chip and Laki, looked their best everyday.
It was a clear morning when Bindi went to get some wood and found Safari and Laki together. He presented her a delicate yet beautiful necklace.
"My baby girl already going to be married. So soon?"
"Mother, you know you married at 18 too." Safari said.
"Well, I just want to say congratulations. And Laki?"
"Yes, Bindi?"
"Take good care of her."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few months later, Aziza and Safari were all giggles. Well, first they stared a bit, then Safari giggled, then Aziza giggled too. Kuruk and Laki had never seen their wives act silly before.
At the fire one night, both women stood.
"WE're going to be mothers." they proudly spoke. Laki stumbled, but then stood and kissed his wife. Kuruk laughed and explained the situation to Chirita.
Bindi and Hokou sat together. Hokou had grown old, his magnificent black hair lined with brilliant grey. He had gone a little stiff, and as the oldest, he devoted his time as a doctor, but he mostly enjoyed himself. Bindi wiped a tear from her eye and looked at all her children, grandchildren, and in-laws. She had gone so far. She was proud, and she knew, somewhere above her, Hakea watched, also proud.

The End