Psyche and Eros
Three weeks had passed since the fight and Ao’nung had made peace with the Sullys..mostly. Lo’ak had forgiven him and Kiri had begrudgingly forgiven him thanks to the help of Rotxo, but Neteyam was different from his other siblings. He told Ao’nung to his face, “You aren’t forgiven.”
It was an odd reaction and Ao’nung hadn’t expected it. If anything he thought Lo’ak would be the difficult one, he thought Neteyam would be the first to forgive him, but he was dead wrong.
Unfortunately or possibly fortunately, their teacher had paired them together for an English project. It was about romance. Of course because what else would it be about? Ao’nung had tried to pick Romeo and Juliet as their subject, but Neteyam had shot him down quickly.
“Their story was a tragedy, not a romance. It’s a common misconception.” Neteyam had told him. Ao’nung just sighed in response. “Plus, I’m sure multiple others will be using their story. Try to be more original.” Neteyam said and unfortunately, Ao’nung couldn’t argue really. “What about..Hades and Persephone?” Ao’nung question which he instantly regretted when he saw the look of horror on the other’s face.
“Who told you that was a romance story?” Neteyam asked, his brows furrowed. “That one webcomic about them? I don’t know I heard a thing or two about them in middle school.” Ao’nung answered
“Ao’nung, they are far from a romance story. He kidnapped her and dragged her to the underworld which is just the tip of the iceberg compared to their full story.” Neteyam said and Ao’nung let out a little squeak of surprise, which Neteyam smiled at.
“We could do Psyche and Eros. They are considered the healthiest greek mythology couple.” Neteyam suggested. “I’ve never heard of them before.” Ao’nung replied. “I don’t have enough time to talk about them right now. Come over to my house later, so we can discuss this more.” Then Neteyam dismissed himself from the conversation.
Great mother Ewya, Neteyam is confusing. The last time Ao’nung had tried to talk to him a week ago, Neteyam had almost bit his head off and now he was inviting Ao’nung over.
Neither less, Ao’nung still went over to the Sully house that afternoon. He had been over a few times to make amends with the family, which had worked out for the most part. Lo’ak and Spider invite him and Rotxo over all the time, Tuk invited him and Tsireya over for tea parties or hide and seek, and Kiri had him, so she could teach him more about origami.
But Neteyam had never made an attempt to reach out to him. Which meant that Ao’nung had never seen Neteyam’s room. When he did though, it made sense.
Neteyam’s shelves were littered with family photos. Most had his siblings, some had his father with a mini Neteyam, others had the family with an elder black woman or dorky-looking white man, but the one picture that truly caught Ao’nung’s attention was one of Neteyam with a dark-skinned black man that looked like a carbon copy of Neteyam
In the photo the man was holding a baby bundle with little Neteyam inside, it looked like it was taken not long after Neteyam was born. The man looked ecstatic and had tears in his eyes.
“Who is this?” Ao’nung asked after staring at the photo. “My uncle, Tsu’tey.” Neteyam sighed. Ao’nung turned to look at the other teen, expecting Neteyam to continue, but he didn’t so Ao’nung didn’t press it. “I’m going to get a chair from Kiri’s room, you can use mine.” Neteyam told him, gesturing toward the spinny chair at the desk.
Ao’nung nodded and sat down as Neteyam walked out of the room. There was another eye-catching picture on the desk. This one looked like a younger version of Tsu’tey and Neytiri, though the woman did have a few different features.
“I’m back,” Neteyam announced, making Ao’nung’s thoughts break away. Neteyam dragged the chair over and placed it right beside Ao’nung. “That’s my late Aunt Sylwanin. She and Tsu’tey were in love with each other and were going to marry, unfortunately, that never happened.” Neteyam explained as he sat down.
“Oh, sorry for your loss.” Ao’nung apologized. “No need.” Neteyam retorted as he opened the computer and typed in his password. “What happened?” Ao’nung asked. Neteyam paused his typing to take a breath. “Kiri’s mother, Grace was an American, who had come to Kenya for some research project. She learned our language and in turn taught English. She had a schoolhouse that she taught in and one day the Americans got mad I guess and shot it up. They killed many Kenyans that day and Aunt Sylwanin was one of those that were killed. After her death, my mom became promised to Tsu’tey and the rest is history.” Neteyam explained.
Ao’nung stayed silent but was definitely listening. “My Uncle Tsu’tey holds no grudge against my father, though. They were close when we still lived in Kenya.” Neteyam sighed before continuing to type on his computer. Ao’nung nodded and stared at the other.
Which made him realize how pretty Neteyam was up close. Rotxo was right, Neteyam does look like Neytiri, he looks like a splitting image of his mother. Before he could keep thinking about the beauty of the other teen, Neteyam had cleared his throat. “Ready to read?” Neteyam asked. “Yeah.” Ao’nung nodded, breaking out of the trance Neteyam had him in.