Chapter 1
It had been a tradition for many, many years now. The entire family would meet at Ajak’s house in Mexico on November 2nd. But this year was special, it was the first time in twenty years that Kingo joined. Why had he picked this year to finally come back to the festivities? He refused to tell, and none of the people who had joined regularly cared enough to insist, he was here, it was all that mattered.
Ajak greeted all of them, Ikaris came first, to address his apologies for not being able to stay longer than a few minutes, then followed Thena and Gilgamesh, bringing the second most beautiful pie Ajak had ever seen, Kingo, with a bottle of the nicest alcohol in India, with his face on it, and finally Sersi, stunning as ever, focused on her phone as she always was, texting Dan asked all of her attention after all.
The event always started the exact same way, they would make the nicest load of bread, cut flowers from Ajak’s garden, and make their way to the cemetery. People would dance in the streets, honor all of those who had passed, the alleyways were crowded, covered in lost petals of flowers, and finally they reached the grave they had been looking for.
The stone read “Anacaona, the bravest woman to have ever lived”. The Eternals showed their respects with silence, the way their traditions asked them too, only Kingo was praying with his hands in front of his face. When silence became too much for him, he finally cracked a joke.
“Who even is Anacaona?”
Thena was the first one to answer, quite calmly, “Anacaona is Ajak’s lost lover.”
Ajak placed what she had brought for her next to her tombstone, and turned to face them, a smile finally appearing on her face. “She was much more than my lover. Let me tell you her story.”
The healer brought them back to Tenochtitlan, in the fire and the darkness of the night, right after they had all gone separate ways. Ikaris and Sersi had followed Ajak for some time before leaving to go settle in England. Sersi had grown passionate of the monarchs there, and Ikaris would have preferred to die before leaving her unprotected in such a chaotic place. Ajak was alone, and remained alone for many many months, walking through what the European intruders would soon call America, erasing all of the powerful names that were once given to it.
One day, she found herself in the middle of a conflict between the people that had lived on this land for thousands of years and the colonisers; her side was quickly chosen. At this moment, she had decided that she too would interfere in human conflicts, but in a way that would not slow their progression, she would heal the wounded with her powers.
During another battle, she joined the side of a woman who knew how to use the various plants of the forest to bring even the most sick man back to life, Ajak grew passionate of this art, and asked for the woman to teach her. Days passed, and Ajak entrusted her with the secret of her powers, and the woman the secret of her name, it was Anacaona, golden flower. The two women never left each other’s side, making people’s lives better with their magic.
Feelings soon got involved, but Ajak’s worries were blown away when Anacaona confirmed that she held the same feelings. They kissed for hours, unable to stop once Ajak had shown her this practice. Their love was simple, it was like the sea hitting the beach, the wind in the leaves, their love brought peace in their hearts. That feeling of fulfilment that only comes when you know that the person standing in front of you is the one you are bound to love for all of eternity.
Ikaris came back in 1532, Ajak got him to build them a home, to finally rest after their adventures, the man did not question her demands and obliged, giving them a house they would never leave again. Anacaona taught Ajak how to cook, the woman would always cook the nicest pies, they were not called this way at the time though, the word pie only came much much later. Ajak taught Anacaona about how much humanity had grown since she arrived on this planet.
It was fair to say that Anacaona looked at me the same way she would look at Patecatl, but it never created any kind of boundaries between us. Let me continue.
Life creates, and one day takes back. Ajak never left Anacaona’s side until it happened. Until she got taken back at age 70, no matter how well Ajak was taking care of her.
Death is a part of life, and even if sometimes, I wish I could walk back into my home and take her hand in mine, her departure was as peaceful as our love once was.
Kingo had to hold back a tear when Ajak finished her story, he was the only one who had not heard it yet.
Gilgamesh handed him a tissue. “This is who Anacaona is. You would have known if you came more often.”
The little family found their way back home, and on the way back, Ajak could have sworn that a tear appeared on Kingo’s cheek. Maybe it was only her imagination. They all spent the evening together, and cheerfully celebrated in Anacaona’s memory.
And it was her who appeared to Ajak as she was laying on the ice, many many years later, ready to welcome the loss of her abilities like one welcomes death. As the creature rushed towards her, Ajak said a last goodbye to her, for she knew that soon, her memory would be erased and she would no longer remember the touch of her hand, the wrinkle on her cheek or the warmth of her embrace.