Fruit
Laughter filled the house as the sun rose in the sky, Anacaona had always been an heavy sleeper, and often she woke up to her wife always taking full advantage of the 24 hours in a day, wide awake. Sometimes, she even wondered if Ajak slept at all.
But this time, the laughter was different, slightly higher pitched than the voice of the love of her life. The aztec woman arose in her bed, pressing her palms against her eyes, still full of sleep, waited a few seconds and finally using her voice to speak to the woman that was supposed to be warming up her bed in the morning but refused to do so.
“Good morning. You seem quite merry today.”
Ajak remained silent. Unusual of her. The woman always spoke or was thinking about speaking. It took a few more moments for Anacaona’s eyes to finally let her see through the fog of the night.
“A child?!” she said, almost jumping at the sight of the small human.
“A child indeed.” Ajak finally spoke, her hand firmly in the back of the little kid, as if to affirm that they would not move an inch.
The black haired woman finally got up, kneeling down before the infant, examining them as if to try to figure out what had been wrong for Ajak to bring them to their house.
“Good teeth, eyes, no wounds. We do not have to cure it Ajak.” The mention of an ‘it’ made Ajak wince, but she pretended not to have heard it.
“They do not seek cure, they seek refuge.”
The woman got back on her feet, as if to challenge her wife. “We have never spoken of a child Ajak.”
“Why must you be so pessimistic already, look, they will bring us company.”
Anacaona sighed, going back to sit on the bed as she did a small wave towards the child. “Speak. Introduce yourself.”
The child looked up at Ajak, who encouraged them with a nod. They cleared their throat to give themselves courage. “I am Nahuatl, my family pushed me out of their home because I am patlache (intersex). I met with Ajak yesterday, as I was trying to hunt for fish. Today, she came back and offered me a refuge in your home.”
Anacaona’s eyes were filled with confusion, and she started speaking in sign language, perfectly aware that the child would never understand this language that only Ajak seemed to master.
“Seek refuge in our home? Without speaking to me about it?”
“They were about to die outside Ana, I had to use my powers to bring them back. What else was I supposed to do? Leave them outside to be killed by a snake?”
The child was standing in the middle, perplex as to why the two adults were furiously gesturing at one another.
“Is this where it comes from then? Your good soul? Nothing else?”
Ajak waited a moment, her hands shaking. “I want to have a family with you.” Once her sentence was finished, her shoulders fell down. She was clearly disappointed, out of every reaction she had thought about, this one was the most surprising. Why would Anacaona suddenly reject a child when she looked so charmed by Sprite?
Ana did not answer with her hands, but with her voice this time. “Nahuatl, do you know how to find fruit? Get me one and I will let you stay.”
The child jumped with excitement. It was the closest they had gotten to a home in a long time. They rushed outside, leaving the two adults to speak.
“Have a family with me? Am I not already? Do you not have your companions already?”
Ajak crossed her arms on her chest. “Is that what it is about?” She marked a pause. “Jealousy.”
Anacaona laughed, but deep inside she knew that Ajak was right. The sudden rejection of this child was deeply rooted in how jealous she felt seeing her wife with the other Eternals. They all knew each other so well.
One day, Thena had come to their place and made jokes about a time in Ancient Greece in which they had been together. Jealousy had not let go of her since then.
Ajak had already lived an eternity, she was as old as the earth herself. But what of her? All she had ever known was Ajak. She no longer had a family, she could only look at all of the Eternals and wish that one day they would accept her as Ajak’s partner. As a member of their family.
“Yes. It is.” Sprite was the only one who had understood Anacaona’s feelings. The Eternal had constantly been rejected because of her appearance, she had always been on the side of this big joyful family. “I do not want to make a family with you. I want to be part of the one that already exists.”
The Aztec woman could have sworn that her wife had sighed something like “Humans…”, which did not help her calm down.
“I wish you talked to me too. I wish you would not just throw this child at my face without being prepared to it. Because I do want them. I have been wanting to be a mother since I was a child myself. I just wish you had asked me if I wanted to.”
Ajak’s arms fell down her body, surprised to realise that her wife was right. She would often make decisions that were life changing on a heartbeat because she was aware that her own life would be endless. What of Anacaona? She only had a hundred years at best. Humans were mortal, not eternal.
The healer reached for her wife and held her against her chest, the only way she knew to sincerely apologise. When the other man held her back, Ajak knew she was forgiven. Or at least heard. They would have a lot of things to work on after what had just happen. She would have to invite Ikaris and the others who accepted to come. So much work.
Nahuatl slammed the door open at the same time, joyfully showing a fruit in their hands, smile on their lips.
Anacaona left Ajak’s warmth and approached the child, picking the fruit from their hands. “Good. Now let’s make you something to eat.”
Nahuatl spent years with them, adopted and loved by both of their mothers. They grew into a strong and healthy adult. And as kids always do one day, they left to go explore Europe with Ikaris.