𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | neteyam x oc

27.

I was in my hut, getting ready to leave. My mother was drinking some coconut milk in the corner of the room.

"Where were you last night?" She asks out of nowhere.

I turn to her, surprised. It's been two months since I am disappearing every night after dinner and she only asks me about it right now? She is patient. Or maybe she realized it just yesterday night when I was with Neteyam. And when we almost kissed.

"With a friend on the roots.

- The same friend I caught you with three weeks ago?" She asks.

Yes mom. The same friend that is not really a friend anymore. He is becoming a little bit more than just a simple friend. I simply nod positively, giving her the answer she wanted. She raises her eyebrows in surprise before speaking up.

"Is he your boyfriend?" She asks.

I immediately grumble as I roll my eyes. Can't she respect my privacy? I don't like talking about my love life to my mother. She is always so curious and I get that this is because she cares about me but sometimes she is just way too intrusive. Plus this 'friend' is a forest guy like my father, so she is even more interested.

"No mom... He is not. Really not." I say as I bite my lip nervously.

The truth is that I somehow hope Neteyam was. I know we shouldn't be doing all this but I don't care. My mom did, why can't I? I know this is forbidden, I can't spend the rest of my life with him, it's like betraying my people. But Neteyam is becoming so dear to me. My mom betrayed her people in the past because she loved him.

And I am the proof that these relationships between the Omatikaya people and the Metkayina people is forbidden. I had to hide my true self for seventeen years, and now that some people found out, I feel different. I don't feel at home anymore.

"Okay... Fine." She says with a disappointed look.

I am about to leave the hut as I hear her voice calling me again. I turn to her and see her standing up. She walks over a big wooden chest. This chest has always been a mystery to me, my mom never allowed me to open it. So I was just sitting in the middle of the room, trying to guess what was in this box.

"I have something for you before you leave." She says.

I frown. She squats in front of the chest and open it. I can't see what's inside but I feel like I am resolving the mystery of my life and it's so exciting. My mom plunges her hands in the chest and I immediately see a beautiful bow. The most beautiful bow I have ever seen.

The wood is so light and not damaged, there was a lot of engravings on it. There was a lot of yellow and blue details. It's awesome. It looks like this bow has never been used before. I widen my eyes when I realized this is a warrior bow. My mother walks over me.

"This was your father's... And it's yours now." She says with a tender smile.

Of course it was my father's. I don't know what to say. I feel like I should be refusing. This was a honor, although I never really liked my father because he was never there, this was still a huge thing since he was a warrior, he fought with this bow.

"I can't, it's way too-

- No. Take it. That's what your father would've wanted." She whispers.

And when I saw the bow, I realized that it was maybe time to set peace with myself and my father. I have been hiding my true self because I hated my father and also because I had to. I should've never been so hard on him, he was never there because he died to save his tribe. And during all this time I denied him. I was so selfish.