𝙏𝙄𝙇' 𝙒𝙀 𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏. 𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙮𝙖𝙢

𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧. 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬

The night has passed & the funeral ended beautifully before dinner. We payed our respects & everyone including Aonung co-operated with his father's orders, granting him an another chance to live peacefully at the Metkayina.

As long as he promised to stay with 3 fishermen that lived nearer to the shores but further down from all the pods, away from us.

The Sully family including my dad & i gathered for a hug, holding each other tightly as we watched the people return back to their homes one by one.

Ronal & Tsireya guided the Sully family down to the Cove of the Ancestors for the final bit to connect their queues with the tree. But Neteyam couldnt, so he stayed on a rock in solitude waiting for his family to come up.

I walked towards him slowly, holding my belly as it was now slightly bigger than before.

"Hey my love, may i join you?" i asked.

"Come here my sweet love" he smiled sweetly with swollen puffy eyes.

I waited for a minute or two with my head on his shoulder as he gently rubbed my arm with his thumb. Hesitating to tell him about the incident here & curious to ask about what happened with Aonung's banishment. I had to think about his wellbeing first before saying anything-

"I know you're full of questions my love, & I will answer them. As soon as I figure out what to do with this emptiness In my heart" he suddenly said with matte eyes.

"..Im always here for you & so is everyone else okay? I am truly sorry for everything Ma'Teyam, I know nothing but time can only mend your heart" I said, facing down to the crashing waves.

"Thank you Ma'Vi.. & never blame yourself, things happened for a reason & there's no turning back time now. I forgive you" he said, lifting my chin up with 2 fingers again with the same smile.

Tears filled both our eyes as he quickly looked back at the sea, watching his parents gasped for air followed by his sisters after the final ceremony. Deep inside i knew that he was raging, thinking of ways to kill the warriors, wishing he could shut me up with a scream to leave him alone or walking away from everyone find his spirit again.

But he stayed there like a statue as he held me in his arms.

"Come on son" Mr Sully placed his palm on Neteyam's head, telling him to follow him & the rest of the family back to the pod.

Neteyam stood up, not fighting back like how they expected him to. His silence was scarier than none other, that Ronal & Tonowari dared not to order him around like they were ordering Mr Sully & Neytiri to abide the rules for the ceremony.

Everyone stayed clear of Neteyam, letting him eat alone with me in peace & fix my pod without anyone interrupting us with any tasks for the day like they usually would. The people knew of his rage when word got out of what he did to Aonung, a man twice the size of him.

The next morning, I stood outside my now burnt down pod, stretching carefully as the sun hits my face with a warm rays, making me hum with alight smile. I turned around to see Neteyam passed out exhausted, hugging a bag of flowers from the funeral like it was a stuff toy.

I walked towards the end of the walkway, looking down to find Tsireya with Aonung at the corner of the shores whispering away from the other villagers.

Neytiri & Mr Sully were up early, but instead of grieving like the rest of the villagers, they kept themselves busy with helping the other others fix their home & get food for the injured. It was amazing to see what great strength they had even though they carry a great pain with them now & forever.