Family

Joey

The Metkayina are kind enough to give us food, bedding, and any other supplies we will need during our stay. After a tour of the village, we're led to the tents where everyone sleeps. Everything's connected by a bouncy woven bridge attached to roots of trees. It doesn't feel stable to me, but everyone seems to trust it, so I guess it's okay. 

Tsireya takes us down to one of the farther tents, and gestures excitedly. "This is for you. Your new home."  

She turns to Neteyam and I. "Your tent is right down there." She gestures to the end of the walkway, where there is a smaller tent. 

I'm kind of surprised they even considered giving us our own. It is a very kind gesture indeed. 

We look at Jake, and he nods in encouragement. 

With his permission, we walk down to our new home. Neteyam seems thrilled, but even though this tent is bigger than our last one and has more privacy, I long for the jungle. I toss our bedding down unenthusiastically as Neteyam sets down his own things. 

"Look, Jo. We have our own space again." He examines the area happily. "It's more than we could've hoped for."

I try to match his enthusiasm with a smile, but he can tell it's not genuine. 

"What is it, my love?"

 I sigh and look around. "I just miss home I think." 

"We can make this our new home. You and me." He takes my hands, pressing his forehead to mine gently. "I know it's not everything we wanted, but it's more than we ever could have hoped for. We can still have our future, just a little different." 

The weight in my chest lessens, just a tiny bit. Maybe he's right. I sigh and smile again, this time with some feeling. "Alright. Let's get everything unpacked."

~

"Okay Sullys, fall in." Jake had called a family meeting. Neteyam and I are walking over to his tent. 

"Remember, family meeting?" Neteyam drags Lo'ak over to sit. 

"Come on, take a knee, let's go." Jake is getting impatient. Everyone is dragging their feet. 

I sit down unenthusiastically. 

"Okay." Jake sighs. "I need you kids to be on your best behavior. I mean it. Learn fast. Pull your weight." He turns to Lo'ak. "Don't cause trouble. Got it?" 

"Yes sir." Lo'ak nods. 

From the corner, Tuk starts to cry. "I want to go home." 

Her sad voice sends a pang through my chest. 

"Oh, Tuk." Neytiri seems to feel the same as me at the sound of her crying. 

"Tuk," Jake takes her hand gently. "This is our home now."

"He turns back to the rest of us. "Now, we're gonna get through this. We're gonna get through this if we have each other's backs. All right?"

"What does your father always say?" Neytiri asks us hopefully. 

"Sullys stick together." We all sigh in unison. 

"That's right, Sullys stick together." Jake smiles. "Now this time, with some feeling." 

"Sullys stick together." We reply, a little louder this time. 

"Good." Jake sighs, standing up. "Let's all get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow. Dismissed."

We all slowly stand. The exhaustion from the journey plus all the heavy lifting and moving is hitting me hard. Rest doesn't sound half bad. 

Neteyam takes my hand and leads me back to our new home. We had finished unpacking everything, bed is made, and we have some food for dinner. I'm tempted to just crawl into bed and sleep, but I know that tomorrow I'm going to need all the energy I can get. Dinnertime it is. 

We sit on the edge of our tent, overlooking the water, to eat. Our feet dangle over the edge. The sun is setting, reflecting off the water quite beautifully. 

"I'm nervous for tomorrow." Neteyam tells me before eating a bite of food. It's different from what we're used to at home. Lots of shellfish and what I think might be rice, with vegetables. I want real meat. 

"Me too." I sigh, picking at the food halfheartedly. My eyelids are incredibly heavy. "What if we're terrible swimmers?"

"We will be compared to them." He gestures to the distance where some Metkayina are fishing by the reef. "Have you seen their arms and their tails? Made for moving through water."

"This is humiliating." I set my dinner down, only half eaten. "Do you remember what the chief said?"

"Yeah, that was unnecessary." His voice changes to annoyance very quickly. "We're all embarrassed enough as it is." 

I laugh a little. "We are going to be terrible swimmers. Can you even hold your breath for very long?"

He takes a deep breath, and I count for him. After thirty seconds, he exhales loudly. "We're going to be terrible at this." 

We laugh together, and for a moment, everything feels okay. The sun has set, and a variety of bioluminescent plants has begun to glow beneath the surface of the water. I'm suddenly hit with a wave of sadness. My father would be fascinated. 

"It's so beautiful." Neteyam is staring straight down into the water. Without saying a word, he pushes himself off the ledge and into the sea. 

I look down, and his head pops up below me. "You should come, let's look!" 

I don't really want to, but he grabs my foot and pulls me in. 

The water is cool and refreshing. When I dive below, I can see all the plants glowing. It is beautiful indeed. 

Neteyam swims up beside me, pointing at a strange aquatic plant. It has tendrils that extend out, each with a glowing orb at the end. I touch one, and it sucks back into the plant, making me jump. He laughs at me,and I shove him. After going up for a breath, we swim back down. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. I close my eyes and press my forehead to his. It's perfectly quiet, all I can feel is the water and Neteyam's embrace. Down here, everything feels okay. I can relax. 

Unfortunately, we have to breathe. We swim back up, and pull ourselves back into the tent. It's cold now, and we can't help but shiver a bit. 

Climbing into our bed, it's a lot warmer, and when he pulls me close, the warmth of his body feels so comforting. It doesn't take very long for me to fall into a deep sleep.