Little Miss Perfect | Neteyam¹

Chapter 17: Cove of the Ancestors

Italicize - someone's thoughts, a story from the past, or a visit to the spirit tree

Bold - sign language

After Tsireya had a talk with Neteyam about how he could confess his feelings to Marali, both of them went back to the hang-out spot to gather the others. She told Neteyam that she and Rotxo were going to take them to the Cove of the Ancestors as Ao'nung had other responsibilities to attend to, and he could not join them.

When both Tsireya and Neteyam arrived at the rest of the group, Ao'nung had already left, and Marali and Tuk were done playing. "Neteyam!" Tuk yells as she runs up to him. "Where did you go?" Tuk asked. Neteyam looked down at his little sister and smiled. "I'll tell you later, okay?" Neteyam said.

Tuk pouted at first, but she eventually decided she would ask her brother again later, and when she did, she wasn't going to give up until he told her. "Okay!" Tuk said as she skipped over to Marali.

"Rotxo and I would like to show you all something," Tsireya said, speaking up. Rotxo was confused at first before he realized what Tsireya was talking about. "Oh yeah." He said. Tuk looked over at the Sun to see that it would set soon. "It's eclipse soon. Are you going to be able to show us before eclipse happens?" Tuk asked, worried.

Marali smiled at how Tuk was always trying to make sure they got back on time so they didn't get in trouble. "Don't worry, Tuk. We already talked to your parents about keeping you past eclipse." Tsireya assured. This seemed to help with the youngest child's worry as she looked at her siblings and friends excitedly.

"What are you showing us?" Marali asked with a soft smile on her face. "We are going to show you the Cove of the Ancestors," Tsireya explained. Kiri seemed to perk up at the thought of getting to see her mom since she could no longer see her videos or Avatar.

"Let's go!" Tuk cheered.

Everyone laughed at the little girl's excitement, and Tsireya then told the others to follow her. Marali was following along with the rest of the group when she stopped in her tracks. She thought that this would be something that Lo'ak should experience. "Are you okay?" Neteyam asked as he put his hand on her lower back to direct her to keep walking.

"I, uh, I just thought that I should go find Lo'ak so that he could experience this too," Marali said. Neteyam looked at her and smiled at how thoughtful she was. "He's probably with Payakan now," Neteyam said.

"You think so?" She asked. Neteyam nodded his head as they both continued to walk behind the rest of the group. "Yeah. Just give him some time, and we can show him later." Neteyam assured. Marali hummed in agreement and after that, they didn't speak much aside from small talk here and there.

~~~~

Marali had been riding her ilu with Tuk as Tuk's ilu was still too young to go this far out into the sea. When they got closer to their destination, Tsireya spoke up. "We are here." The young teen was still disappointed that Lo'ak wouldn't experience this with them, but she knew he would be having a good time with Payakan.

"This is the Cove of the Ancestors. Our most sacred place." Tsireya informed. Marali looked down in awe. The place was gorgeous, and it was nothing compared to what she'd seen before. As she looked down, she saw the floating mountains under water, and she gasped at the beauty.

"Eclipse is the best time of day to be here," Tsireya explained. The Omatikaya kids were speechless, and Tuk was looked down at the scene before her with her mouth opened, no words willing to come out. After a moment, Tuk spoke. "I'm glad Mom let us come here," Tuk whispered, and the girl behind her silently agreed.