She relished in both the coolness of the water as she soaked her feet in the river and the warmness from the midday sun. In her lap, an infant, was sleeping, lulled by the gentle flow of water and the breeze of the trees around them.
She closed her eyes and the sensations she felt made her remember that day. It was just like this day. The rays of the sun tingling her eyes. When she did open them, she realized that she was under the covers of a woolen blanket and beside her was a sleeping infant. She suddenly rose and touched her flat belly; she had already given birth.
She was confused by her surroundings. She noticed that she was lying in thick grassy soil and around her, watching over her were dozens of the forest animals: fawns, wild boars, rabbits, and birds.
She was looking for someone, but no matter how hard she tried to remember, she forgot that someone's name.
Adding to her anxiety, she saw a silhouette of a tall man standing behind the trees and shrubs across her. Threading carefully, the young man walked out. He had ash colored hair, and his skin was not a skin that knows the rays of the sun. He was like the attractive men in Shaway's village, but he was taller and had a unique wine-colored eye.
Shaway, like her parents, brothers, and cousins, would either have deep black to light brown irises. But there are some of them, those with the gift, who have eyes that shift into different shades of green.
But this man's eyes were different. To her surprise, as if her curiosities were read, the man explained, "I am unlike your kind. I do not have to hide these eyes of mine. I was created with these eyes."
Shaway, scared of the man's arrogant tone, took the infant beside her, and cuddled it to keep it safe. She stood up and her eyes glared on the man, "Who are you? Where am I?"
Monokuel grinned, the woman had the same eyes as that lifeless man: eyes that speak of bravery though they belonged to a fragile being. Then his thoughts wondered, 'Interesting. Just in time. I was almost feeling bored.'
" Shaway," he called sweetly, "was your child birthing that exhausting to the point that you slept for a week and when you finally woke up you have forgotten who the father of your son is?"
Shaway's defiant face turned into a shocked one. "That, that cannot be…I..I do not know you!"
As if the infant in her arms felt the fear in her, it cried loudly and the animals around her scrammed. As she looked upon the face of her child to calm it, she was yet again in disbelief, her child's eyes were the same color as the man across her.
The woman was distracted by the infant's crying that she did not pay attention to Mokonuel who walked towards where she was standing. He laid his hand on the crying infant's soft head, and surprisingly the infant calmed down.
Shaway thought to herself, 'The child is familiar with this man's presence. This—this cannot be.'
Seeing the woman's confusion, Mokonuel turned to put his palm on Shaway's head, "I have not yet given him a name, have you thought of what you will call him?"
Unexpectedly, Shaway did not feel anything but good intentions with the man's gentle touch and voice, 'Maybe—maybe it is true'- she told herself.
Shaway shook her head. Mokonuel looked at the baby in her arms. The newborn's wine-colored eyes staring at him. Mokonuel sees his own eyes on the child, but the gaze, no doubt, the little one inherited from his father.
"Sunuadien. Let us name him Sunuadien" Mokonuel smirked, still looking at the child.
Shaway nodded her head, oddly, she loved the sound of the name.
It was confusing for her to understand what Mokonuel tried to explain to her after he has introduced himself. She was told that he had met her in her village when he visited once and has asked for her hand to marry from her father, Taray, just before he had died. After the marriage ceremony, Mokonuel took her to these mountains where she now lived.
Mokonuel told her that not remembering him and the events prior are the consequences of carrying a child of a being like him. Mokonuel called his kind as the 'Vanished Ones'. Beings that previously abode in the sky world but had defied their creator by choosing to live in the mortal realm. Mokonuel told her that Shaway was also confused of what he is before but was able to accept him overtime and then learned to love him back.
At first Shaway was skeptical. She tested him with questions about herself and the man answered it correctly. As he recalled to her their moments together, so did the memories flashed before her. For the sake of her child with the eyes that have the same shade with the man, she gradually accepted this as the truth. Mokonuel proved himself as each day passed by. He provided for them, building a warm hut, and serving good hunts.
It seems that her husband is the persevering one. Shaway thought that perhaps living a long life had made him patient. Not once, since learning the truth, did Mokonuel shared the same bed with Shaway as he understood that his wife has not completely trusted him yet.
Shaway's mind was returned to reality when she felt the infant squirm in her arms. The breeze has become cold.
"Are you cold?" Shaway asked the infant as she held him tighter in her arms.
"Shaway" she heard a familiar voice call, "That is enough. Both of you will become ill if you expose yourselves too much on a noon's sun and cold air at the same time. Come. Let us go home."
This is not the first time that Mokonuel came to look for his wife. On the days he comes home from a hunt, he would find his hut empty. He knows his mountain well: he sees where the old trees are planted, he hears when a wild boar gives birth, he senses unruly hunters and most of all he senses his woman's gentle steps.
Hearing the sincerity from his voice and seeing his worried face, she nodded. Mokonuel waited patiently but Shaway did not get up. He raised one of his eyebrows, "What is taking you so long? Shaway, come now."
After living with the woman for quite some time, Mokonuel learned that Shaway was a gentle, bashful woman. That is why his guard was taken down as he heard Shaway said, " Help--help me get up."
Although he did not expect the request, he grinned upon hearing her stammer and upon seeing Shaway's scarlet face. He thought to himself, 'Interesting indeed.'.
"Wife, this entails me touching you. Is that alright with you?" Mokonuel teasingly asked.
As the days passed by, Shaway realized that she had changed the way she looked upon Mokonuel: from a stranger to the father of her child and then as her husband. He worked to gain her trust, he adored their son, and he showered her with sweet care. It is not strange for a wife to desire such a husband's touch.
Without looking at the man who knelt beside her, she nodded. Swiftly and gently, he slid his arms on her and carried his wife who still cuddled Sunadien. Shaway tried to hide her embarrassment by tucking her head in his neck. She felt the vibration in his chest when Mokonuel laughed.
As if the infant understood what is happening, they heard Sunuadien giggle. Mokonuel stopped walking. Without his wife looking at him, he confessed, "Shaway, you might not understand this: You and Sunuadien made life meaningful for me, who had lived long, so long. In return, I will do everything that you desire. Remember that."
Though the message was sweet, Shaway cannot help but feel the loneliness behind what Mokonuel said. This time, still with the blush in her cheeks, she looked directly on her husband's wine-colored eyes, "The--then, come in our bed to--tonight."
Mokonuel smiled sweetly. He planted a soft kiss in Shaway's forehead, one of few that he gave her, "Are you sure about that?"
Without hesitation, Shaway replied with a nod.
That night, in their hut, as the last firewood burnt, Shaway shared her bed with Mokonuel.