As I reached the cave, the vines slowly reached out to me, pulling me to the cave.
I put the three childrens and one egg in the nest as I sat with Pujan.
"Hey!! You know I had a bad day today…."
I told the whole incident to Pujan. The vines encouraged me to calm down and tell more.
I don't know when I broke into tears but Pujan kept tapping me on my back. And I feel like that.
I was in the nest when I woke up.
I picked up the egg and slowly took it in my arms as I cried again. The children seemed to wake up as I cried. They came near me, colliding around my body. It was their own way of telling me to calm down.
I slowly calmed down and cleaned the egg with some fur.
I fed the children with some meat that was prepared for yesterday.
After eating, they went to sleep again. I covered them with a blanket.
I took the egg from the nest. The egg looked like a ping pong ball, but larger. The egg was very soft. I took it outside under the sun. I saw a big shadow inside which meant that it would hatch soon.
I took it inside and placed it inside the nest.
This was a turtle egg, so I needed to build another place for it as the cold temperature could affect it inside.
I went outside to bring the sand near the river and found some bird eggs for the childrens.
I went inside the cave to dig beside the altar and put the sand inside. I kept the bird feathers in it and a blanket and finally the egg.
This should be enough for the egg. The vines come near the egg slowly tapping it.
"Hey! He would be happy right?"
The vines slowly wrap around my finger, shaking a little.
"hmm.. What should I name it?"
The vines form two circles on the ground.
"Oh! you mean moon? Should we name her Luna?"
The vines shake a little.
"Hmm, it does sound nice, Luna. Be a healthy kid Luna"
I patted the egg a little and moved to the other nest to sleep a little. Yesterday was full of nightmares. I hope I have a good rest now.
Ahh I can't sleep now. I hurriedly wake up again and sit near the egg.
"I think I need to prepare something for your arrival"
I started making blankets again with the help of some vine and feathers.
Finally after some time, I finished making a blanket and covered the egg with it.
Satisfied, I went out of the cave to make some meat for the kids for them to have when they wake up.
I started roasting some meat and dried them in the sun for a while.
The kids seemed already awake as I brought them out for some food.
I was feeding them when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Pujans vines.
It seemed like a dejavu. Did this happen before?
I went inside the cave and saw that the egg was moving a little.
I went out to bring the children inside and placed them where it was suitable for them to watch but not touch the eggs.
The egg stopped moving and started moving again.
The children seemed dissatisfied as they started hissing.
"That's your new sibling, take care of them. OK?"
The little snake nodded a little then stared at the egg again.
Finally there was a little pop and a leg came out.
Then another pop and a head came out.
The child seemed angry as it started flaring and finally came out.
It was a boy. I am disappointed as actually I thought I could finally have a girl. But the baby is so cute and he is in his turtle form too.
As soon as he came out, he started biting the egg shell and completed it in one go and started sniffing.
"Are you a pig baby? hahaha.."
I took out a little piece of meat from the table and fed it. The meat was gone in one go.
"ahahaha you really are a pig baby."
The baby seemed to feel sleepy as he gently closed his eyes and slept heavily.
"Ok you all go to sleep too. Play tomorrow OK?"
The snakes seemed to be unwilling as they kept staring at the sleeping turtle.
I chuckled a little at keeping them inside the nest.
They fought to sleep for a while and then they snored.
I pulled the turtle in the blankets and let him sleep comfortably.
" Pujan, watch them for a while. I am going to pick some fruits"
The vines waved a little.
I picked up the basket and went down to the river where there were some berries.
I picked them all and moved towards the cave again.
I laughed when I went inside. The snakes were sleeping with the turtle colliding around it. The little one seemed to be angry as he grumbled in sleep. I picked the little one up and put him in the nest alone with the blanket after which the turtle snored slowly.
I went to keep the berries under the fur and kept them outside until sundry.
When I went inside again, the children were exactly how they had been before, colliding around the little one.
I looked towards Pujan when it desperately shooed, claiming it didn't.
I plugged the little snakes and put them in the egg's place and covered it with a basket.
When the children started moving again, they hit the basket.
"No no you can sleep there. You got smarter now, have started fooling me"
Finally, I slept at peace in my own nest when little paws woke me up.
It seems that the snakes were not the only clingy ones, the little turtle was too.
Next time I should let them sleep together.
I put the little ones inside the nest and slept again.