Stigmata by L M Adams

Author:L M Adams [Adams, L M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-23T16:00:00+00:00

74

Jaevia

Soon the Ha’mara is explained to us. It is more than a ‘festival of fucking.’ It is the time leading up to the solstice. A party that lasts for days upon days where people from across the lands come to the great city state of Atum to meet, to greet, to arrange… something like handfastings, or to marry/claim. Their idea of marriage is not the same as humans… or even the Kindred, it is an intent and commitment to share your life with another. You can have multiple partners, partners for different reasons… and it doesn’t always seem to be with a sexual connotation. The only requirement is to share who you are with another; it is a commitment to connection.

The Ha’mara is filled with more than mating rituals as well. Warriors will come to compete with one another. Others will declare their purpose or look for new trades or skills to learn… or just to try. In simple, the Ha’mara is a celebration of… change.

Instead of fearing change, they choose to celebrate it. They believe limiting themselves to one thought, or mindset, or even one pursuit in life will not lead you to happiness. That life is about the journey and we each have a responsibility to search for the ever-changing purpose all of our lives.

This time is also set aside to decide and settle disputes and ask for forgiveness if there has been discourse among the people. The goal is to leave every Ha’mara a different, and hopefully better, person than you were before.

All of this massive party leads up to the main event, the Solstice. That makes all three of us look at each other with curiosity. In our timeline, we’ve already passed the solstice. But none of us say anything. I think collectively we need to agree on what we’ll say and how much we’ll say about anything.

I’m still not sure why we were transported here. Maybe because Lucien needed to experience home again, maybe this time is another steppingstone in our journey to become who and what we were meant to be. My life, our lives, have a touch of destiny to them. There is no denying that any longer.

I look back towards the Sahara, it was a brutal journey, it was hard and exhausting and… wonderful. My heart has learned much, my spirit has opened to the beauty and terror of the gods.

The long grass begins, and the horizon is spotted with trees as we enter the gentle brush of the savanna. Above us Ra begins his descent and the sky is filled with the glorious orange color that seems to dip the universe in gold. We are in a time before the eventide, the beginning of the middle.

Often one of our escorts will stretch their arms out and throw back their heads, seeming to worship the sun, or the setting, or the air, or the magic, or the existence of life in itself.

Everyone seems quiet and contemplative and instead of opening my big mouth to ask what’s going on, I stay quiet and respect this time with them.

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