Heads turned and greetings rose from the crowd as the small party headed to the well at the crossroads. Some followed as word spread.
Amari saw familiar faces, those who had aided them over these months. Laundresses, vegetable sellers, butchers, bakers.
People were laughing and smiling and calling out to Orval, wishing him well and congratulating him. He smiled and waved back, calling greetings to those he knew by name. He occasionally had to stop as older women would reach to hold his hand and pat his cheek and coo at Dalan.
“You know all these people?” Amari asked softly when he returned to her side.
“Well, not all of them, I mean, most of them, I guess.” He seemed flustered at the attention, yet also pleased and excited. They both smiled at each other, sharing the warmth of the moment, then continued on.
The area around the well cleared as they stepped forward, the people forming a wide ring around the little group. A silence grew and spread.
Winter went to the well and took up the rope and bucket. It would not do to use the crank, not for this. She threw the bucket down, then pulled it out, brimming with fresh, clean water. A good omen.
Amari stepped forward. “Our Hearth has been blessed with twins,” she announced.
Cheers rose.
“There will be burdens and blessings no matter what roads our children take,” Amari continued. She’d worried that the recitation would feel forced, but it felt true. “We will teach them and guide them so that no matter what, they can always find their way back to the waters of their well. Their home.”
Applause then, and the stamping of feet in approval. Amari unwrapped enough of the blankets to show Lara’s face. The child blinked, her eyes bright, her black hair standing straight up from her head.
Amari lifted her high, with both hands. “Welcome our daughter, Lara Amari Orval,” she announced to the crowd.
The people cheered.
Amari lowered Lara back to cradle her in her left arm. She dipped her right hand into the bucket and flicked the water into Lara’s face. “May the waters bless and sustain you, until the Ancestors call you home.”
Lara sneezed.
The crowd laughed and called out their own blessings as Orval handed Dalan to his mother and took Lara in his arms.
Dalan blinked at the light and waved his hands. Amari lifted him high. “Welcome our son, Dalan Orval Amari,” she called out.
The crowd clapped, delighted.
Amari lowered Dalan to cradle him in her left arm and flicked the water of the well into his face. Tiny drops hit his eyes and gleamed like diamonds in the sun. “May the waters bless and sustain you, until the Ancestors call you home.”
Dalan scrunched up his face and let out a hearty wail.
The crowd laughed and called out more blessings as Amari dried his face, cooing to reassure him.
A movement caught her eye and she looked up to find Orval standing close, Lara in one hand as he fumbled in a pocket with the other.
“I would honor my Hearth Mother,” he announced loudly. He held something out to her.
Amari caught her breath. It was a bracelet, the traditional bracelet of the first-born, made of braided leather. Interwoven in the design were red jaspers, symbolizing the birth of twins.
She blinked back tears as she extended her hand to him and he placed the bracelet on her wrist. Now would be the time for the traditional kiss, for—
Orval hesitated.
Standing there, in the midst of the celebration, Amari’s heart flared with joy. She looked deep into his eyes, wanting to save the moment in her memory, of this walk, this feeling—
“Kiss her, ya fool!” came a voice, and then laughter from the crowd.
“Don’t be shy, sweetie,” an old woman’s voice offered encouragement.
Orval’s eyes went wide and he drew himself up. “Give a man a chance,” he called as he adjusted Dalan in his arms.
