Page 69 of Hopelessly Wild


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A moan comes from my throat with him leaving me. Only I’m too tired to object. One thing I’m certain of is now nothing will hold us back from a future with our daughter. He has taken steps to face his past. The next step is to return to society with me.

28

EDEN

Supporting the swell of my abdomen, I roll over in the hammock.

“Bloody hell,” I groan. Now I need to pee. How long have I even slept?

I sit for a moment on the edge of the hammock to gather my balance.

With a hand resting under my abdomen, I push up to stand. I wander out to the jungle border to do my business. I check the ground and the tree close to where I choose to relieve myself because it’s huge and helps hide me from people and creatures. Checking for creepy crawlies is all second nature now.

I feel better already.

Pushing the palm leaves aside, I head back to the hut. Before I reach the edge of the forest, I stare through the fronds at a woman standing outside Samuel’s hut.

Kaikare.

I smile and call out to her.

She comes to me and wraps her arms around my back with a gentle squeeze. “Waküperö?” she asks gently.How are you?

“Wakü.”Good

She releases me and checks me over. She places both hands on my abdomen and closes her eyes.

I stare at her face, searching for clues. Her eyes remain closed. There’s no pinching of her brow in concern or smile of joy dancing on her lips.

Nothing.

She pulls her hand away. “Senneka Awarö.”

Senneka is a word the Ularans use for activities like work. Awarö means bad. I rub my stomach. “Wakü?” I repeat in a tone she understands.Good?

Kaikare smiles, and I let out a sigh of relief.

Glancing over my shoulder, she peers into Samuel’s hut. When her eyes meet mine, I sense torment. Shit, do I need some of his medicine?

“Fff-o-to,” she pronounces.

It takes a moment for my thoughts to align and not think her concern is about my unborn child.

“Photo?” I repeat.

Kaikare replies with one curt nod.

I take the lead, and she follows me to the steps of the hut. I point to my hammock. She sits on the edge while I rummage through my backpack to retrieve the tightly wrapped package containing my grandmother’s past.

“Here we go.” I pull out the brush first and hand it to her while I unwrap the photographs. Kaikare lightly brushes her hair, and I smile, imagining her sitting in front of a mirror doing just that, only with my grandmother standing behind her. Dammit. I swipe a tear that forms quickly. These bloody hormones.

I envision them fifty years ago. My gran’s long blonde hair was cut after returning from Ulara. I imagine her with her newly styled bob cut with a curl at the ends, in a way reminding me of Marilyn Monroe. She smiles down at her daughter, brushing the length of her wavy, long brown hair. The gorgeous girl with brown eyes and ochre skin like her father, although she has her mother’s kind heart. I witness the twinkle of compassion and love of my grandmother in Kaikare’s eyes every day. Taking every step slowly so as not to break the precious time these two have together, even if it’s a figment of my imaginings, I hand the photographs to Kaikare.

I take a few steps back to give Kaikare the space to absorb the memories of her mother, her brother—another life.

A tear cascades down her cheek, and the sight has air catching in my lungs. “Turùpo,” she whispers and lifts her hand to her chest.Heart

“My heart hurts for you as well,” I murmur. I sit and wrap my hand around her waist while she slowly peruses the photographs. “And look, this one is of us in the curiara.” I smile at her. “Ina.”We. I circle my finger between us.

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