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“I’m assuming you are all clones?” She briefly peeks at him for confirmation before turning her attention once again down the street. “Seeing both our people working together like that. Helping to prepare for this evening,” she says, pulling her eyes back in his direction. “It’s nice.”
A small smile purses his lips, and a dimple appears on his cheek under the dark scruff. “We may be from different communities, but we are all Homani.” He winks at her then walks away.
Lilly raises her eyebrows at Gage’s shift in behaviour, before turning to her friend. Matt shrugs his shoulders, then goes to the diner, leaving her standing alone.
Glancing back down the street, she heads toward her store. As she approaches the tables in front, a few people pause their work to express their concerns and ask her how she is feeling. A warm flush fills her at the kind words and heartfelt interest.
After reassuring them she is well, she walks into her store. Keeping busy is what she needs to keep the thoughts of her time with Vance at bay.
Later that evening, the sun nestles along the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange, pink, and red. The Homani are gathered in the furthest field near the weathered red barn that houses some of the farming equipment.
Lilly steps around the corner, pausing as she catches a slight mound of hay on the ground out of the corner of her eye. Her step falters, but she redirects herself and kneels by the grass. Removing one of the flowers from the bouquet in her hand, Lilly gently places it on top. “I miss you, my friend,” she whispers to Maverick’s final resting place.
“We all do.” Jax’s voice startles her as he gently grasps her shoulder. Lilly peers up at Beth, Matt, Calli, and little Clara, who is being carried by Jax, each face solemn as they stand before her. After everything Maverick had done, he was still their friend. They mourned the man they knew he had been, not who he became in the end. Even Calli was nodding, sincerity shining through. Lilly understands that she forgave him for Matt and mourned for the loss of her mate’s best friend.
Getting to her feet, Lilly brushes the dirt off her knees to buy time to gather her emotions. She raises an eyebrow in Clara’s direction and clears her throat before she asks Matt, “I’ve been meaning to ask you. How long was I out?”
“A couple of days,” Calli answers as she pulls her into a hug. “We were so worried about you. Beth and I took turns watching over you. We tried to clean you up as best we could, but we didn’t want to move you too much while you were healing.” She turns and glares at her mate. “Dawn and Brook wanted to help, but Matt and Gage have been running them, Finn, and Jax ragged, setting up operations and gathering intel since your return.” She pulls her into a tight hug once more. Lilly returns her embrace, letting the love of friendship wash over her. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” Calli says before stepping back, her peasant top slipping off one shoulder, exposing the pink puckered scars on her upper chest.
Lilly massages the upper palm of her now-healed hand, as if to ward off the phantom pain.Calli’s been through so much, yet she’s still so positive and puts others’ needs first. If she can heal inside and out from that, then maybe so can I.
Outwardly, she smiles over at Clara. The little blonde child scrunches her nose in a cheeky grin before burying her face in Jax’s shoulder. Where are the girl's parents? Bryce and Maggie weren’t the type to let their daughter out of their sight. She shoots a questioning look at Beth, who meets Lilly’s gaze and shakes her head with a grim frown. Lilly swallows. They hadn’t survived.
Jax absently rubs the little girl’s back and motions to the setting sun. “Matt, it’s time.”
As one, they walk toward the field where cedar chips have been laid out in individual beds, she is taken aback by the sheer number. “H-how many did we lose?”
“Thirty-two,” Matt responds.
She nods, her throat painfully tight as she holds back the tears that want to escape.
The Homani are lined up along either side of the beds, a bouquet of woven wild flowers held in their hands. They quietly wait for the ceremony to begin. A low hum of singing sounds as the bodies of their friends and loved ones are carried out of the barn. Each one is encased in woven alfalfa, their vibrant green leaves and deep purple flowers so full of life, a stark contradiction to their current purpose. The rest of the people present join in, their voices low when the bodies are laid on top of each cedar bed.
Faces she doesn’t recognize bring straw from the barn and begin to place it over each body. Gage is among them. Their eyes meet, and he solemnly nods at her before he continues.
A slight breeze ruffles Lilly’s hair as the scent of cedar surrounds her. A smell that was once her favourite, now sends chills through her body for it will forever equate death.
Once the straw is laid, the clones turn and stand with the Homani. Gage silently approaches to stand at her side.
When the humming stops, each person takes a turn stepping forward and laying their bouquet upon the straw. At Gage’s turn, a woven bouquet in his hand, he approaches the nearest grave then lowers to one knee before he places the flowers upon it. Lilly swallows a painful lump that forms in her throat at the respect even these strangers show their beloved friends. When he resumes his place beside her, he takes her shaking hand in his and gives it a slight squeeze before letting go. That brief moment of warmth as his hand covers hers doesn’t stop her stomach from dropping as she approaches April’s mound, but it does give her the strength to kneel down and say her goodbye. Placing the slightly crushed flowers clutched in her hand upon the woven alfalfa, hot tears stream down her cheeks as she whispers, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you.”
Walking back to her place in line, she quakes with silent sobs. Out of the corner of her eye, Jax sets Clara down.
The blonde girl slowly approaches two mounds and lays her bouquets upon them. The tiny hitch in the child’s throat echoes in the stillness, and she wipes her eyes with the back of her hands before turning and running into Beth’s arms. Her little sobs are muffled in Beth’s chest as she rubs Clara’s back, whispering to her in soothing tones. Lilly’s heart breaks for the girl.
Once the last of the flowers are laid, Matt steps forward and clears his throat. “There have been times in our lives when we have been forced to say goodbye to people we love. Whether it be an accident or through malice, their lives have been cut short.” Matt takes a deep breath and continues, “We honour them by giving their bodies back to the earth. From the ground, we have been nourished, and so shall they, in their passing, nourish the soil that has provided many bounties for us all.” He lets out a slow breath, blinking rapidly. His gaze falls on each row of people present before he carries on.
“I look forward to the day that we can lay to rest a fellow Homani whose hair has grayed, their gait has slowed, and their life has run its natural course. Only then can I be truly thankful for our freedom to pass into the abyss unhindered by the trials and tribulations of this world.”
A murmur of agreement echoes through the throng of people in attendance. Lilly wipes her eyes with the back of her hands. Anger courses through her at the unjustness of it all, and she clenches her fists.Someday soon.
One by one, people begin to leave, pausing here and there to give a hug or murmur their condolences. Their footsteps are silent on the soft ground.
Gage leans toward her and quietly asks, “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she says as she turns toward him. She considers him for a moment before adding, “Thank you, by the way, for helping with the ceremony. It was very kind of you and your people.”
“It’s the least we could do. There are so few of us left, Homani and clones alike, that we all feel the loss,” he says, holding her gaze with his forest green eyes, the sincerity of his words evident within them.
