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“Dove.” I finally stand next to her, not knowing what to do with myself.
“Daddy orc.” She says and my heart jumps with pride.
I am a father.
“It’s a boy and a girl.” Owa comes next to Aria to wipe some of the sweat on her forehead.
“Take them.” Aria says. Her smile hasn’t faltered as she looks at our children with so much love.
I lean down to kiss her lips first then I take the babies one at a time. The boy on my left and the girl on my right. They only have the birth strings around their wastes and ankles that is tradition for all orc new-borns to strengthen them and keep them safe from all bad spirits.
The boy has his thumb in his mouth, his eyes closed. The girl keeps making little noises like she wants to cry but she stops herself.
The world and the meaning of everything shifts. It is like I am seeing everything anew. Suddenly, I have never known the meaning of life and love before because what I feel for these two is beyond anything I thought was possible.
“Do you want to give us their names?” Owa says as she brings a mortar that has the incense she will be burning as is customary.
Me and Aria look at each other and we smile.
“Gordian…” she says.
“And Valeria.” I say.
“We thank you for these gifts, great spirits. Today we welcome Gordian and Valeria into our tribe.” Owa chants as she blows incense all around the room. “Thank you for the majestic destiny you have planned for them. May you guide their steps and may they grow in wisdom.”
After that I watch Aria breastfeed them for the first time, both of them are very eager. It fills my heart with pride as I watch them latch on to their mother. I blink ever so often to make sure I am not dreaming and that this is really my life now.
I am a father.
After they eat, I take them to sleep in our room where we have their cots prepared. The girl is more energetic than the boy and I foresee many sleepless nights ahead. But I have been ready since I knew about them.
I am only excited, looking forward to everything.
After the females are finished mending Aria and the post birth ritual she must do is finished, they help me settle her in our bedroom.
I close the door and let them do the rest of their jobs around the dwelling. My mother is in charge of telling them where they go.
The next few days go by in a blur between taking care of Aria and the babies. We have a lot of help but I am glad to be present. Aria is very tired for the first few days but she wakes up to feed our children and she watches me as I bathe and clothe them.
I ensure she is taking her herbs and she is soaking to heal her body. It breaks my heart when she winces in the water but every day she gets better. Her brown color comes back to its natural glow the more days go.
When she is a little better, she does little things too. And by the time the week is over, she is the one telling me to sleep. We take shifts when one needs to sleep.
I am over the moon. It feels like I am in a new world. I was happy when she got pregnant but the reality of them is different.
A coo wakes me from my sleep and I jolt awake. Since they arrived, I am more sensitive to any little noise. I don’t find anyone when I open my eyes. I pull myself out of bed and it is now afternoon. I must have slept for a while.
I haste to the other room where Valeria is doing that thing where she isn’t crying, just making noise. Me and Aria have reasoned that she likes attention. She always cries after Gordian does and it’s like she always wants to win.
I find Aria feeding Gordian, Valeria in a swing in front of her in their room.
I stand at the door for a second and just watch her as she feeds our son.
“You are staring, orc.” She says, her gaze still fully on our son who is staring up at her in his unimpressed stare.
The boy isn’t impressed by anything. On top of not being fussy as a child, he just wants to sleep the rest of the time. Valeria is the one who is always moving, energetic.
“Are you going to fight me, human?”
