by Willow Rose
I scoffed. "I have."
"We let them talk. It's better than if they knew the truth."
"So he wasn't killed in some drug confrontation or something like that?"
Wyanet laughed again. "Is that what they are saying these days?"
I nodded feeling a little embarrassed. I didn't want to admit that I had considered the story to be true. "That's what they told me."
"Don't worry about it. They don't know any better. We don't care what they say. We don't need their approval of who we are. They don't know anything about us and yet they judge us anyway. That says more about them than it does about us, don't you think?"
"I do," I said.
"Besides. We don't want to be like other people, like normal people. Life has taught me that unhappiness comes when you try to be like everyone else rather than embracing the unique person that you are. That has always been my philosophy. That's who I am and that's how I teach my girls to think."
I smiled. I liked that. "But doesn't it bother you that they think you didn't even care enough about your husband to report him missing?"
Wyanet became quiet. "I loved my husband very much. He was a were-jaguar, a black jaguar or black panther as some call them. He was shot six years ago while trying to make his way home."
"So he was the black panther that was shot? I heard about that," I said.
"That's why I worry about Aiyana. The world is such a cruel place. But she needs it, you know. She needs to go out there. As I said, it is deeply rooted within her nature. We can't keep her in the house. She lives for the hunt. She needs to let the animal inside of her out. It is a part of her and we have to accept that. No matter if we like it or not."
"I guess," I exhaled. I didn't care much for the thought myself.
"Her father was a writer, you know." Wyanet said.
"I didn't know that." I was surprised, but knowing how Aiyana dreamed about becoming a writer herself, it made a lot of sense.
"She wants to be one, too. And she will one day. She has the talent from her father. During daytime his whole life was his books, and his girls of course. He adored those girls. Especially Aiyana. Those two had a bond like no others."
"Was that why he travelled? To write books?"
"Yes. He travelled and wrote about the places he saw and people he met. He wrote many wonderful books under a pseudonym. He became very popular in certain countries in Europe, like Spain and France. But also in the rest of the world. He is still selling a lot of books all over the world especially after his death. We get the royalties."
That explained where the money came from, I thought to myself, and felt anger rise towards Heather for telling me those lies. For filling me with stories that would make me dislike them. But again she didn't know better, like Wyanet said. People always talked about someone who was different from the norm. And why should they care what was said about them?
"So she got it all from her father then? The jaguar thing too?"
"From him and me. It is inherited recessively. That means that both parents need to carry the gene. I am a carrier but have never transformed. My husband was a transformer. The only one of our generation."
"So you're all descendants from the same tribe? How is it possible to have carried the gene on for generations like this?"
"We have kept it among ourselves but I have heard that it is also possible to transfer it through a bite. If the bite is done directly into the person's blood, the gift could be transferred that way. It is very dangerous and it has only been tried a few times throughout history and every time the person bitten has ended up dying from it."
"Could Aiyana have transferred some of it to me? She did bite me," I said and showed her my left arm with the scars from the jaguar's teeth. It had healed so well you could hardly see it anymore. But I knew exactly where it was. "When she tried to drag me to the shore she bit my arm."
"Oh, God, I hope not. That could end up killing you," Wyanet said while studying the arm closely. "It doesn't mix well with normal blood. It will cause it to clot."
"What if it doesn't? Just think about it. Maybe that's how I got this gift? I have had this sort of psychic gift since the accident. I hear all these voices, they are telling me things and want me to do things for them. Like messages. I also sometimes see things that will happen and at one point I heard someone's thoughts. In the beginning I thought I was going crazy, but then I met Aiyana and the rest of your family and I knew there was nothing wrong with me."
Wyanet stared at me in disbelief. "I have to say, I don't even know if that is possible without killing you. Maybe if ... if it was only from a small portion of her saliva that was injected into your blood it wouldn't end up killing you. I don't know. It has never happened before as far as I know. It is a legend only, or so I thought. But I guess it is possible that she has transferred some of the gift into your blood when she bit you. It is possible, but highly unlikely that you would survive it. I really hope ... I really do..."
"What about Jim?" I asked. "Aiyana bit him too?"
Wyanet looked worried. "I have no idea what will happen to him. I sincerely hope it will have no consequences for him. He has been very unfortunate ... We will have to keep an eye on him."
I nodded while Wyanet stared thoughtfully into space for a few seconds.
"What I don't understand is how could you have survived all this, how can your tribe still be here, when everyone says it is extinct?" I asked. "Either you were all killed in battle or by diseases. That's what the experts say."
Wyanet looked at me with a smile. "I know what they say and we let them think they're right. But the real story is that most of our tribe, around eight thousand of our people, escaped to Cuba shortly after the Spaniards came, before the war started, before the diseases were spread. We hid there for generations and kept the fountain alive in our blood by marrying people that were also carriers of the gene. Our ancestors didn't return to Florida before it became part of the Union in 1845. By then, everybody assumed our tribe was extinct."
"That's unbelievable. So your tribe managed to hide and keep from getting mixed with other populations? That's so impressive. How do you know that someone has the gene, that you're marrying someone from your own tribe? How can you be sure?"
"We are all born with a special birthmark in the shape of a rosette on our neck under the hair," Wyanet said and turned her back to me. She lifted her long gray hair and revealed a beautiful brown mark shaped like a rosette, just as she had said. Just like the rosettes on Aiyana's fur. "All children that are descendants from our tribe are born with it. That’s how we recognize each other."
I did remember seeing one just like it on Aiyana but I had just assumed it was a big birthmark. "How did it all begin? Does anyone know where the were-jaguar comes from?"
"No. Though we have kept many of the tablets where our ancestors drew pictures of our story none of them explains where we originally came from. My grandmother used to say that the spirits sent us here to be sort of the connection between the spirit-world and the natural world. That's why we have abilities no on else has."
"You mean to say that you still have those old tablets?"
"It is mostly drawings on cloths really, but we have preserved them and we actually have them in glass in our attic. It is supposed to be more than ten thousand years old."
"Those must be worth a fortune," I muttered.
"What is it with you and money?" Wyanet laughed. "You can't put a prize on your roots, on your ancestors’ history. They would just end up in that awful place, that National Archaeological Park."
Now it was my turn to laugh. "You're probably right."
We shared a moment of quietness and thoughtfulness. I felt completely baffled by this revelation, by this amazing story. I always knew that family was special, but this was beyond anything I had been able to imagine.
"But you do realize that this is why Aiyana must marry someone else?" Wyanet said.
I nodded heavily. "She needs to carry on
the legacy."
"It is so strong in her that we cannot afford to waste it. She is the one of my daughters that is most likely to be able to have a child that will eventually transform. We need her. And she knows it. It is her destiny."
"But what about love? Shouldn't she marry out of love? What if she really has transferred the gift to me? Couldn't she marry me instead?"
Wyanet shook her head slowly. "How can we know for sure? This is important. This is the survival of our tribe we are talking about. She needs to carry on the legacy. There is no room for taking chances. This is how it must be. It is not in our hands. She has been given this task upon her birth and she has to carry it out. She will never be happy if she defies the spirits, if she doesn't follow through with her destiny."
Wyanet got up from the chair and reached out her hand towards me. I took it and let her pull me up feeling heavy at heart. Then she put her strong arm around my shoulder and hugged me. "You will always be part of her life, Howahkan. You're part of her secret. Of our secret. That means you're family now."
Chapter 36
Ten hours passed before I was allowed to see Aiyana. In the morning, when they had assured us that she was now stable but needed rest, I drove home to sleep just for a couple of hours before I returned. Luckily, Heather had left to go shopping with Danielle and Regina. When I got back to the house I saw she had left me a note thanking me for last night and hoping to see me later in the evening when she returned from visiting Jim at the hospital. I knew she would be angry at me for seeing the family and Aiyana again, but I didn't want to think about it now. I had to deal with that later. I didn't love Heather the way I loved Aiyana, but I did like her and care for her. And I definitely didn't want to hurt her.
Aiyana's mother stayed at the hospital along with the rest of the family, and when I got back she told me that the doctors were very impressed with Aiyana's condition. She was incredibly strong, they had said. And even though she had lost a lot of blood on the riverbank she didn't even need a blood transfusion. It was very strange, they said, but it was like her blood was stronger and had more endurance than usual. It seemed to be capable of restoring itself. They asked her mother if they could run more tests on her blood, but she refused.
The police were also waiting for me at the hospital when I got back and started to question me about the accident as soon as I arrived. They knew I had been involved in a hunting accident earlier that same night with a jaguar and now they wanted to know how I knew the girl was out there. Had I put her there? Did I do this to her somehow? Me and my friend? Did we hurt her? It was definitely hard for me to explain my way out of it, and I am certain I came out looking horrible. I am certain they thought I had shot Aiyana and somehow mistreated her and left her naked and then regretted it all and called for an ambulance. That was sort of the truth, or at least some of it. But how on earth was I supposed to explain that?
Luckily, Wyanet came to my rescue telling them she had no plans to press charges, that there hadn't been a crime committed. It was only a hunting accident, she said. The police left the hospital very dissatisfied, looking suspiciously at me.
"You'd better stay out of trouble from now on," Aiyana's grandmother said smiling and patting my shoulder.
"Ready to see her?" Wyanet asked and took my hand in hers.
When I went to see her, Aiyana was sitting up looking far better than I could ever have expected given her situation. It was hard to believe that a few hours earlier I had found her lifeless on the riverbank in the swamps, pale and with no pulse. I couldn't help but smile when I saw her. Her beauty was intimidating, causing me to blush and feel grateful just to be allowed to be in her presence. She was out of this world. Literally. Her eyes glowed in the dark hospital room and now I recognized them as the glowing beams in the darkness of the swamps. I felt such a deep love for her as I saw her sitting there on the bed smiling back at me. She reached out her hand towards me and I grabbed it.
"Sweet, Christian."
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the way she sang my name.
"My mother told me that you found me. Thank you," she said.
I looked into those pearly light, brown eyes that looked almost yellow. "I was also the one who put you there. I was the one who shot you," I said, feeling tears press behind my eyes.
She laughed. How I loved that enchanting laughter. How I had longed to hear it again. It was so clear, so full of life and joy. And it brought so much relief to my guilt-filled heart. "It doesn't matter, Christian. It was my own fault for not telling you. How could you have known? You were only protecting your friend."
"And you were only protecting yourself. He was going to kill you had you not attacked."
"Well, it wasn't exactly with my good will. You see, I am not always in control of myself or my reactions when I am under transformation, when I become that ... animal ... Don't look at me like that. I am perfectly comfortable calling myself that. It is exactly what I am. An animal. I have instincts and I react according to them. If I feel threatened I will attack. Most of the time I am not even aware of what I am doing. It feels a lot like when you're dreaming. You see things vaguely and most of the times only fractions of it, and then you want to do one thing, but your body does something else. And when you wake up you hardly remember any of it."
"So you didn't know that I was visiting you out there?" I asked and sat at the edge of the bed.
"I had feeling that you did, because I kept remembering seeing your face out there. But it is really blurry and often I get it mixed up with things that have happened during the day. I did hear you think a lot about the jaguar, though, but couldn't quite figure out if it was just because you had met it that night when you were attacked."
"That was the first time we met. Do you remember any of that?"
"When I pulled you out of the water? Yes, I remember everything from that night. That was the first time I was fully aware of what was going on under my transformation. I remember hearing voices telling me that someone was in danger and then I remember being drawn in your direction. I remember an urgent feeling inside that I had to go there, go to that area. That it was somehow destined. Then I remember hearing your thoughts. You were scared. Your soul was screaming out to me. As I ran towards the sound of your thoughts, I saw you. You were floating above everything else and staring down at the people. You were with someone, as far as I remember. It is hard to make sense of all these pictures in my head. But I remember seeing you with a woman. Is that true?"
I swallowed hard. "My mother," I said.
"Of course. But there were many others. A lot of people surrounding you. They looked like they knew you. Then I saw the alligators fighting over your body and the instinct took over. I killed them instantaneously. The best kill I ever made. And then I grabbed onto you and pulled you out." Aiyana shook her head. "That is all I remember. That and then looking into your eyes. I remember feeling like we were somehow strangely connected. Like we knew each other. Like we were somehow destined to know one another." She shook her head again in disbelief. "I'm rambling. It is weird. I know it."
I smiled warmly. "It's not weird. Not weird at all. I have tried to forget what happened to me that night, because I didn't want it to be true. I didn't want to believe in it. But I know I do. How can I refuse to believe when it is all so vivid in my mind? I can't explain it. I just do. I was there. I went to see my mother and I returned. And hearing you tell me that you saw it, too ..." I fought the tears. "It just makes me so incredibly ... happy."
She caressed my cheek gently. "I know, Christian. I know. I should have told you this sooner. It's just ... I can't tell people, normally. But you kind of figured it out on your own." She looked away for a second, and when her eyes returned to look at me, she had tears filling her eyes. "I have never shared this secret with anyone. It feels so good to be able to tell someone, to have someone to talk to about it."
She let her hand touch my face and hair. Then she frowned. "You cut your hair. Why did you cut your
hair? I loved the long curly hair."
I laughed. "I am going to be a doctor, right? Doctors don't have long curly hair."
"Then you should be the first one!" she said and laughed. "Dr. Christian," she said, teasing. "Calling Dr. Christian. Paging Dr. Christian."
"Ha. Ha. Very funny."
Then we both broke into a wonderful liberating laughter. It was so good to finally be with her again; I never wanted this moment to end. I wanted to stay with her and hold her hand and listen to her wonderful laughter. I took it all in during those few minutes we had together. Her eyes, her laughter, her smile. I tried to remember every little detail about her so I could always keep it with me when we were apart.
Unfortunately, it had to end. Aiyana had to sleep and a nurse told me to please leave the room. I went home and had dinner at the house. Heather was already there eating as I entered the kitchen.
"Where have you been all day?" she asked before she leaned over and kissed me on my lips. "I really enjoyed last night," she whispered in my ear.
"Not here," I whispered back.
"Is something wrong?"
"No ... No ... nothing is wrong. I just don't want your parents to catch us. That's all. Your dad specifically asked me to keep my hands off you."
"Oh. Okay," she said, and went back to eating the chicken soup Maria had prepared. "We'll just have to change his opinion about that won't we?" She paused. "So where have you been? I went to see Jim. He told me you hadn’t been there yet. Don't you think you ought to?"
I took my plate and put it in the microwave. "I will. I will go out there tomorrow," I said avoiding her question.
Chapter 37
That night, Heather snuck into my room. She woke me up by kissing me gently and creeping under the covers. I felt her warm naked body pressed against mine and was aroused immediately. Her hair came down like waves in front of my face as she climbed onto me. Her green eyes stared at me like a cat in the night as she rode me. I closed mine and thought of Aiyana. Beautiful Aiyana with the dark skin and eyes that could glow in the dark. Aiyana the beast, the predator, the savage.