I See You (N. Sully)

Chapter 23

Being forced out of connection with Eywa was not something Ahurewa had ever felt before. There was a harsh burning sensation in her head, and then the cool haze of water and silence enshrouding her.

It took a few moments for her to get her bearings again, but when she did, a hole was punched straight through her chest at the panicked faces of everyone surrounding Kiri who was violently convulsing, sending bolts of light throughout her body and the spirit tree.

What's happening? She signed to Tsireya as she rushed past her.

We don't know. The tenseness in her forehead and the urgent way she looped her arms through Kiri's to drag her to the surface, told Ahurewa that something was seriously wrong, and they needed to get Kiri help as soon as possible.

Neteyam was right by her side, trying his best to stay as close to her as possible as Tsireya led them all to the surface. Without a word to anyone, he pulled her onto the ilu with him, and let his gaze pass over to Ahurewa with a flicker of hesitation before he set off as quickly as possible back to the village.

"Will she be okay?" Ahurewa was biting at the skin around her fingers with worry. She and Tsierya had waited outside the tent, not wanting to interrupt any efforts to help Kiri with whatever illness she had. Ahurewa fought off the memories of her mother. Endless nights being banished outside while her grandmother tended to her inside, faint murmerings and agitated movements. Kiri was different. It wouldn't be the same. She knew that, but it was still difficult to be in the same situation.

"Mother will help. She is Tsahik." Tsireya brought a hand up to rest on her shoulder, the contrast in skin colour and patterns a surprisingly comforting way to focus her thoughts. "She will be okay, please do not be worried."

"Eywa is with us..." Ahurewa whispered, Tsireya nodding in agreement. It was what Kaori had repeatedly told her on those long nights, comfort that they weren't alone in their grief.

A loud flap of the tent materials hitting the side snapped them out of their moment of peace. Neteyam was storming out, his strides purposeful and heavy, heading towards the tree line in the direction of the rocks they sat on often. She stared after him with a pained expression, hurt knowing that he had to worry alone, knowing that he was carrying the weight of the responsibility of everything.

"Follow him."

"What?"

Tsireya smiled sadly, "you should be with him."

Ahurewa truly didn't know if it was the right thing at that moment. She wanted to listen, but the day had been chaotic and eventful, she didn't think he'd want her there, invading his personal space like that, not when he was most likely upset. Before, with the Omatikaya, she hadn't cared about his personal space. In fact, she would admit that her carelessness was more on purpose than anything else. She thought of those days often now. Days where the biggest threat was her, and Neteyam's main responsibility was her. Neteyam took on a lot, she knew that. And she wished there was a way they could share the burden, a way that she could take it on and bear it so that he did not have to. She saw the way he suffered daily – a quiet, imperceptible weight. She wanted to remove it, to see him without the lines of worry on his face.

Making the decision to follow him was easy. The hard part was actually going to sit next to him when she saw the back of him sat upon the rocks overlooking the reef. It would have been a peaceful image if it weren't for the movement of his shoulders at his laboured breathing.

She said nothing as she sat beside him, green eyes staring towards the open reef, faint giggles and crying from the kids being put to bed by their parents. The gentle glow of seagrass beneath the shallow water illuminated the village and made for a great picture.