Immortal Mortals

A Shattered Calm

Now that Ai had given her word that she would not leave, she spent hours mulling over in her mind how that would work.  She would be well and truly old by the time Tai reached an elderly age, that she could not construct a believable plan that would not raise questions. 

 Her age in her Mortal form was already advanced, that the only way she could manage it, was for them to come to a compromise.  Pulling him to the side away from everyone else, she put it to him.  She suggested that she would stay for another 20 years, then leave, but she would return regularly to visit, assist and guide as needed, and she also wanted an input into her grandchildren's lives.

It was not an ideal solution for Tai, but he took it.  After all, Immortality was forever, she wouldn't really be dying and that returned the smile to his face.  Laughing Ai, once again held him tightly.

"We have a wedding to prepare for, and you have a life time of love with Zhuo Ruo to look forward to.  Let's get moving." she said, then as his face moved back to look up at her, she finally saw the desire he had held for her, slowly disperse.  He loved her, but the desire he had for her was leaving as his love for Zhi Ruo began to take over.  And he did love her, she matched him perfectly being just as kind hearted as he was and loving every part of the planning for a future they could both definitely see each other in.  On numerous occasions, her family would see them sneak off for a few minutes at a time, only to return blushing, and they could also see they were just as impatient for the wedding to take place as they were.

So throwing themselves head first into the wedding preparations Ai, Tai, Jie and Meili, made good use of every second of every day.  His wedding would of course be perfect, and with the sudden arrival of Jies old crew who had come to assist Tai with the building of his new home on a plot of land not far from their own, life suddenly became full, but to Ai and Jie, it was full of love and hope that their son would be able to fully let his past go, to create a future that contained all of his desires and dreams.

Meili too was just as excited as everyone else.  Her brothers marriage had bought them all a lot closer, even more than they had been.  And nor had she been immune to the changes that had occurred over the previous months, but in her own way, she had tried her best to bring back the  normality to her family just by being her usual sweet bubbly self.  And that they were all back on the same page, had her fluttering happily among the men who had arrived to build Tais home.

They had even allowed her to assist them, though the memory of Ais attempts at helping them with her own home and causing her to hurt herself was never far from their minds. Instead they allowed Meili to carry light pieces of wood or simple hand tools, and it was while she was there that she met the son of one of her fathers old crew.  He was the same age as Tai and probably one of the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on.

He too was looking at her.  It was common knowledge that Jie and Ai had a very beautiful daughter, being the main talking point among his friends who had seen her for themselves over the years, and he could now see why they had been so fascinated with her.  She really was very beautiful, and as she had grown, she became even more so. 

Having no experience with men, other than her past pain, Meili initially cowered a little whenever he was around, because the desire in his eyes, was the same as that of the men who had tried to take her in the forest that day and the multitude who had gone before them. But as the days wore on, his gentle approach eventually saw her lower her barrier enough to allow him to talk to her.

He was a kind boy with an even kinder heart.  He too had heard of her past and though he didn't fully understand the pain her memories still brought to her from time to time, he did understand that men in their world could be mongrels, and for that reason, he took his time with her, until finally the day came, when she smiled at him.