The Jubilation in the room was beyond belief; there wasn't a single person without a smile except my grandpa.
"What's wrong, grandpa?"
He looked at me and paused, his eyes burning with focus rather than the love and excitement in the rest of our eyes, almost as if he were somewhere else.
"Always trust your instincts, it's what makes us who we are. We are formless and the most adaptable of all humans; that is the strength of our people: instinct and adaptation. Always remember that my boy, promise me to always remember,"
He sometimes spoke in riddles, but it was happening more and more often. I don't know much about what he was saying, and it's hard to trust the abstract things he was telling me to put my faith in, since I didn't understand them. Even if I didn't understand, there was one person I trusted: my grandpa.
"I promise. More importantly, though, the baby was born in Meridian; she could be our catalyst! Ain't you excited?"
"Aye, I am. I pray that the baby is the one who can bring it for us, but she is still a baby; don't put pressure on her with expectations. Simply care for her as you should, but you're right, I fucking hope she does!"
He smiled and ruffled my hair as he turned to leave to prepare for the Meridian. His smile, however, didn't reach his eyes. Something was wrong with grandpa, or at least his whatever his instincts were must be telling him something.
"Hey, come here already, Achiel," Cora shouted. She held the baby out towards me and practically forced me to hold her.
"She's so small," I said simply as I held her.
"Her name is René," Priscilla said, still exhausted from everything she'd been through.
"René, huh, it's nice to meet ya. It's a beautiful name," I muttered half to myself. I looked at her, knowing she could be the future of our people. Under her, we may finally be able to return to the surface, and the Paramount might finally declare the surface habitable. I smiled, knowing change was coming.
"Okay, my turn again!" Cora shouted as she took Remé off of me and held her with all the care in the world."
I couldn't help but stare at her; she was breathtaking, and in that moment, it felt like the whole world revolved around her. As I thought that, I heard a laugh next to me and looked over to see her father standing there, watching me. Suddenly embarrassed, I looked away and walked to Rufus to congratulate him.
After a while, most of the people left to prepare for the Meridian. The excitement of Priscilla giving birth, the prophecy and the Meridian all merged to create the most excitement in these caves for as far back as I can remember.
The Meridian was a celebration of an extra year passing since our ancestors entered the mine. We feasted, drank alcohol, danced, sang, and played music until the early hours of the morning. It was a celebration of both who we are and who we wish to be.
I meticulously got ready, making sure I looked as good as I could. I was not a vain person, but tonight was going to be special; I could feel it. The cuts on my body were already healed, so I was ready to go all out.
My body healed much quicker than anyone else in these caves. My grandpa said it was something in our genes, but I've never even seen my grandpa injured before, so I wouldn't know.
"You ready to go, my boy?" my grandpa asked.
"Yeah, I am,"
We both began walking in a comfortable silence. Until my grandpa decided to break it.
"Hey Achiel, I want you to know something, even though I am not your father, ever since I first saw you, I thought of you as my son, and I just want you to know that… you're my son, and I will always love you like one."
I chuckled, "Yeah, I know." Now I knew something was wrong. He's been off for a while now; something was definitely worrying him. I've long known to trust in my grandpa's instincts. It was putting me on edge. Maybe the Meridian was coming at a good time. Maybe we both needed to celebrate.
As we arrived, we all began celebrating together. To begin with, we sat together. We were one of the first to arrive, trying to get as much food as we could and a few drinks in to start. As we were eating, Cora, her sister, her father, Rufus and her 3 nieces had all arrived. Her face glowed brighter than anything I'd ever seen. She took my breath away, as I felt my heart flutter. Cora's alluring smile drew me in like vibrations to the snakes of the deep: like grootslangs and pythons, and her body was sensational; it didn't just look beautiful, it demanded my attention. However, what caught me the most were her eyes; they always were, a pair of jewels more valuable than all the ores in all the caves. I wasn't good with admitting things, and I think I've known it for a long time, but I loved her with all my heart.
I quickly downed my drink to distract myself. She made me so nervous, yet it was so easy to speak to her. She sat with her family as the music began and the people began to dance.
"Go to her," my grandpa said simply.
"I shouldn't, we spend every Meridian together, I want to be with you, like you said earlier, you're my father," I replied
"There comes a day in every fathers lives when they must allow their child to become the person they wish to become. Become the man you were supposed to be, my son and… seeing you happy will always make me happy, my boy,"
With a blink, his eyes changed from deep to light-hearted.
"Now get out there and talk to her already!" He said as he pushed me out of my seat. Dammit, he's fucking strong!
I grabbed another drink to boost my confidence and walked over to her and her family.
"Hey, Cora, do you maybe wanna dance or something?"
Her eyes burned differently than they usually did. Rufus laughed, clearly sensing my intentions. Priscilla gave me a reassuring smile.
Cora flashed her dazzling teeth at me. "Took your time asking," she said as she got up, grabbed my hand and ran up to the large open area where all the others were dancing. I looked over at my grandfather, and pride filled his face.
We began dancing together to the rhythm, our feet matching the clangs of the symbols, while my heart fluttered to the beat of the drums. Cora was both fast and elegant when she danced; her feet quickened, and I moved to match. The cacophony of sound was drowned out by our dance. Metaphorical sparks flew between us as all of my focus moved to her. She spun and pivoted, twirling magically. My body moved on its own, without thinking, without fear. I'd never felt like this before. Despite all the hardship we faced, I'd never felt more jubilation in all my life. I had my grandpa, and I was with Cora. I could practically taste it now, true freedom. If I could, I would live in this moment forever. As the dance stopped, we drew to a halt, our faces mere inches apart as we panted. The moment was broken by a thunderous applause and wailing in excitement. We looked around, and the entire room was staring right at us. I hadn't even noticed it, but I no longer felt embarrassed. This is the man I wanted to be.
The celebration continued, and it was an amazing event as ever. We honoured the people who had died by pounding our feet against the ground, 4 for each of the dead to represent the Four Corners. Afterwards, to end the night, you were supposed to feed the person you hold closest to you. I went to my grandpa, as I had in the years before. He fed me a large portion of meat that barely fit inside my mouth. I went to feed him, but he stopped me.
"Feed the girl, she's waiting for you, and I don't need to have the food to know you care for me, boy."
I went to argue with him, but I knew he wouldn't let me, and so I made my way to Cora and fed her, and then she fed me. After I went to turn away, she quickly wrapped her arms around the back of my neck, leaned in and kissed me deeply and passionately. Her lips were so soft. I kissed her back and held her by the small of her back. When we separated, I decided to tell her the truth.
I whispered, "I love you, Cora." I was nervous, but I was glad I said it.
She whispered back, "I've always loved you too, Achiel," before turning to leave to go back to her and her family's home.
My grandpa and I also turned in after that. He quickly fell asleep and began snoring louder than all the drills in mines combined. He was so bleedin' loud. Either way, I wasn't going to go to sleep, though. The night's events were too busy running through my head.
However, that's when I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard it. The faint banging, loud yet far away, it was echoing through the caves. I began to think back on all the signs my grandpa had shown me. He told me to believe in my instincts, they were telling me something was wrong, it was too loud for it to be a person. I jolted up and grabbed my Talons Edge and prepared to leave.