Chapter Two
Several years flew by until Ma’iala passed away silently, in her sleep. Ay’len took care of washing her body and prepared her for the burial. She had to be left in the sun, to purify, for days, before being descended in her earthly grave. He stood by her side, day and night, taking all the mourning gifts and arranging them around her. The others feared they could get ill, so they left their oblations a little far from the burial grounds, so Ay’len had to get up and get them all the time.
He did not fear illness. He chased away the insects drawn by the decomposing body until the body dried in the sun. He fasted and ignored the jugs of water, and the food left most probably by his sisters and mother. He had to be pure so that Ma’iala’s journey to Pala’ka could be pure, as well.

Ma’iala had died during summer, allowing for a complete ritual. From time to time, tribesmen and women came to watch from afar, no one daring to come closer.
He was deep in thought, as he prayed when a voice dared to interrupt the silence on the burial grounds.
“It is enough!”
Ay’len raised his eyes, and saw Ma’ki next to him, almost touching his shoulder.
“You have no right to interrupt,” he spoke evenly.
A steady hand dragged him from his kneeling position, shaking him.

“Are you out of your mind? Bury her already! Let the maggots finish the work!”
He freed his arm from the offending hand and stared Ma’ki down. “How dare you?” he hissed. “You’ll be cursed for this!”
He had never threatened anybody, so he stopped in pure shock. Ma’ki, on the other hand, was unfazed.
“Do you want to die with her? Lie in her grave?”

“It is what I must do! Be gone!” Ay’len demanded, finding his power as he raised his voice. “What would your father say, if he saw you like this? You are not to touch me!”
Ay’len could not say how the knife in Ma’ki’s hand had appeared so fast. In a split second, the knife was against his throat, drawing beads of blood. He gasped.
“If you want to die, I’ll send you to Pala’ka!”
Ay’len knew he could not struggle. Ma’ki was no longer a boy, and he doubted anyway that there had even been a time when he could have overcome his strength. He trembled in the young man’s grip, his wide eyes, filled with fear, darting around, his breathing shallow.
Ma’ki was so close to him, Ay’len could feel his hot breath on his face.
“Tell me, Ay’len,” his voice dropped to a whisper. “Tell me you want to die.”
“I don’t want to die,” a tear fell down on the delicate cheek, still smooth, like a child’s.
“Then finish here,” Ma’ki demanded and let him loose. “You have until the sun goes down. I will come again.”
The threat floated in the air. Ma’ki was no longer the boy Ay’len knew, a sling at his belt, his eyes all shiny. He was bleeding boars, and his hunting adventures were all that the tribe was talking about. There was no danger he did not defy; there was no dire situation he was not in. But always, he had returned unscathed, and Ay’len had thanked the gods for listening to his prayers.
Ma’ki had also become bitter and cold. Ay’len’s sisters were younger than him and had already taken husbands. Many of the boys who had once tortured the healer now had women of their own, but the first son of the tribe’s chieftain was still to take a wife and continue his bloodline.
The wailing made his skin crawl. He felt it like a knife through his heart. He hurried outside; he was most probably needed. What he had not expected, as he lifted the blood stained leather from the body brought to his hut, was to see his dear father’s eyes closed forever.
Desperately, he searched for any signs of life. He let his head on the man’s broad chest, in a tender gesture he had not been allowed when the man had been alive. The pain grew and grew, as he heard no beating sound. Raising his head slowly, he asked.
“Bring my mother.”
Since Ma’iala’s death, he had moved to the old woman’s hut, leaving his parents. He could not shed a tear, but he wanted his mother close. When they brought her, she was barely carried by two tribesmen.
“Save him, Ay’len,” she wailed, kneeling at his feet. “Save my man,” her forehead touching the ground, as she cried. He knelt next to her, taking her in his long, delicate arms, trying to soothe her, but knowing that there was no word he could say, nothing he could do, to ease her pain.
He had another burial to prepare, another part of his heart to put into the ground. He had to be strong for his mother, to take care of her.
His mother was in his sisters’ care. He had begged her to allow him to look after his father; he knew his mother would just want to die, watching the face she had loved her entire life, fading away, turning into nothing.
He hadn’t cried when Ma’iala had died; he’d had years to prepare for that, and he had mourned her, following her wishes. But for his father, he cried; he did it in silence, his head covered by the dark veil, his tears falling on the dead man’s hands.
A shadow casting over him startled Ay’len. He turned his eyes almost blind from crying to see Ma’ki next to him.
“No,” he begged, “please don’t make me go away.” He let his head down, touching the ground at the man’s feet, hoping he would not demand the same thing he had asked when the healer had buried Ma’iala.
Ma’ki cooed. “I won’t. I came to sit a while with you.” He touched Ay’len’s shoulders and helped him straighten up, then sat on his knees next to the healer, aiding him to chase away the flies from Pa’tan’s face.
He moved back to his mother’s hut so that he could be close. He had no intention to let his mother on her own, now that she was alone. He had no idea about the stormy clouds gathering above their heads.
It was not long after his father’s funeral that, in the front of the chieftain’s hut, a heated argument was taking place.
“Some have two women to warm their cots at night,” a tribesman, no longer in his prime, complained.
“They are brave hunters. They can take care of their families”, the chieftain was not going to be swayed by such arguments.
“We have none,” another continued.
The chieftain, Ta’yee, sighed. It was a problem he had fought for a long time. Their tribe had more men than women, even with those dying during hunting parties.
“I cannot give you what I do not have. Where do you want me to get more women?”
“You have at least two,” a third spoke. Ta’yee had never liked Aka’do. His cunning was well known, but also his cruelty. No woman had ever wanted him, not because he was ugly or a poor hunter, but because he was cruel and he could instill fear in anyone. Ma’iala had used to say the man’s mind and spirit were gone with the wild dogs.
“Where do I have two women who are not taken?” he asked, surprised.
“Kaa’sa and Ay’len,” Aka’do took a step forward.
The chieftain frowned. “Kaa’sa is too old to carry children. Her womb is now barren. And she was the wife of one of our bravest hunters. I will not let you do with her as you please!” he boomed.
“Let us decide by steel,” Aka’do moved around, like a snake. “And the other?”
“Ay’len is not a woman.”
“Then what is he? He looks woman enough to me”, he laughed, showing his sharp teeth.
“He is our healer. He is not to be touched”, Ta’yee spoke.
“I’ll let him heal whoever he wants, as long as he roasts my deer and lies on his back, with his legs spread, at night,” Aka’do continued.
“Why would you want a man?” Ta’yee shook his head. “He cannot have children.”
“We are men, real men,” Aka’do raised his voice. “Should we prey on others’ women?”
“Are you threatening me, Aka’do?” Ta’yee rose from his place.
“I would not dare,” the man said with a cruel smile on his face. “But I cannot vouch for all the men without women that they would not try taking some pleasure for their own, when the husbands are away, hunting. You cannot protect them all.”
The chieftain could not believe his ears. “You will be killed for this.”
“Why quarrel and put us all at each other’s throats? Cast us away, and we will be back”, the man showed his teeth again. “Just give us the two women, and we’ll be content.”
“They are just two,” the chieftain murmured, trying to find a solution. “All the men should be asked if they want them.”
“Fair is fair,” Aka’do agreed, bowing his head. “Let them know.”
“What do they want?” voices grumbled. “Let them have them!”
“Do you have no respect for Kaa’sa and Ay’len? Kaa’sa was Pa’tan’s woman, devoted and caring. Ay’len is our healer!”
“We don’t want to put our wives at risk because of these dogs!”
“We could send them away,” Ta’yee asked, wanting to bring some sense to the men.
“They will return and kill our sons in their sleep. Let them have those two!”
Ta’yee looked powerless at his men. All the older ones were present, the ones he thought to have more sense than this. The young ones were hunting, and they were not to return for at least several moons. And they could not have wanted to fight for a barren woman and a man, anyway, no matter how beautiful the two were.
Kaa’sa and Ay’len were dragged from their hut at the break of dawn.
“What is happening?” Ay’len demanded, but the dark look on the men’s faces silenced him. He tried to look at his mother, but she was carried by other two in front of him, so he could not offer her any solace.
When they were placed in front of the fire, surrounded by the tribe’s men, Ay’len felt a jolt of panic. They were like walls around them, but his mother was standing tall, with her head high, looking over them, like they were not there. He chose to intertwine his fingers and stood still. They had to tell them what all was about.
Ta’yee eventually spoke.
“Because there are men with no wives in our tribe and you two have no men to protect you, you must be given men.”
“Given men?” his mother almost shouted. “I had a man, a good man, do you still remember him, perhaps?”
“Silence, woman,” the chieftain spoke. “Those who want you will fight for you. To the death”, he pronounced.
He had a plan, and he hoped that it would work. Kaa’sa’s big mouth was not helpful, given the situation. The men brought Ay’len’s mother in the center so that all could see her.
“Who wants this woman?” Ta’yee spoke.
“I would rather kill myself than let you have me,” Kaa’sa fought against the strong hands keeping her. Ay’len tried to take a step towards her, but he was quickly pulled back. He watched over his shoulder, and he shivered. A snake-like arm was circling his waist, and his stare was met by a pair of round, bead-like eyes, resembling a rat’s, and rows of sharp teeth.
Ta’yee grabbed Kaa’sa’s arm and whispered quickly in her ear. “Quiet. I’m trying to save you two.” That had the desired effect.
Those without women hurried first. Two by two, they fought with knives, until one would fall dead to the ground. Ay’len’s hands were clenching, seeing so much death. He cried for them to stop, but he only managed to get a large paw over his mouth, silencing him. His feet would have given in if it had not been for the scary man’s strong hands sustaining him. He knew Aka’do vaguely, as he had barely crossed paths with the man. He never needed his healing. Like Ma’ki, it looked like the man could live through any danger unscathed.
There was just one left in the improvised arena.
“No one else?” Ta’yee asked, looking straight at Aka’do, but the man just showed his teeth, while pulling Ay’len closer to him, sniffing his hair.
Ta’yee was not satisfied. He had all the unwanted men eliminated, except for the last one standing and Aka’do. His calculations had been good, but he still had to fight two, instead of one. He looked at the men around.
“Anyone else?” he was hoping some help would come. His wife was going to be mad for bringing new members in the family all of a sudden, but it was the only right thing to do. He stepped into the arena, ready to face the one who wanted Kaa’sa. The man was already bleeding, but Ta’yee did not want to take any chances, so he grabbed his knife and took a defensive stance.
Luckily for him, the man was also stupid. He lunged and attacked, and Ta’yee sliced his belly in a single clean cut. With the man fallen to the ground, he spoke:
“This woman belongs to me now. Let there be known that she is under my protection.”
Ay’len was pushed forward.
“Who wants Ay’len?” he asked. The men were whispering how the healer should not be soiled. No one stepped forward.
“I want him,” Aka’do finally made his move. Everyone looked at him in surprise, except for Ta’yee. Apparently, the man hadn’t mind getting all the others killed just to reach his purpose.
“Anyone else?” Ta’yee asked, and Kaa’sa fell on her knees.
“I beg you, take my son to your family,” she cried.
He hurried to her side, pulling her up.
“It is exactly what I am trying to do,” he whispered to her, hoping to calm her down.
He turned to face his enemy.
“I will take Ay’len, then. I won’t have this tribe cursed. Ay’len will be safe with me as he has always been,” he promised, turning to look at Kaa’sa quickly, to reassure her.
“That is if you win. I promise no such things,” Aka’do’s cruel laughter followed the chieftain’s generous speech.
Ay’len wanted to cover his ears, to block everything. He looked at Ta’yee, assuming his defensive stance again and his eyes traveled to Aka’do who pulled his knife quickly, then started to circle the older man, gauging his reactions, waiting to strike.
Ay’len felt dizzy. He had a short, sudden vision of Ta’yee on his back with two knives at his throat, and he realized that there was no chance for the chieftain to win against Aka’do. He tried to scream, but no sounds came out. It felt as he had been suddenly turned into stone. In front of his eyes, the fight was happening in slow motion, each man dodging and attacking until Aka’do blocked Ta’yee’s arm, hitting so fast and so hard that the knife flew away from the chieftain’s hand.
In a split of a second, Aka’do had Ta’yee pinned down with two knives at his throat. Ay’len felt his legs moving on their own accord and hurried by the two fighters’ side.
“Spare him,” he pleaded, tears flowing on his face. “Spare him, he is our father, the father of the tribe, spare him, please!”
Aka’do laughed cruelly. “If I spare you, do you give Ay’len to me?”
“No!” Ta’yee bellowed, trying to push Aka’do and take him by surprise.
But the man was prepared and pushed the chieftain back. “Now you die,” he closed in the knives, but his arms were stopped by Ay’len and his cry.
“I choose you, Aka’do!”
Everyone froze.
“If a woman chooses a man, and the man wants her, no one can come between them,” Ay’len spoke quickly, trying to divert the man’s attention and his knives from Ta’yee’s throat. “I may not be a woman, but … do you want me, Aka’do?” he asked, sustaining the man’s cruel gaze.
“What do you say, chieftain?” he pushed his knives against the man’s throat again. “Should we do what my pretty wife here says?”
Ta’yee closed his eyes. Gods forgive the tribe and me. Ay’len had made his choice.
The ceremony happened quickly. Ay’len felt everything as happening through a haze. His mother was in tears, but he tried to comfort her.
“I'll be alright, mother.”
“No, you won’t,” his mother cried. “Please, Ay’len, when he takes you … please, don’t fight. Don’t let him hurt you more than he will. Just do as he says … don’t waste your life. That man can kill you.”
Ay’len had a vague idea about what was going to happen. He knew what happened between a man and a woman, helping to deliver babies so many times, but he was aware that he was a man, and he had a suspicion about how the taking was going to be like. He also had a certainty; that it was going to be terribly painful. He wasn’t a healer for nothing; he knew what pain was and he knew how to make it pass. He was just going to live through it for now.
He rose as Aka’do approached and bowed respectfully. His destiny was now in the man’s hands.
“Let’s go,” the man spoke, and Ay’len followed, without a word, trying hard to fight back his tears, still hearing for a while, his mother’s desperate cry.
Aka’do was almost an outcast, which was why his hut was far from the center of the village. Ay’len hesitantly spoke, wanting to know at least a bit about the man who was going to destroy everything Ma’iala, his family and good men like Ta’yee, fearful of the gods, had tried to do for him and the tribe.
“Aka’do,” he called.
A grunt was the only answer.
“Why did you take me? You know you will be cursed,” he continued.
The man laughed. His laugh was like a hyena’s.
“I won’t. They say you’re lucky. They say you cannot be soiled. I laugh in their faces.”
“It is the eagle god …” Ay’len tried, but his words were cut short.
“I laugh in his face, too. The maggots! They believe what the old witch used to say. Well, she’s dead now. They all want you. They want you to warm their cots at night,” his voice dropped to a whisper and turned to face Ay’len. In a single move, he pushed the veil from the healer’s hair, letting the beautiful black strands flow freely. “The idiots …” he laughed. “You are so weak; anyone could snatch you, even the youngest who just bled his first boar. But they are afraid of things they cannot see. I’m not.”
Ay’len remained composed, despite feeling the cold tendrils of fear twisting and turning his insides.
“I am male. What do you want with me?”
“A male can be used, too. I don’t want children,” he touched the healer’s cheek with a calloused hand. Ay’len fought hard the urge to withdraw. The man’s sharp nails looked like raven’s claws from up close. “They say you are lucky. I am lucky, too, but your luck’s never been put to the test. I fight for my life every time I go hunting. What do you do? You sew and boil herbs?” He laughed again. “I will use you, Ay’len. They say your skin is smooth and soft as a newborn’s. You’re more beautiful than any woman in this tribe. And I, the wild, mad dog, will feast on their prize.”
He pulled Ay’len towards his hard body. Losing his balance, the healer tried to push back, but he was lifted from the ground and tossed over a broad shoulder like he was a bag of dry grass. He did not fight, although he felt more and more scared.
Once they arrived at the man’s hut, he was pushed on his back on a dirty cot.
“You’ll clean everything around here. But now, take off your dress. Now!” the man boomed, and Ay’len hurriedly pulled the only clothing he had over his head, remaining naked in front of Aka’do.
His husband undressed without taking his eyes from the olive skin, completely bare, exposed to him, in the faint twilight. Ay’len was trying to hide his nakedness with his long hair and was crossing his legs, seeking to protect himself.
Aka’do smiled cruelly. “You are everything they said and even more. Do as the women told you. Lie on your back and spread wide. You’re lucky this time. It will be over soon.”
He could not do it. He wanted to, but his knees were still pushing against one another. The man moved fast, forcing one bear-like hand between his thighs and prying them open. “Don’t make it harder, Ay’len. I’ll forgive you this time, but don’t make it a habit. Don’t push your luck”, he threatened, and Ay’len gave in, letting himself slump on the cot, shivering with fear, closing his eyes.
The man grazed his beautiful long neck with sharp teeth. The healer’s legs were pushed apart, his bottom was pushed up, and Ay’len felt a sudden, sharp pain that instantly made his breathing stop. He cried out in pain; it felt like he was being torn in two, and now he was sure he was going to die. His cry was covered by the man’s mouth; a tongue was pushed inside, making him want to vomit, but he could not concentrate on the disgust he felt, as his lower part was being split open, hammered by something large and blunt and hard that relentlessly pushed inside him.
The man suddenly stilled above him, letting his spit pour over Ay’len’s rosy mouth, making him gag. He pushed a few more times, then slumped over the healer’s delicate form. Ay’len felt something hot dripping on the inside of his thighs, and he sensed the smell of blood. He pushed the man away and with the little power left in him, he crawled outside. He retched and retched, emptying his stomach, and then laid on his back, his eyes searching for the skies. Where are you, Pala’ka? Why do you let him do this? His eyes swam in tears; he could barely see anything. So he just cried without a sound. His tormentor had already had too much to enjoy from his pain and his tears.
Aka’do did not go out to see how he was. The loud snoring was enough a sign of how little he cared about his new wife. Slowly, Ay’len rose and went inside to pick up his garment. Limping, he headed towards the river to clean himself.
He stood for hours in the rapid waters. He let his pain fade little by little. At the break of dawn, he had to search for herbs. He could endure it, then. For the first time in his life, when the first ray of sun hit the riverbed, Ay’len felt deserted and alone. There was no one to protect him, and that thought made him want to cry again.
“Where have you been?” Aka’do questioned, when he finally made it back to the hut.
“I went to gather herbs. I need them,” he muttered, his eyes cast down.
“For the whole night? I didn’t take a wife to sleep alone”, Aka’do loomed over him with his imposing height.
“Forgive me, please,” Ay’len bowed his head. He was too weak to fight, so he had to use other weapons.
Aka’do grabbed him in his arms and forced his head up. The healer’s eyes were red, his eyelids swollen. His husband kissed him roughly on the mouth, pushing his disgusting tongue inside again. And Ay’len let him, allowing his jaw to go slack, not knowing, for the moment, what to do.
The man stopped. “I will teach you how to please me, Ay’len,” he said in a heated voice. “Your smooth skin makes me go mad. It’s been so long since I’ve been with a woman. You’re much better. So lean and tight, so beautiful”, he murmured. He pushed his wife inside, back on the cot, and Ay’len withdrew in fear.
“Please,” he pleaded, “I cannot. It hurts.”
“You’ll have to get used to it,” the man shrugged. He climbed on top of Ay’len, pushing his dress up, pressing against his thighs. “Your hole is too enticing,” he whispered, “gripping me so tight.” His rough hands grabbed Ay’len’s delicate throat and squeezed in warning. “I could snap your neck so quickly. Remember this, Ay’len.”
The sound of a horn made the man grumble, and he stopped. He rose from the healer’s warm body and took his axe, leaned against the wall, next to the door.
He said with a grin, before leaving. “You are lucky, Ay’len. I have to go hunting. Eat what you can find until then. Beg for something; they won’t let their precious healer starve. When I come back, we’ll feast, and I’ll be inside you again. Maybe your mother and sisters can teach you about pleasing a man for me”, he added with a laugh, and he was gone.
Ay’len could not believe it. He did not move for a while, expecting some cruel joke. But Aka’do was gone, and he could see to his wounds and find a way to endure the pain.