Eve Sky
Epilogue - "What will tomorrow bring?"
by StarCross
Since most of the world's remaining landmasses were "north" of the equator, spring was at its peak in the year 82 A.E. (After Eve). For New Khartoum, a village-city that did not experience rapid changes in weather temperature, today was just a normal day. Nikhila and Odilia occupied the shrines giving sex advice to young couples. Padma made her rounds at the guard posts and watch towers. Teila had just dispensed medicine to an elderly Arab woman. Suzette was sleeping, and Evie had finished her breakfast with Jerda, Evelyn, Arzu, and Evelyn's parents, during which they discussed in detail of an upcoming wedding.
A maidservant for Eva had told the elder Evie the distressing news. Evie had left them to finish their meal, and sent a message to summon Teila. Teila and two of her nurses came at fast as they could in the Founder's room where Evie and Suzette were standing in.
The pulse and heartbeat was checked. Eva "Evangeline" Nataraja passed away and declared dead at 7:02 AM. The remaining sisters gathered and requested that the maidservants to leave immediately. Together, Evie, Nikihla, Odilia, Suzette, Teila, and Padma shared a moment's mourning and silent tears. The mood was sad, and it was made sadder that their beloved birthmother had died with a slight smile and a single tear on her face.
The news of this spread quickly throughout the village city. Everyone dropped what they were doing to gather around the mansion to beat their chests and vent their wailing sadness. Even the guards who were supposed to be blocking entrance to the mansion had trouble performing their duty, as they too were just as sad.
Then there was a ruse that the foreigners who came to their protected land were the cause, and demanded their heads. Padma quickly ordered her forces to quell the commotion, and Evie stepped forth with dried and wiped tears to successfully compel the people to calm down with the strong words of her speech.
"If you dare act out violently," she said in her own tongue, "you would be spitting on the very ideals she had worked so hard to manifest. Our Founder, Eva Nataraja, have lived so long and suffered so much. She is with the Goddess now, and also with the one who was her wife."
"The Founder had a wife?" asked a villager.
"We know nothing of her," said another. "That's one of the great mysteries that they do not answer."
The answer would have to wait. Nikhila and Odilia now became serious in their duties as priestess, and ordered their shrine maidens to properly clean the body of Eva and clothe her in a single white sheet. She was laid in an ornamental stretcher carried by her six daughters throughout the town, for people to mourn. Jerda, Evelyn, Arzu, Banu, and Pari kept close by in the funeral procession, and they were guarded by the best of Padma's forces, which included Pari's crush Nontle.
Eva's body was taken to a clearing right outside the entrance to the shrine where logs were already stacked into a rectangular structure by the shrine maidens. People had already circled around it from a safe distance, for just as Jerda and her relatives realized, a pyre was about to be ignited with Eva's body and stretcher on the log stack. Ceremoniously, the Six Daughters placed their mother on the stack, and stepped back and away towards the entrance of the shrine. A flaming torch was given to Evie, and she then proceeded to throw it into the pyre.
The fires built up, and everyone sang a song vaguely resembling "O Susanna." It was then that Jerda, Arzu, Banu, and Pari felt a part of the village city, and did their best to sing along though they could only memorize the chorus line.
Arzu watched the blaze engulfing the body not in horror, but in awe. Surely, she would be offended by such displays, for in Tehran the dead were buried instead of immolated. She could not help but admire the universal love received this woman whose face she had never seen. It most certainly moved her to tears.
"Auntie?" Jerda asked.
"She's so beautiful," cried Arzu.
The singing stopped, and everyone bowed their heads for a moment of silence.
"Is it okay now?" asked Nikhila.
"It is," Evie solemnly uttered.
Nikhila turned to her twin sister, and the two nodded to one another.
The twins let out a cry, and then everyone let out a cheering roar. Half dispersed into the village city, while the other half poured into the shrine with smiling faces. Jerda and her relatives were being caught up by the wave and soon found themselves inside and sitting very close to the head of the table with Evelyn.
"What the hell?" Arzu cursed.
"Evelyn," said Jerda. "What's going on?"
"We're having a fiesta!" Evelyn cried.
"You just had a funeral pyre!" Arzu exclaimed.
"So?"
"But isn't this out of place?"
"Oh, I didn't realize. This has always been a tradition to eat, get drunk, and party after a funeral. And since great-grandmother died, this one is going to be big!"
"Drunk? As in drink alcoholic drinks?"
"It just so happens, we saved enough for this! We have to thank Suzette for planning this in advance."
"I won't criticize your culture any further, but there is no way I am going to partake in a vice as alcohol."
"What is that I hear?" yelled a woman's voice.
Suzette literally jumped over the table and faced dead-on into Arzu with aggressive eyes.
"You won't drink?" said Suzette. "We put up a lot of shit for you guests, and now you won't participate? Do you want to fucking start an international incident? For shame! I can't believe my own half-sister would say such shit like that?"
"Grand-aunt, please," said Suzette.
"If this gal and her gals won't drink, then I'm fucking wiping out their place with a Geomancer Cannon. Here! Drink up or else!"
"Just do as she says."
Suzette-awake was the scariest person Jerda and her relatives had ever faced, and she could probably rival the frightful visage of the stoic Gul. Taking the glass stein or mug from her hand, they immediately drank down the frothy beer.
"Good now," smiled Suzette. "Food's gonna arrive, so you best be hungry. That's gonna be lots!"
Suzette then hurried off to grab another stein to use and fill from the nearest keg. Another set of filled steins were given to Jerda and her relatives, but before they could drink it, Evelyn drank a half each and then poured water into them from a plastic bottle.
"Just water it down," winked Evelyn. "They won't notice."
The guests from Tehran never seen such a carefully prepared bountiful feast that everyone regardless of age and social status shared and eaten. The participants got drunk and rowdy, but never did any of them become overly violent despite many drunken arguments and verbal fights breaking out inside and outside the shrine. Evelyn drank a lot, but never showed signs of drunkenness, whereas Jerda's cousin Banu was already passed out. Children were present, which worried Arzu greatly, but they drank very less and had already gone off to play outside.
"Don't worry," said Evelyn after she drank down her latest stein. "They usually go home and off to bed earlier than usual."
"I can see why," smirked Arzu.
There was wild dancing, drinking games that Suzette constantly succeeded at, and a bit of stripteasing well into the late afternoon. Many of the people took short naps in and out of the shrine only to wake up for the dinner portion of the party. It was then at the late hours that all of the children, at the very least the immature ones, had gone off home with one of their parents or older siblings. The party soon took an adult tone, and the moment everyone was waiting for began when all Six Daughters of Eve took the head of the table to pay a unique tribute to their deceased mother by insulting and ridiculing her.
However, not all were awake or ready to do so. Teila was already too drunk and had fallen asleep, and Suzette was biding her time by drinking shot glasses of whiskey at every interval. So it was left up to Evie, Nikhila, Odilia, and Padma to do the "roasting" as it was called, for their judgment and inhibitions had been severely compromised by alcohol.
"That woman was blind!" Evie lamented pathetically. "Every prank you two bitches pulled she blamed on me!"
"Oh, come off it!" Nikhila said. "You were always that damn woman's favorite!"
"And we would have succeeded the coup if it weren't for you meddling kids," said Odilia. "I'm talking to you shorty!"
"Who are you calling short?" Padma cried. "If it wasn't for me, we would nearly have that famine decades ago! But oh, mother doesn't acknowledge my actions! It's always Evie this, Evie that, blah, blah, blah. I need a fucking stool to get noticed!"
"It was my leadership that saved us if you don't realize," said Evie. "You can't take credit for everything Padma. Or do you have some kind of Napoleon Complex?"
"Mother always spoils the fun for all of us," complained Odilia. "I mean, which one of us ratted on us on the orgy we nearly had?"
"Wasn't me," said Padma.
"I think it was Teila," said Evie.
"If she was awake," said Nikhila, "I'd tell her that she is a whiny prick."
"Hey Teila!" Odilia yelled. "My twin says you're a whiny prick!"
Teila only stirred and waved her hand, gesturing that she didn't want to be disturbed.
"Yo Suzette," said Nikhila. "You've been quiet for all this time."
"Too quiet if you ask me," said Odilia.
"So are you gonna talk smack about mom?"
Suzette put out her cigarette on her ashtray. "Damn woman is dumping my booze."
"Definitely. She's always a hardass."
Then they decided to ridicule themselves, which then generated into harmless shove-fighting.
Evelyn had translated all this to the guests, but she didn't really have to since half of what the Six Daughters said was in plain English, and the gist of their talking were well represented by their moods. Arzu was so appalled that she ended up drinking more in order to drain that feeling.
"I can't believe all this," muttered Arzu.
"That's what happen after a funeral pyre," said Evelyn. "All of they said are half-true. You should know though that we do this to remember the good or interesting things about the person who have left this world. We celebrate their passing and their deliverance from the material world, instead of mourning for long periods of time. We have plenty of time to mourn after the party, but we do so privately. It would be a great insult to the departed if we were to worry too much of them after their death."
"Well, we do like to talk about their accomplishments at the funeral ceremony, but we prefer to be formal about this."
"You might be too formal about this."
"In any case, it is starting to smell here. I need a bath and a good sleep. Can't believe I bought into this. Where's Jerda and Pari?"
"Jerda's just outside."
"And Pari?"
"Shagging," muttered Banu in English.
Arzu slapped Banu, and ordered her to get up. Banu was now being walked out with the help of Arzu, but it was difficult due to Banu's weight and that Arzu was a little drunk. They unknowingly passed Jerda, as they were too tired. Once they were back inside the mansion, they just fell asleep.
Jerda had taken the sobering pills that were handed out during the party. It was a special medicine containing enzymes that would specifically break down alcohol rapidly. However, a great many forgot to take it, and inside and outside of the shrine people were sleeping or just sitting in a daze.
The pyre had burned away almost an hour ago, and all that was left was a hill of ashes and embers. Jerda stood over it, ready to run her foot through the edge.
"It's bad luck if you step on it," said Evelyn.
Evelyn now stood by her side, and linked her arm with hers.
"I didn't mean to," said Jerda.
"It is ironic though," said Evelyn. "Great-grandmother finally done in by a pyre that killed her husband."
"I wish I could scoop some up and take it to grandmother."
"She's part of the land now."
"Still..."
Evelyn looked around. She gestured Jerda to wait a moment, and went inside. She came back procuring a whiskey bottle. Evelyn bent over and scooped some ashes into it.
"Is that bad luck as well?" Jerda asked.
"Yep," replied Evelyn. "But no one's going to notice."
The next morning had passed, and people were still sleeping inside and outside the shrine. Cleanup slowly went underway, and the shrine maidens were mixing the dirt with the ashes from the pyre. More than one person had been burned there, and a low dirt mound had inevitably been erected. Part of the duty of the shrine maidens was to keep the mound as flat as possible, and to give the surrounding bushes a good trim.
Evie had been sleeping half-naked in her room when Jerda and Evelyn woke up.
"What?" groaned Evie.
"Grandmother," said Evelyn. "I'm marrying Jerda."
"Don't bother me."
"Grandmother!"
"I have a nasty hangover. Go ask Nikhila or Odilia."
"Does that mean you approve?"
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Can you let me sleep?"
The young couple grinned, and then hurried back to the shrine.
The shrine was barely being cleaned up, and there were still a couple of female vagrants sleeping inside--not counting the twin priestesses who were found still dozing on the head table that turned out to be the altar.
"What?" Odilia groaned. "Marriage? You wanna get married?"
"Yes," said Evelyn.
"Did you have sex?"
"Yes."
"Then you're married. Done. Finished. Now go away."
"Don't we get a formal ceremony? Or at least a certificate?"
Nikhila rummaged through her robes and handed the couple a wrinkled tri-folded sheet of paper. It might have been soiled as well.
"Here," she said. "Now go. We need sleep."
"No ceremony?" asked Jerda.
"Come back next week," said Odilia. "We're tired."
"Thank you so much. I think."
With the certificate in hand, they headed outside and sat on the steps watching the shrine maidens sweeping and ashes and merging them into the earth.
"So that's it then," said Jerda.
"I'm really sorry about this," said Evelyn. "I lowered your expectations."
"Actually," Jerda smiled. "I was quite amused by your laid-back attitude towards life."
"Great-grandmother's strictness ironically allowed this to happen. Of course, we only let ourselves go wild on occasions like this."
"So what would a marriage ceremony be like?"
"Just like last night."
"I see."
Jerda rose up. "I guess we did have our ceremony."
Evelyn rose up and linked her arm with her new wife. "Jerda, I was thinking... Perhaps you should take leadership of your nation."
"But I'm not sure if I could do the job right."
"You don't have to do it forever. If you didn't realize, you have allies in your family as well. You'll have to do it anyway in order to foster relations between our nations."
"That would mean I would take you away from this place. There seems to be a lot of freedom here than Tehran."
"That is why I am going to live with you at your place. You should at least rule so that you'll have a significant and everlasting impact on our world. At least do it for our children."
"Are you pregnant already?"
"I don't think so. I suspect that we will be."
Jerda scratched her head and thought about it for the moment. Even with her height, strength, and combat ability, she always viewed herself incompetent to command the people. But right as she looked into her beloved's eyes, she realized that if Evelyn was around she could do it. It wouldn't matter if she did become mama or amam. Evelyn was her strength. Evelyn was her other half.
"Let's do it then," said Jerda. "Let's go home."
On that afternoon, the couple had announced that they would finally be heading back to the Tehran Queendom. Suzette, unusually wide-awake and focused, suggested that their guests take the corvette-class airship to land in the north, which worried the rest of her sisters, including the easygoing Nikhila and Odilia.
"We need a qualified pilot," said Odilia.
"She's right here," Suzette proudly said.
They were worried that she might fall asleep.
From the technology center Suzette recruited a co-pilot, a navigator, and a stewardess. The luggage of the passengers, Jerda, Evelyn, Arzu, and Banu, were packed on the airship Singer along with gifts of New Khartoum.
It was revealed, and perhaps obvious that Pari was staying behind, for she had impregnated Nontle after their many secret rendezvous. Arzu restrained her anger, and then she found the strength to pat and then hug her granddaughter.
"It will be difficult to communicate with her," Arzu said to Pari in Sino-Persian. "Not just in language."
"There is one language and culture we share," Pari responded. "And that's love."
The citizens gathered in the grassy airship lot to wave goodbye to one of Eva's great-granddaughters and her wife, the new queen of Tehran.
The Singer was originally an attack airship, but had been stripped all of its assault functions except for the machine guns. The seating arrangements were bare and sparse. There were no seats in the middle, and most of them were lined against the hull's sides. The cockpit wasn't too far, and it allowed the passengers to communicate to the elderly pilot, who was carefully flipping switches and pushing buttons on a touchscreen.
"You do know how to fly this, right?" Arzu asked.
"Of course I do," replied Suzette. "I trained lots in the simulations."
"That's not reassuring."
"Actually, I just played a lot of video games."
"No wonder why you sleep in the morning."
The takeoff was steady, yet nervous. The flight of a heavy yet sleek machine was a miraculous sight to the people below, and it was miracle for the pilot and the staff because this thing hadn't been flown for decades.
The citizens waved their last goodbye when the Singer shot off northeastward.
The fast ride was also nervous, as Suzette never once turned her head towards the back and blinked less often. She was sweating so much that her copilot had to wipe her forehead at various intervals. She had said to them to resist giving her whiskey flask, because Suzette always drank when she was nervous. She then started threatening and yelling to her subordinates to hand her the drink, but after reading the manual, the navigator pointed out something useful on the ship's controls.
After pressing some buttons on the touchscreen, Suzette took the flask from her copilot's hands and relaxed back. The fact that her hands were no longer on the steering wheel began worrying the foreign passengers, although the ship was now steadier than ever.
"Oh, don't worry gals," said Suzette. "Apparently, this thing allows you to choose location in its memory, and you'll zip right to there."
"But Tehran had moved eastward," said Arzu.
"Oh, that. Wake me up when we're above the old city."
"DON'T FALL ASLEEP!" everyone yelled.
The task of keeping Suzette awake succeeded, but when she manually controlled the ship to the new location of Tehran, she was nodding off. Fortunately, she safely touched down in the interior palace grounds.
The sight of ancient technology descending before them roused everyone to anxiety. Almost immediately, the soldiers were deployed and had their rifles pointed at the metallic bird as almost everyone referred it. Their guns were still poised as it was now on the ground and harmless. When the hatch opened, and Jerda stepped out dressed in her regal robes, everyone withdrew their guns and kowtowed before their queen. They made it in time, because Suzette had just fallen asleep.
Jerda, Evelyn, and the rest of their party were escorted into the Tenaya Palace where they were given time to rest and change their clothes to attend the sudden meeting in the Great Hall. The Ten Daughters looked down upon Jerda, Evelyn, and Suzette, like judges. It was then Jerda announced that she would be marrying Evelyn no matter what, shocking Lien and a few of her allies. It seemed that her power was being challenged, as there were more of her sisters supporting Jerda's decision. In fact, she was the only one marginally opposed to it. Dorothy wasn't present as she was outside feeling the airship with her remaining left hand and her right hook-claw hand.
"It's not that," said Lien. "It's just a sudden shock."
"Oh, you're worried that you might be booted out," grinned Kitty.
"I assure that I will keep you in power as long as you are compelled to and as long as you can manage," said Jerda.
"And I'll be here as your oversight!" cried Evelyn. "Just because I'm naive about this land doesn't mean I don't know what's going on."
"Or perhaps someone told you," said Lien, leering her eyes at Kitty. "In any case, we do have to prepare for the wedding ceremony. I am certain it will be big since it is new queen who is to be wedded."
"So we can go?"
"Of course."
"Suzette! Wake up! Let's go and look around this place."
"She, however, must stay here a little longer," said Arzu. "And you know why."
"What's going on?" muttered Suzette.
"Yasmin, give her some coffee. Lots of it. This discussion may take a while."
Jerda and Evelyn stepped out, and four guards blocked their path back inside. The perimeter was secure as the truth of the Suzette's relationship to the Ten Daughters was likely to unfold.
Evelyn was finally given a formal tour of the capital of the Tehran Queendom. It was less than technological than New Khartoum, as only half of the houses were wired for electricity. There were less bicycles, cars, and even construction equipment, so labor was done through beasts of burden or by hand. Evelyn finally saw the building that served as a research facility and a factory, but the smoke and pollution it puts out was offensive to Evelyn's eyes.
"Dorothy's working on that," said Jerda.
"I'd better get the tech team to clean this up," said Evelyn.
Mainly guns and bullets were being produced at the factory, which just had its first assembly line installed.
The reception Evelyn received from the people was very warm, but she could not make any comparison to her last visit since she did not stay for long. They all talked to her even though she could not understand the official language. There were a few old women who came from India or were Indian, and although they spoke Hindi or a derivative, Evelyn could not understand them completely. Ironically, Jerda had to serve as a translator for the Indians and Evelyn.
They never found out if Arzu and Suzette revealed the truth to the rest of the Ten Daughters. It was hard to gauge their reactions since they did not show it or kept it well hidden. The level of approval for Jerda and Evelyn's marriage was still the same though.
Many days were reserved for the upcoming wedding. During that time, Jerda and Evelyn spent a blissful time together learning each other's language, trying out Dorothy's new inventions, watching old films on a projector, and above all having sex behind closed doors. They did not move into the late Queen's room yet. Though Jerri's belongings were put away, it was still too soon to settle in for the mood was not yet right.
Jerri's tomb was completed and locked forever. Since it would be sacrilegious to open it up, Jerda and Evelyn decided to dump Eva's ashes directly on the top, which was a mound to be exact. It felt out-of-class to pour it from a whiskey bottle, which Suzette nearly drank out of a while ago since there were no alcoholic drinks in Tehran.
Dorothy was having the time of her life inspecting every inch of the corvette-class airship, and she often spoke to the foreign crew even though she knew they did not understand her. Knowing that there were women who understood English, she somehow requested that they take her to New Khartoum, which they did. They inadvertently left Suzette however.
Since alcohol was banned, or at the very least frowned upon, Suzette went in a withdrawal phase where she smoked a lot, slept irregularly, and cursed at her half-sisters at various intervals. She became coffee addict to compensate, and remarked that Yamin's coffee beans from the plantation should be planted back at home.
The airship Singer ended up making frequent back and forth journeys from New Khartoum to Tehran. The Singer came back with two of its sister ships, which Evelyn offered to the Tehran Queendom as gifts, but it ended up as passenger vehicles regardless. People from both nations, after learning about each other, were curiously anxious to see each other's lands and the people. Language and culture barrier was not enough to slow down the visits, and despite a few rough starts, each nation was very accommodating to the foreign visitors. It was mostly the youth who visited as well as elderly who did not received the Gift of the Goddess also took such trips to see if there were survivors who spoke their dying first languages.
The Six Daughters of Eve had to attend the royal wedding as a sign of good gesture. Taking many of their maidservants and guards, they arrived in Tehran in low-key pomp. The Six Daughters of Eve finally met the Ten Daughters of Quyen and the Three Daughters of Laleh for the very first time.
Evie and Lien froze when they first saw each other, for they felt they were looking at a reflection. The meddling twins met with the sly Kitty and got along on the spot. Suzette continued to hang out with her new caffeine-addicted friend Yasmin. Telia was immediately intimidated by the imposing Gul, and Padma and Arzu agreed to friendly wrestling match sometime in the future.
The city was so crowded it felt as if both nations were crammed in. Tehran's wedding ceremony took place after five days of preparation in the afternoon. Jerda was in a masculine royal garb, while Evelyn, who always hated heavy clothing, was happily and proudly dressed in a very beautiful white wedding dress.
Weddings were generally supposed to be a private affair in the Tehran Queendom, but such an important occasion like this could not be kept away from the public. Important guests from both nations were inside the temple, while the commoners were outside trying to get a good look from their vantage point. Fortunately, the techs from New Khartoum brought digital video cameras and monitors that relayed the feed to the outsiders as if by magic. As an added backup, a line of photographers took pictures as Evelyn walked through the aisle, and camerawomen cranked old film cameras without fatigue.
It was a fairly basic ritual. The head priestess Hoa recited, in Sino-Persian, the importance of the union from the Tome, and asked the couple questions, which they answered yes. Jerda and Evelyn kissed, which sealed their marriage vows at least in Tehran. They turned and glanced at everyone at the benches, almost all of who were crying happily. Then suddenly, Nikhila, Odilia, and Kitty shot out from their seats and shouted loud cheers. They were alone for almost a minute until almost everyone joined in.
The post-ceremony dinner celebration was reserved and formal, and if such a thing were to take place in New Khartoum would be booze and loud music. The Six Daughters of Eve behaved as much as they could for Evelyn's sake and for the sake of the land.
During the serving of appetizers, which were so large of a portion that they could be consider meals themselves, Jerda happily obliged to take Evelyn in the middle of the cleared floor for the first dance of the night. They were urged to use the entire area so that everyone could get a good look of Evelyn's skirt swinging out gracefully in every turn and spin. The newlyweds did, but their bodies were meshed together as they did not want to break contact from their own skin.
The couple retreated to the table to have their main meal. With everyone eating at their own pace, many couples danced at the floor. The most prominent dancing pairs were those from each of the of the two nations, many of who had already hooked up days before, and Jerda's half-cousin Pari was amongst them with her new wife Nontle.
The dresses almost everyone wore covered almost all of their skin, but the ones single females wore were form-fitting to their torso and bust, while some of the married and older women were a little more fuller and to hide their features. That was not necessarily the case for the attendees outside, as their dresses were plain and homemade. Regardless of their exclusion due to class or the fact there was not enough room, the party held outside was a lot more jovial, and even those from the Great Hall, particularly Jerda and Evelyn, stepped out to watch and even participate in the outdoor activities which including less formal dancing and games.
It continued on well into the night. Most of the elders had went off to sleep, while a few, Nikhila and Odilia in particular, stayed up to give love advice to eager listeners with the help of Kitty as translator. Many couples loitered about, and Jerda and Evelyn could not help but notice the mixed pairs created by the fateful encounter months ago. For them, it they have accomplished something greater than they could ever imagine.
In less than a year, Jerda and Evelyn gave birth to their first two children. In one of many rare cases, even amongst royalty, both Jerda and Evelyn became pregnant, which refrained them performing many of their ceremonial and government duties in the Tehran Queendom.
From Jerda she gave birth to Evangeline. Days later, Evelyn gave birth to Jeri. With the six years that had passed, Evan (shortened from Evangeline) and Jeri acknowledge Evelyn as the dominant partner out of their two parents. Another ceremony was held to recognize Evelyn as the new Amam, and thus through her marriage to Jerda she was now the Queen. At first, some of the citizens balked at having a foreign ruler, but to everyone's surprise Evelyn was an effective and progressive ruler and a highly competent stateswoman.
Her ascension to royalty and her rule would be attributed to the chance circumstances on the day she first met Jerda. Since the two nations found themselves, travel between them was so frequent that both blood and language were diluted. The languages of Sino-Persian and Hindi-Afrikaans would eventually merge to be the de facto language of the known world, Evenna. Inevitably though, dialects would arise be currently divided into North Evenna in Asia, South Evenna in Africa, and Middle/Mordern Evenna in the Middle East.
Though her rule was short, Evelyn had announced after Evan and Jeri's seventh birthdays that she would be abdicating. No, there wasn't any political pressure for her to step down. It was the opposite, as many wanted her to keep occupying the throne. Evelyn and Jerda were too stressed out in running the daily affairs of the Tehran Queendom (now renamed the Democratic Republic of Tehran), and wanted to spend more time raising their children. Everyone accepted it, and soon elections were held to fill in the new governmental positions of chancellor and many others.
Tehran had split up, but this wasn't due to infighting. The population boom forced the nation's peoples to settle elsewhere, and a new nation of New Kazakh formed in the north with the help of Lien, Tuyet, Xuan, and Arzu. New Kazkh was highly autonomous, but kept close ties with the mother nation of Tehran that Hoa and the rest of the Ten Daughters kept running.
The Middle East blossomed with new villages and towns since it was a hub between New Khartoum and Tehran. From the Three Daughters of Laleh as well as Evelyn and her relatives formed the modern nation of Meso, which would be the new home for Jerda and her family. It was a sharp change to their children who were used to the palace life, and it was unfortunate that their oldest daughter Evan did not adjust well. She ended up becoming a flirt and a troublemaker in her teens, and had once gotten arrested for vandalism. This was in sharp contrast to the more demure and timid "twin" sister Jeri. Both went to the Dimashq Academy with their amam who eventually graduated with a degree in linguistics. Jeri was at the top of her class and her sister at the bottom. Evan might as well not attend.
Evelyn gave birth to a third daughter when Jeri and Evan were ten. The daughter's name was Tenni.
It might be a couple of years off due to a disagreement in calendaring systems, but it was yet another spring in the year 98 A.E. Evelyn and Jerda lived in their small and quaint two-story home in Dimashq--the new by the way as the ancient metropolis of the same name was still in ruins in the northwest. The bespectacled thirty-two year-old Evelyn, dressed in jeans and a blouse sat in the covered front porch reading over the letters from the First Wife to the Great Amam and translating them in Evenna in the late afternoon. There were many old books of reference on the table along with a working laptop computer running a modified operating system program called Linux.
Tenni was already home from soccer practice at the academy. Evan was studying for her make-up exams, hopefully. The family's pair of waterfoxes, Marie and Ema, was having their second-to-last wade in their personal pool at the backyard. With the help from Jerda, sixteen year-old Jeri was getting ready for her very first date with a fearsome-looking girl who despite appearances was a self-appointed "soldier for justice."
She was more worried about her daughter's date than the regular stream of angry letters and angry phone calls from angry protesters, most of who were religious, who viewed Evelyn's upcoming book as heretical. Sure, no one would want to believe that there was once a human species divided into two genders and that wars and oppression were rampant. Though many complained, it hardly escalated into an all-out war, and not even riots, aggressive marches, and burning effigies broke out. Evelyn was confident that her ideological opponents would not commit to the violent acts that defined the human-like creature that was breastless and had horns between its legs. No one alive knew what this creature this "man" or "male" was really like other than the books and visual media portrayed them to be. Even then no one believed that such creatures had existed.
Evelyn, as well her wife Jerda had hoped that the girl Jeri brought home turned out to be okay. The girl was like their troublesome daughter, but at least she corrected trouble instead of causing it. It should be around the time that Evan would throw a jealous tantrum and attempt to march out of the house.
Tenni made the first block, giving Evelyn ample time to throw Evan into a headlock and drag her back into the house.
"I have a date!" Evan yelled.
"You have studying!" cried Evelyn. "And I bet that girl already dumped you."
"She did not!"
Jerda, now with longer and more feminine hair, escorted her primed daughter Jeri to the door. It was just in time, since the date arrived in a decked-out bicycle modified to seat a pretty young girl behind her. She had short dark hair and had light brown skin. Jeri's date wore a white tank top, dark boots, black pants, and a black leather jacket. Evan broke from her amam's grasp to quickly fix her hair and run outside to wink and say hello.
"She's not your date," said Evelyn. "Jeri don't keep her waiting."
Jeri headed over and received a kiss on the cheek from her date. She cautiously mounted on the back and held tight behind her date.
"I'll take great care of your daughter Misses and Missem Matthews," smiled the date.
"Evv," said Evan. "We're still up for tomorrow, right?"
The girl on the bike, Evv, looked up. "I'll think about it."
"Don't bother," said Evelyn. "She's too good for you."
Evv and Jeri said and waved their goodbyes, and cycled off to the downtown district. There were happy tears in Jerda's eyes as she watched her daughter head off to become a woman, and Tenni just stared, as she was still too young to understand.
"You say that with every girl I bring home," said Evan. "They're never good for me!"
"Next time, bring a real good one," said Evelyn.
"Damn it! You're never going to get off my case!"
"Quit complaining and get your ass back to the books!"
Evan marched back into the house grumbling.
"You're being too hard on her," said Jerda. "Maybe academics is not her strong suit."
"She needs to at least do the basics," said Evelyn.
"I don't want her to go into the Global Security Forces."
"Even if she does, we hardly fight anyone. The war stories in those old books and videos makes you doubly glad we live in this era."
"About that..."
"Let me guess--more protest calls from the Danyanites?"
"Why do you anger them so?"
"You know I try not to. The truth about our world is found in those old media, and with each passing year there is evidence to back that up."
"They're going to say that it's falsified, or the bodies were once those Amazonians."
Evelyn sighed. "I wished I done this when those old ladies were still alive."
They had a quiet dinner a few hours later, and upon Jerda's insistence Evelyn helped Evan with the math portion of the exam until the daughter fell asleep. Evelyn then resumed translating more books for the academy as well as writing her new book on her great-grandmother's exploits with Jerda's grandmother, the Great Amam.
"Amam," she muttered in her own office stuffed with books overflowing from the shelves. She discovered the translation of it, and it was a feminine demonic or perhaps a divine beast that was the personification of divine retribution in ancient Egyptian mythology. Amam had other various spellings, such as Ammut, Ammut, or more commonly Ammit. Amam was said to devour souls not permitted to enter paradise, Aaru.
It could have been a fitting name. Jerri Adams was probably created as living act of divine retribution against the vileness of the two-gendered world. Then again, Amam was simply "mama" backwards, and it was first suggested by Evie, Jerri's first daughter. At that time, the family did not know or were not told the definition of the word. In this day of age, it simply got stuck as a label of the wife who was recognized by her children as the dominant partner in the marriage.
Dressed loosely in nothing but a nightgown, Jerda entered the room and lovingly embraced Evelyn.
"Jeri hasn't come home yet," said Jerda.
"She'll be fine," said Evelyn. "She won't get raped despite the media says. The statistics are abysmally low."
"She could still get assaulted in another way."
"She has Evv with her."
"I suppose."
"Anyway, I'm still busy. I'll come to bed later."
Jerda lets go, and solemnly, she marched out. She came back later with a pillows and a sleeping back, and laid it out in the middle of the floor.
"What are you doing?" asked Evelyn.
"Being with you," said Jerda.
"I told you, I'll come to bed. I almost have this page typed up."
"You said that last night! And the night before! Is your book more important than me?"
"I'm sorry. I'll stop for today. However, don't move."
After shutting down her laptop computer and closing all the books, Evelyn stripped herself to her underwear. She stuffed herself inside the sleeping bag with Jerda, and it was barely enough room for them to be together.
They embraced one another and kissed. Then they made love quietly, and when they finished an hour later, they remained awake and still in their embrace.
"Another child?" Evelyn asked.
"I don't know," said Jerda.
"How about I bear another one? That way, you can continue tending our garden and doing housework."
"You shouldn't! You need to move around for your research for your book, especially when you go borrow books from the academy."
"I thought you hated me for focusing on it too much."
"I don't mind. I just want you make time for me."
"Sorry. It just feels like it is my obligation to do this."
"For grandmother..."
"...and great-grandmother. But even if I complete, many will still see it as a work of fiction, and it may be because I somewhat wrote it like one. Goddess, I'm going to get blasted from both sides."
"I hope you're not hesitating, because a Switch might happen."
"A Switch? Oh, I'm not thinking of such things! Hesitation is normal, right?"
"Fortunately, Switches rarely happen, and even if it is apparent, you'll still be the amam in our relationship."
"Force of habits as usual."
"So have you decided for a title of the book?"
"Still haven't. I need something that has impact, but not overly long. Three words or less is preferable. Do you have any ideas?"
"I don't."
"Hmm..."
Evelyn had often took charge in family affairs, but there were times, perhaps a lot more than usual, that she ran into Jerda's comforting arms and asked her for guidance as if she was a heavenly muse. Evelyn might seem like a independent woman, but she would be lost if she was without Jerda's support. In her eyes, Jerda was the pillar of the Tehran Queendom during their rule.
"The sky's so beautiful," said Jerda, looking up at the window. There was an untainted starry night sky.
"It is," smiled Evelyn.
Right then in a moment of epiphany, Evelyn finally settled on a two-word title for her book.
Early next morning, Jeri came home before her family with an elated smile, and with ring that wasn't on her finger on the night before.
Deviant Hearts Archive | Back to main index