Quiet Laughter

Kaiy-len watched the children play as he sat on the porch wrapped in a Navajo blanket. He chuckled as one of the boys was tackled to the ground by his much smaller younger sister and began tussling in the dirt.

The elderly man remembered a time when another girl with blond pigtails took down another young man. But that young lady didn’t wear gingham dresses.

“Children.” Kaiy-len called out and two girls and four boys paused in the activities, eyes immediately on him. “Would you like to hear a story?”

“Yeah!” exclaimed six children as they rushed up and sat around his rocker. The blond little girl and her brother were the last to arrive.

“Long ago, the Speakers for the Dead lived together not scattered as we are now. We lived in a village of our own creation, in harmony with our desert home.” Kaiy-len began.

“But then the pale men came and destroyed the village.” One of the dark haired boys interrupted and roughly shoved the blond little girl. Her brother angrily shoved the boy back, his blue eyes flashing.

“No, they didn’t.” Kaiy-len replied calmly and chuckled when the blond haired girl stuck out her tongue at the darker skinned children. “It was a single exiled Fae.”

A fond expression flickered in his faded midnight colored eyes and he smiled.

“I once asked the Ones Who Came Before who held the other half of my soul.” Kaiy-len said with a sigh. “And they told me she would be beautiful, foul as an angry bison and as dangerous a herd of them. They were right.”

“She came at night when shadows embraced her in their arms and allowed her to slip undetected into our midst. The first time I saw her, I was struck as to how young she appeared to be. Behind the tattoos was a face of innocence, unblemished milky skin,” he chuckled as he recounted, “A body a man writes sonnets about...but her beauty was a cold sort of attractiveness.”

“What gave her life were her eyes.” Kaiy-len said somberly as he closed his eyes. “Those violent violet colored eyes. When we fought I saw hate but deep kindness. Behind her blank expression was passion...and honor.”

He opened his eyes when he felt arms wrap themselves around him. He looked up and saw the face of his wife and mother to his only child. With her beside him, Kaiy-len continued his tale.

“Those few that survived the Fae’s attack nominated me as their leader and as their leader, I led them away from the ruins of our village and into a new age. No longer would we who are called necromancers live separate from man, secreting away the knowledge we possess. We would scatter like a flower’s seed and multiply.”

“We need to no longer be bound by prejudices to keep the blood and skill of our ancestors alive.” Kaiy-len told his grandchildren. “Though Savon and Elle are children of whites, you each have the blood of Speakers of the Dead within you.”

“So no more fighting between yourselves.” His wife told the children. “You are family.”

“Okay!” the children exclaimed and dashed off to play. Kaiy-len noted proudly, that the grandson who shoved Elle earlier was now showing her his reanimated pet lizard.

“A letter was left in town for you.” His wife told him, she reached inside her apron pocket and pulled out a tiny yellow sheet of paper. Kaiy-len reached out from under the blanket and took the note.

“It’s from her.” She said as she walked back inside and gave her husband privacy to read Royal’s letter.

‘Fifty years ago, I experienced a night that I will never forget. I recall every word spoken, every breath that was taken. At night, I dream of your touches on my body and long for your embrace. But it was never meant to be.’ Royal wrote.

I remain the same as I was that night. My skin holds no wrinkles, my hair has no gray while you are now an old man. Your eyes have lost their sharpness, your bones ache in cold weather. You’re not as fast as you used to be or quite as strong. You are mortal and I am not.’

‘I’m glad that you’ve found someone more deserving of your affections. You and her are free to live together and have children proud of their mortal heritage, whether it be a normal human’s or necromancer. You must be very proud of every one of your little grandchildren. I hope they grow to be every bit of the great man that their grandfather is.’

‘With love.—Royal Kimura.

For the first time in his life, Kaiy-len cried.