The Mountains of Desire

Long had they been loving one another in that special way without acknowledging it to one another, except implicitly in the specially softened texture of their voices when they spoke and in a slow longing-nessthat changed the flow of their accustomed touching, and in a new sense of care they took with their own lives. For though each one had always protected the life of the other with his or her own, now, though still unafraid of death, they had begun to take more care for oneself than before, no longer taking unnecesary risks, for each one felt the cherishing of the other and felt that deep erotic sense of being cherished so profoundly by the other and each took more care to stay alive for the other, realizing viscerally anew waht they had always felt in their hearts, that the one's death would be a mortal wound for the beloved. What had remained as a glimmer behind the mask of a dream had risen to the light of the dream's awakening and their love was stronger than the grip of death and their love was a divine fire that would transcend the limits of their mortal lives, for not the torrents of death could drown their love, nor the slow, cloudy waters of Lethe's faded shadows efface its eternal memory After a week of carrying in reverent silence this revelation of the heart, the time had finally come for them to tell each other of their desire, and to pledge their lives together in a new context, not negating what they had been to one another as children before, but completing and fulfilling all that heretofore had been good with them. They knew that they were each one badly damaged in their scarred bodies and they did not know if their union could engender a child, but though they would consider a child a treasure beyond price, they loved one another without those considerations which were so important of the houses of men who saw women as valuable mainly in the children they would bear. In the rainy forest of that enchanted night they carefull burned cedar and sage and made their eternal vows of love to one another of love in the way of a woman and a man though they had no witness beyond the animals sleeping in the forest night beyond the full moon sky-rising luminous among the stars shedding her light through the up-reaching trees, They had no priest of the moon, no royal official to certify their solemn vows, so they called on Tunksheki the Creator to be their eternal witness, as Sikeemila and Tesara made sacred marriage vows to one another, adapting the words in a more solemn Tisou way from the wedding ritual they had observed and heard from above in the strangely peaceful village where their passing through had gone unnoticed in the silence of Tesara, and they added the word "arkuay" (forever) to the the expression of the conjugal vows. He spoke these words to Sikeemila: I, Tesara, warrior of the sacred stone, call upon the Creator as my witness that I pledge my life and my love forever to Sikeemila, my beloved one, to have her as my woman and no other, to be father to her children, to be her protector in all things, and to live worthy of our vows forever And as he looked with joy in this new way upon the lovely woman before him, he saw the rising moon was shing through the trees, illuminaating her shining black hair and brown breasts, unbound at last from the circle of tight cloth as she rested from many battles, her long facial scar annd her strong ivory teeth gleaming in the moonlight as she smiled in a new way at her one beloved, and she replied to her Tesara: I, Sikeemila, warrior of the sacred quest, call upon the Creator as my wirness, that I pledge my life and my love, forever to Tesara, my beloved one, to have him as my man and no other, to be mother to his children, to be his protector in all things, and to live worthy of our vows forever The she offered herself to him in the manner of the ancient Tisou custom they knew from the old stories ni-Sanshee had told them sitting by the fire on the long, cold winter nights. Sikeemila held the wineskin to Tesara's lips, saying, Drink of my wine, my beloved one, Come, enter my vineyard, and drink my sweet wine as she offered the wine sack to him, to give him to drink of her red wine, and he drank deeply of her gift and he replied, I shall enter your vineyard and drink your sweet wine with joy, my beloved one, my bride And as they came together to fulfill the the sacred vow they had cast like a bright light as far into the shadows of eternity their souls could reach, in that enchanted forest night the rain lightened the odor of good earth perfumed the night breezes the full moon rose high above, and she kissed his mouth for the second time in their lives, and Tesara returned Sikeemila's kiss, as they gently removed one another's clothing aand consummated their love in the way of a man and a woman to become one in body, one in love, their mutual desires as caring as intense, for each kenw all the places of the other's battle wounds and injuries, and yet their desire for one another flowed on through their bodies and souls strong as a great river finally reaching the sea after years of wander, their cries of passion echoing in the tall green trees of the dark forest so that as before they were truly one in soul, so now they were also truly one in their bodies Sikeemila and Tesara cherished the wedding night of their joy, as the moon, seeming nearer the earth, shone above them through the trees, unrestrained and unguarded in their passion, as their sentinel Matji scouted the forest to protect them from the approach of their many enemies. Like certain birds who mate for life, Sikeemila and Tesara would never consent to a separation in life or death, even more thatn the marriages of this world severed by death, they pledged themselves to one another forever in the eyes of Tunksheki the Creator trees, unrestrained and unguarded in their passion