A Soldier in Love (31 page)

“So, I guess maybe this
isn’t like normal Earth custom but we should go to Baat,” Serik said with
excitement. His eyes seemed to twinkle.
 

Michelle arched a
delicate eyebrow in confusion. She hadn’t seen him get excited over something in
quite some time.

“I want you to meet my
family especially my mom and little brother,” he said with a smile. He knew his
mother could be proud. It would finally be acceptable for him to return home. It
was strange the way Michelle worked in his life. It was as though when he was
with her, he was normal. The bad memories, the loneliness, the anger, it all
seemed to drift away.

“Oh,” she said
understanding.

“So, I guess let’s go
do our mating ceremony, our webbing, whatever you call it,” he said.

“Wedding,” she smiled. It
was hard for her to believe it was real but it was. It felt as though
everything she had been through was beginning to fade to the background to let
her finally live her life. She would be free and she would be happy with Serik.
His love was like no other she had ever experienced before. It was the most
powerful emotion she had ever felt. It superseded the hate that had burrowed
into her heart.

“Sure, wedding. I’ll
have to get a giant diamond ring like the females from your planet enjoy
wearing,” he offered.
 

“Oh, Serik.
You don’t have to,” Michelle protested.

“I do, it is a
tradition of your people and we should continue it. Although, I’m not sure how
jewelry symbolizes love to your mate on your world,” he said scratching his
head in confusion.

“Well, a ring
symbolizes love and commitment,” Michelle began.

“A ring?
That is the jewelry you wear on your fingers?”
 
he
asked.

Michelle nodded. “A
ring is shaped in a circle. The circle symbolizes something that continues
forever, something that will never end.”

“Then I will have to
get you the very best ring I can find.
Although, diamonds are
pretty worthless in this part of the universe.
I will have to get you a
gem such as
luvoxko
,” he added thoughtfully.

“
Luvoxko
?”
Michelle questioned.

Serik nodded.

“Isn’t that what you
were transporting to Sora?”

“Yeah,” he replied with
a shrug of his shoulder.

“Is
luvoxko
expensive?” she said furrowing her brow.

“Let’s just say it’s
worth a lot of pesos,” he grinned.

***

The
trip had been a quick one. Serik had seemed optimistic and excited. They landed
and Michelle had thought she might have finally gotten used to it. She had
looked through the viewscreen at the beautiful planet beneath them. There were
trees, vegetation, and other green. It all seemed so alive. There was
a lushness
about the planet, it felt fresh and untainted. It
made her feel like her own world was contaminated in comparison. She figured it
was. There had been pollution and waste that ravaged Earth.

Serik
grabbed their packs and motioned to come. The planet was warm but temperate. It
felt good to be on solid ground again even if it wasn’t her planet. Michelle
followed meekly behind and they made their way on a path by the landing bay.

“This
will take us into town,” Serik said as he pointed to something that looked like
the high speed trains they used to have in New Shanghai.

He
took her hand and led her onto the platform. It wasn’t long before the train
arrived and they boarded. Michelle took her seat next to Serik and looked
around. She noticed that there were mostly men around her as they made their
way forward on the tracks. She looked around but she couldn’t see another
female anywhere near her. Their eyes followed her wherever she went. The stares
came from all around her. She had never been the center of attention in such a
manner before. She felt like a spectacle. She nervously smoothed out her hair.

“Serik?”
Michelle said as she tried to control the shakiness
in her voice.

“
Hm
?”
he replied as they made their way to a second shuttle station. It was going to
be several hours before they got to his family’s house.
 

“Why are they looking
at me?” Michelle whispered. “Am I dressed funny?”

Serik laughed. “No
baby, it’s because you are one of the most beautiful females to ever grace the
planet.”

“Serik, that is not it,”
Michelle hissed feeling the heat rise to her cheeks as the stares continued. She
hated the way their eyes felt on her body. She had never been looked like in
such a way.

“Greatest genetic
variety is what our kind most desires in mating. They believe genetic variety
gives their offspring the highest chances of survival. They have never seen
anyone who looks like you so that makes you most desirable,” he explained.

“You’re kidding right?”
Michelle said with widened eyes. She was certain he was going to start
chuckling soon and tell her it was all one big joke.

He shook his head. “Why
do you shy away every time I tell you that you are beautiful and desired?”

“I guess I never thought
I existed like that before. I am so not used to this,” she replied softly.

“Well, you are
beautiful and all those males would be lined up around the entire planet for
you if you weren’t with me.” He grinned.

“I don’t understand
something, Serik…” Michelle paused, “but your eyes, you say they mean bad luck
but they are different.”

He shook his head. “That’s
different.”

“I don’t understand you
Baat people, nothing you do makes sense,” she grinned.

He rolled his eyes.

“Do you think your
family will like me?” Michelle asked. She couldn’t hold down the nervousness
that ate away at the pit of her stomach. She desperately hoped his family would
react to their relationship better than hers did.

“They will love you.
You’ve brought me home, Michelle,” Serik replied warmly.

She wasn’t sure exactly
what he meant but she could feel that it was a good thing.

“Serik,” a voice called
out. A woman appeared. She had
a warmth
and a glow
about her; she almost radiated pure kindness. Her eyes were both icy blue like Serik’s
left eye. She was tall, much taller than Michelle, but nowhere near as tall as Serik.
Her long blonde hair was neatly braided behind her back.

“Ma,” he replied as they
embraced.

“Daughter,” she called
out with tears in her eyes as she embraced Michelle as well.

“We are happy you are
here,” she continued as she squeezed Michelle’s hands within hers.

“Thank you,” Michelle
replied as she felt another squeeze. She was getting more and more used to how
affectionate the Baat were.

She looked down to see
a boy who could almost pass for Serik as a child.

“That’s Bren,” Serik’s
mother informed her warmly.

Serik ruffled his hair
as Bren moved to embrace Serik as well.

“Come,” Serik’s mother
motioned. “I’ve prepared a small meal for us before our large one.”

Michelle furrowed her
brow. She figured that she meant they were having an appetizer of sorts before
dinner.

“Ah, Michelle.
I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask Serik what you ate
on Earth. I hope this food will be acceptable to your appetite,” Serik’s mother
offered.

She handed her a small
plate of what seemed to be appetizers.

“Uh, don’t tell me what
it is just like me enjoy it,” Michelle replied as she tentatively took a bite.

Serik’s mother
nervously clamped her hands together and watched as Michelle ate.

“It’s delicious.”
Michelle smiled before taking another bite.

Michelle felt a tug on
her sleeve.

“So, you were from Earth?”
Bren asked.

Michelle nodded as she
swallowed the rest of the food in her mouth.

“Do you know the Earth
game, soccer?” Bren asked enthusiastically.

“I sure do,” Michelle
replied with a wide grin.

“It’s popular all in
the universe now. I have a ball but I am having trouble. Will you teach me?” he
asked. His large eyes gave her a pleading look.

She looked to Serik
unsure if it was acceptable or not.

“It’s fine, you guys go
play. We have to catch up,” he said.
 

“OK, great,” Michelle
replied with a smile.

“
Oi
,
Bren. Don’t take Michelle too far out, yeah?” he called.

“OK,” Bren replied as
he took Michelle’s hand and led her out the door.

Serik watched as Bren
and Michelle made their way outside before turning back to his mother.

“I missed you, son. I’m
glad you came home,” she said with a weary smile.

“I missed you too, Ma,”
he replied giving her another embrace.
 

“She is very
beautiful,” his mother said thoughtfully. “I knew you would find her.”

Serik sat down. “I’m
glad you did because I was never sure.”

“All things in
love, Serik.
All things in
love work out in the very end.”

***

Michelle ran after the
ball as Bren trailed behind her. Although, she hadn’t played soccer that much
on Earth, she still remembered how. They darted back and forth but Bren was too
fast and kept stealing the ball away. Michelle laughed to herself forgetting his
inherent Baat speed. It was surely an unfair match.

Michelle watched as the
sun began to go down and the moon started to go up simultaneously. She had
never seen anything like it before. She wondered if it was a metaphor for Serik.
He was both light and dark, just like his planet.

“Hey,” Serik called.

Michelle looked over to
Serik approaching the field.

“Bren, I think mom was
looking for you,” Serik called to Bren.

“OK,” Bren sighed and
picked up the soccer ball as he scurried inside.

“Everyone loves you as
per usual,” Serik said gently.

“Really?”
Michelle smiled.

He nodded and took her
hand within his.

“Are you nervous about
tomorrow?” he questioned.

She shook her head.

“I’m sorry about your
family, Michelle. I wish they were here with us,” he offered softly.

“It’s OK, Serik. They
just don’t understand,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “You are
what’s
important to me.”

“As long as we are
together that is all that matters. The rest of the universe can just fade away
for all I care,” he replied.

Serik hunched down as
he placed a gentle hand on her chin. His mouth consumed hers in a soft and slow
kiss. Michelle moaned slightly letting him have access to her mouth. He
deepened the kiss into a ferocity; a hunger. The kiss seemed to go on forever
before he pulled back.
 

Kisses like that left
her dizzy.
 

***

Michelle shifted her
weight uncomfortably. She knew Serik had told her they would be married in a
temple but she hadn’t even asked him about his religion. It seemed like such an
important topic, how could she have missed it? Everything seemed like such a
whirlwind and now she was waiting in some sort of religious cave within the Baat
temple. They were both to have soul cleansings whatever that was. He was in a
separate cave as she sat alone.

Michelle didn’t know
whether to feel worse or better when the priest appeared.

“Look, um, sir, I don’t
mean any disrespect but I’m doing this for Serik. I love him and if he says it
is necessary then I will do it but I really don’t know about your religion
here. I have my God and I’ve met him before,” she stated before he could even
say a word.

The priest nodded. “My
child, do not worry our God is the same.”

Michelle stared at the
little man. She didn’t want to insult him but she was fairly certain her God,
her God she learned about on Earth was different than his.
The
God that she had met, the one that had brought her back to life, her God was
real, not his.

“My child, God created
the universe not just Earth,” he said interrupting her thoughts.

“I…uh…
how did you?” she stammered. How could he have known what she was thinking?
 

“
Shhh
!”
he hissed.

The little man’s white
robe swayed around him as he moved in closer to her. She felt like she was some
sort of science experiment he was examining.

“He brought you back to
be with Serik. The pain, the sadness, the hurt in your life, that part of life
is over for you now. It is time to be happy,” he said in a chilling tone.
 

He continued to wave
his hands around her body.

Michelle furrowed her
brow and took a step back. She had enough of his crazy flailing around, not to
mention his mind reading.

“Hold still,” he
snapped.

“I… uh, OK,
sir.”
She swallowed. She
felt immensely uncomfortable.

“There was another love
in your heart before him, before Serik,” he narrowed his thin eyes at her.

“
Aa
..
Aa-ron
?” he stuttered. It was
obvious Earth names were difficult for him to pronounce.

“How do you know?” she practically
gasped.
 

“I can sense it. Our kind
is different from yours,” he replied.

“So, does that mean…”
she began.

He shook his head.
 
“No, no my child.
Only
a few us our sensors trust me, Serik would not be one of them. Those who are,
well, we are sentenced to the priesthood.”
 

“This
Aran
,” he began.

“Aaron,” she corrected
him gently.

“You loved him but the
love was different than that you have for Serik. Was it not?” he asked.

“I loved him as a
brother. I loved them all,” she replied softly.

“There is other hurting
in your heart as well,” he said softly.

Michelle simply nodded
in agreement.

“Alex?” he said in a
solemn tone.

The name stung her
entire being. Michelle held back tears. The verbalization of his name somehow
made things that much more serious, that much more real. Old wounds had been
reopened.

“He says thank you for
trying to save him, trying to avenge him,” he said as a glazed look began to
form in his eyes.

“But I didn’t do
anything. I couldn’t do anything to save him,” Michelle faltered.

“No one could have. It
was simply his time,” he replied as though it there was nothing more to it than
that. “That is why I’m afraid for my
son,
he hasn’t
had the easiest life either. You can’t bring him down with your hurting.”

What is this 10 minute therapy with Yoda? With a
planet with only 10% females you would think this woman would be happy that he
brought home someone,
Michelle thought
to herself a bit annoyed with the priest.

“He’s like you, you
know? You are a fighter,” he said his hands still waving over her body.

She wished he would
stop with the weird waving thing. It was ridiculous and making her really
uncomfortable.

“You fought for three
reasons,” he said quietly as he slowly stopped his waving.

He rubbed his temples. “You
fought for your parents, to protect others, and lastly you fought because of
your anger, your own anger and rage.”

She swallowed and
remained quiet. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“You have to let the
anger go,” he stated with a seriousness that flickered in his eyes. “Tell me
you will let the anger go before I bond you with my son,”

“I will,” Michelle
vowed. The truth was she had already begun to long ago. The kindness and
gentleness Serik had shown her had softened her heart long before their love
grew.

“The past is painful,
but it is what it is, the past. That part of your life, that painful part, it
is over now. No matter how angry you are, no matter how hard you fight, you
cannot right the wrongs that have happened. Fighting will not bring your
parents back.” He paused and a quiet moment passed. “The woman who abused you,
she is now gone, she has perished and is in a place she deserves to be, she is
in a place of great pain. Only God can decide these things because he accounts
for everything and not just what you see.”

Michelle nodded.

“You know your parents
are in the good place, the place you briefly visited,” he added softly.
 

“How did you know?” Michelle
whispered.

Instead of waving his
hands around like a maniac he gripped both of her hands within his. She felt
like jolting back as a flood of emotions ran through her but his touch was also
soothing. It wasn’t like the memory fog withdrawals, it was good. She felt
supernatural peace and tranquility flow through her body.

“Your parents loved
you. They are proud of your service and they are proud of your mate,” he said
as his grip tightened and the feelings became more intense. It was as though he
was flushing out the bad by overrunning her soul with good.