“Hatred is a powerful thing.” Eyes locked on the Elder who spoke. 

    “It consumes like a deadly lethal fire and it never quite goes out. Instead, it keeps burning and growing hotter and more intense until it destroys you.” Silence. Ears were intent on his very breath. 

    “As I grow older, I realize how foolish hatred is. It serves no purpose but destruction. It does not better the individual nor does it improve them. It will do us no good.” 

    “What if everything you loved was taken from you? Would it be so easy to say that then?” Some of them looked at him and grumbled in agreement. 

    “My son, you must know that it is all a test.” 

    “A test of what?” 

    “Faith.” 

    “What good does faith do? If you had your wife beaten and raped in front of you where would faith come in?” One man asked, standing up. 

    “Or what about if your husband was given a drug so toxic that his skin peeled and you were forced to watch him die?” A woman inquired, standing up next. They looked at him waiting for him to speak again. 

    “Hatred…. is powerful. For some it keeps us alive.” The man shook his head.    

 “Son, it brings you to your doom.” 

    “Let me tell you something. With all due respect, I don’t give a damn about anything you’ve said. I have been through hell. I lost my wife, my son was murdered right in front of me and I’ve been forced to play dead. For what? Is this world not ours? Are the days gone where we are honest people who work hard and love? Perhaps that is just a dream. In the past. But, you were not there when I had to watch my son cry for me as he was sucked into a black hole. You were not there when I had to watch my wife be beaten and taken away from me in handcuffs. You were not there when I had to pick her off of the floor time and time again as she sat in her own blood after another miscarriage. You know nothing about me. Don’t come here and tell me what I feel is foolish. I have every right to be pissed. I have every right to want to get even. I want those bastards dead.” He stood up and walked away, his face hot. His heart hurt. It seemed the gaping hole had just grew even bigger. He wanted to let it all out. The emotion threatening to spill over. 

    “Son,” He turned around to find the Elder standing there, a serene smile on his face. 

    “You are correct. I apologize if I was presumptious. I do not know anything of you. I do not know what you have been through nor what you have suffered. For some people, hatred does keep them alive… for a brief moment.” He kept silent as he continued. 

    “You are justified in your anger. However, let me ask you this… what will you choose to do with your anger? Which outcome will you choose and what will be the consequence? Every thing has its own reaction. Ones we can predict and others that we cannot. Nevertheless, they come; whether it be instanteous, a week, month or years from now.” 

    “Sir,” 

    “I’m not finished.” He closed his mouth. 

    “You are rightly angry. Everything you ever knew was taken from you. Now, my question to you is how are you going to channel and use that emotion? For good? Or for your own destruction? If your son could see you now… would he be proud of you? Would he say that his father set a good example of how he should react in the world to situations outside of his control? Would you be proud of him should he act in the same manner? Anger when used correctly can create some of the most beautiful and inspiring outcomes. Or it can poison the spirit and soul and blacken it so that it slowly and eventually dies. It is your choice. As a man. As a husband. And as a father.” 

    I was once in a situation such as yourself. I am sure you are aware of the corporation Txeis?” 

    “Quite.” 

    “They have been around longer than even me. And they killed my wife. In cold blood. I had my house destroyed and found myself homeless. They had sent some of their people to chase my other relatives out of the country. 

    “Why?” 

    “Because I had chosen my path. My way. I had turned my back on them and their ways. I knew in my spirit what I should do and I did it.” 

    “It took me years before I grew tired. I was tired of hating. Tired of being angry. It exhausted me. I found that it did nothing for me but make me miserable. I grew older and older and felt as if the very life was being drained from me.” He looked into his eyes.     “You are a young man, still full of life. I implore you, do not wait until you are old and grey to finally realize how foolish and utterly wasted your life has been. You have a choice and I encourage you to make it. Let me ask you.. is your wife still alive?” 

    “Y-yes.” 

    “You can have such a bright future. One where you do not live in fear or chaos. You can be fruitful once again. You can take your wife and create a new life. You do not have to be enslaved to hatred. The man you once were… has he died?” He was silent, his hands starting to tremble. 

    “I’ll leave you now my son. You have such promise. I have such hope for you. You shall survive.” He smiled and left him standing there, the desert wind brushing sand against his face. 

    “Faie…” He looked up and saw Avery standing in front of him looking worried. 

    “It’s alright. I’m fine.” 

    “I knew that old man was going to spout nonsense. He’s gotten the whole camp upset. I cannot wait until he leaves in the morning.” He cleared his throat. 

    “The man is very wise Avery. Perhaps… what he had to say… many weren’t ready to receive.” 

    “Wait, what did you two talk about? Just a minute ago-” 

    “I know A. I know. Just…. I-I just think…. we should give him the benefit of the doubt.” Av snorted. 

    “Yeah all right bro. I don’t care what he says. I still hate Txeis with every fiber of my being. And I will not stop until I can take as many of them out as they did for me and mine.  You’re not thinking of bailing on us are you?” 

    “Don’t make me beat the shit out of you A. Not tonight.” He chuckled and held his hands up in defense. 

    “I had to ask. You were starting to sound like that old man for a minute. Come on, let’s get back.” He sighed and walked back to his tent. Laying underneath the tarp, he stared into the darkness. Hatred… There was once a time where he had hated Xaen. He couldn’t stand her. He wanted nothing to do with her. It was quite poisious indeed. But yet, it was just a thinly veiled disguise for the love and attraction he felt for her. 

*** 

    “Get out of my way.” Her tongue was sharp and the bite strong. 

    “You are in my way. It would be wise for you to move.” She glared up at him. 

    “I never liked you Gael Choi. You always thought you were better than me. Why? Because you’re a man?” He snorted. 

    “You are such an irritating little woman. All you ever do is run your mouth. You can never shut up can you?” A vein bulged in her forehead. 

    “To think that I have to marry you. The thought of touching you is repulsive. I want your hands no where near my vicinity.” He laughed. 

    “Says the girl who was caught watching me from behind a bush. Obviously, you contradict yourself.” She pushed at his chest. 

    “And to think you let me. You liked it. Otherwise you would not have let me humiliate myself as long as I did.” He smirked and leaned down to stare at her closer. 

    “My my Xaen… you are quite becoming when you allow your emotion to consume you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this worked up.” His smirk grew bigger as a red blush flushed her smooth brown cheeks. 

    “Did I hit a nerve?” She growled. 

    “You infuriate me so much.” 

    “Yet that didn’t stop you from watching me.” The blush grew. 

    “Gael, please do me a favor. Do not flatter your fragile male ego. There is nothing of you I like or desire. Now, I shall ask again. Move.” 

    “Sounds like a command.” 

    “Gael!” Enough was enough. He pushed her into the lake and watched as she shrieked. 

    “GAEL!” 

    “Scream a little louder, the birds will even hear.” 

    “You jackass!” He sighed and jumped into the water. Swimming a bit underneath her, slowly he rose and slipped his arms around her. Coming above water, he breathed heavily and tightened his grip on her waist. 

    “Do you know how to swim?” She shivered against him and angrily turned her head away from him.     

    “Xaen,” 

    “Don’t speak to me. Get me out of this water.” 

    “I think I will keep you right here. You need me. Otherwise you will drown.” 

    “I do not need you for anything. I can swim to shore myself.” 

    “All right.” He let her go and she sunk underwater before splashing wildly. 

    “G-Gael!” He quickly grabbed her and hugged her to him. 

    “Do not ever in your meaningless life do that again.” She growled out, her breath cold on his skin. 

    “Don’t fight me and I won’t have to prove you wrong.” She scoffed. 

    “Take me to shore. I have to get home.” 

    “As you command, your Royal Highness.” He pulled her along in the water. 

    “Kick your legs Xaen.” 

    “What?” 

    “Kick outward to stay afloat.” She started to kick outward and soon they reached the shore. He pulled her out of the water and rubbed her cold arms. 

    “I never liked you. From the first moment I met you and my parents told me that I was to be your husband. I thought how selfish of you to rob me of my life.” She kept quiet, her lips shivering. 

    “I could not understand why it had to be you. Of all people. Of all women. You.” 

    “Likewise. You would never have been my choice for a mate.” She spit out. 

    “So what are we acknoledging Xaen?” 

    “I despise you and you reciprocate the same feeling.” 

    “Ah,” 

    “Look, just get me home. I would not want to get sick. If I do, I’m going to beat you.” 

    “You puny thing, you couldn’t even if you wanted to.” 

    “Gael please. You exhaust me.” 

    “Likewise. I find your constant ceaseless chatter disheartening and irritating.” They soon grew quiet and they stood at a distance as they traveled home. 

*** 

    When he thought about it now, he laughed. It was so obvious that he was in love with her. If he were honest, he enjoyed her quick remarks. He loved the way she felt in his arms. And whether it was known or not to her, he had watched every word come from her mouth. He had wanted to kiss her so badly that night. It was not understood how. How he could want to. There was an increasing level of attraction fighting its way to the surface between them and at that time he wasn’t sure if he was ready. He had been noticing many things about her. The way her body filled out her once ill fitting clothing. The curves and contours of her womanly body did very unfamiliar things to him. Perhaps it was the growing up of children to young people. Perhaps. Sighing, he turned on his side. How he missed her. She had brought out a side of him he didn’t even know existed. A sweet side. A gentle side. Xaen. His Xaen. Tears started to well up in his eyes. He missed everything about her. The scent of her skin freshly cleansed. The fragance of her hair. Her smooth soft skin. Her laughter. Her wit. Her intelligence. Her work ethic. She was such a hard worker. Never wanted to stop until she had done the absolute best. He missed the way she would crawl on top of him some mornings and kiss his cheek. She was such an earthy woman, her essence that of mint and cinnamon. Fresh. The way she would whisper his name in his ear. 

    The tears spilled over and ran down his cheek. The way she glowed with radiance as she placed her hands on her ever growing belly. The days where her feet and ankles would swell and he would kiss them and rub them. The nights she lay naked underneath him and the feeling he received pressing his face against her womb… only to feel his son move. His son… a son he held in his arms every morning only to lay a kiss to his little forehead. A son that brought laughter, joy and purity into their household. A son that would walk to him and fall asleep on his chest. 

    He hurt. The pain was too much. He couldn’t endure any more. It was too much. He wanted to go back to those days. Those days spent laying in the wild grasses and flowers. Those days spent making love to her until they reached exhaustion. Those days of placing flowers in her hair and kissing her forehead. Those days of tucking his baby into bed and telling him a story until he fell asleep. Before Txeis ruined their lives. 

    He laid on his back as the tears slid back into his hair. He didn’t want to listen to that man. Who was he to come and tell him he was a fool? Who was he to come face to face with a truth so evident that it was hard to ignore? He wanted to be angry at the man. Angry at what he said. But then, how could he be angry at truth? Wisdom? That was in itself the epitomy of foolishness. And a fool he was not. Had he thought of what exactly he would do once he got Xaen out of prison? What kind of life would they live?             Sniffling, he bit his lip. He was not the impulsive teenager he once was. He was a man who had grown and learned. Learned of the world. While he didn’t quite know what he was going to do, he did know that he was going to get his wife. He was going to emanipate her and they would go far away. Maybe… maybe they could start over. When this was all done, he would never let her go again. A memory of her instantly caused the pain to fade away and he soon found rest. 

*** 

She stood outside on their veranda, feeling the wind gently rock her naked body. It picked up her hair and danced along with the rhtym of the earth. He stood inside watching her. Her body was made from God. Every place on her he had kissed and become acquainted with. And that he never tired of. She looked like an angel, the sunlight shining on her. 

    “Xaen,” He could have beat himself. Why he spoke he didn’t know. He feared he had ruined the moment. She turned and her eyes softened setting their sight on his. 

    “Yes?” 

    “What are you doing out here?” 

    “It will rain soon. I wanted to feel the breeze.” 

    “Ah,” 

    “Come here.” He was drawn to her as if by a magnet. Such a force of her that surrounded around and within him. She reached for his hands and wrapped them around her. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her neck and further to her shoulder. She sighed and leaned her head back on his chest. 

    “Gael,”     

    “Mm?” 

    “I love you.” He smiled into her hair.

    “I love you too baby.” 

    “I can feel it. The life we created. I feel it stir and grow.” His hand drifted down to her womb. 

    “Isn’t it beautiful? Of love comes life.” He said softly into her ear. 

    “I never thought we could. Of all the love we have… it never seemed enough. But… finally…. it is.” She slid her fingers through his hand. 

    “And it is only the beginning.” She turned and pressed her lips to his. He didn’t move or kiss her deeper. Not yet. The wind picked up again and she slowly turned around. Reaching up, she slid her fingers into his shirt until it fell off of his shoulders. She pulled it away from his body. Her fingers trailed down to his hips. 

    “Xaen…” 

    “Yes husband?” 

    “My hunger for you grows every day.” She smiled before leaning up and kissing him. 

    “Let me satiate it then.” His pants soon pooled around his feet and he stepped out of them. She sighed and kissed his shoulder as she pulled his body against hers. 

    “So idyllic this life is.” She whispered against his chest. 

    “Is it?” He breathed against the swell of her breast. 

    “It makes one never want to exist outside of it.” He bent down and picked her up. He walked into the tall grasses and hid them deep within them. 

    “We don’t have to. We can stay here until we pass on from this world.” He placed a flower into her hair and leaned down to kiss her, deeply taking her essence into his being. Her body became her speech and words were spoken silently. Passionately. All that existed was her. And their child. Work meant nothing. The life outside of this simplistic haven mattered not. For the moment, they could just be.