Page 77 of He Will Always Love Me

Raylia may have no interest in finding her mate, but she loves bringing her friends along. Which unexpectedly led to Sarai finding her own fated mate one Gathering Day.

“Mom!” a voice calls out. I look around until I see my little Vin bounding up to me. I rush to meet her and squeeze her even more tightly than the others. This has been her first year away from Jwoon III. Like all her siblings, it had been hard to let her go.

I pull back from her and look her over. Before I can speak, she starts talking, counting off a finger as she lists each item. “I’ve been eating well. I haven’t gotten in, or started, any fights. I get a full night’s sleep, and my studies at the university are going great!”

I laugh. “How did you know what I was going to ask?”

She snorts. “I heard you ask the others enough times that I know the list by heart.”

I let out a long sigh. “I suppose you do, but you know how I worry.”

“Do we ever,” Kai says as he gets off the ship last. I pull him into a hug.

“I especially worry about you,” I say teasingly. “My little troublemaker.”

He scoffs. “Mom, please, I’ve grown out of that.”

“No, he hasn’t!” his mate calls out.

We all laugh at that.

“Alright, everyone,” Sarai calls out. “Gathering Day is tomorrow so we have a lot to set up. I’ll assign teams to clean, cook, set up decorations and tables, and corral children.”

“We should have come tomorrow,” Kai mock-whispers to Raylia, who snickers.

“Kai, Ray, you two are on cleaning duty,” Sarai says, a smile on her lips.

By the evening, we’ve all stopped for the night and are gathered around a bonfire eating a late-night meal.

I cuddle up close to Hyx, and he wraps his arm around me.

“Look at what we made,” I murmur.

He smiles and nods. “It really is incredible. There were so many times when I never thought we’d get any of this. But now that we have it, it’s better than I could have ever imagined.”

It really is. We have eighteen children so far – I’m still not certain I’m done, and with our advanced lifespan, I don’t have to decide yet. In addition, we can claim thirty grandchildren and lots of friends and mates. All of us are here together, celebrating.

My children are showing their own children around, their eyes wide in wonder. It makes my heart melt to know the next generation will love this world as much as we do.

The next day is Gathering Day. We celebrate the whole day, eating food, lighting sparklers, and telling stories. Some of our kids even give us gifts they brought with them.

As the sun starts to set, we all gather at the ravine overlooking the lake. Hyx and I stand in front with all of our family before us.

“Today we celebrate the homecoming of our family members who have gone off on their own journeys,” Hyx begins. “And we also celebrate the wonderful gift of this world, fifty years to this day exactly. Of the place of solace we can call home.”

I speak next. “By now you all know just how much I worry when one of you gets the bright idea to up and leave me.”

They all laugh at that.

“But I’m so proud of the men and women you all have become. Of the lives you’ve made, and the mates and friends you’ve brought to us. I imagined a thousand possible lifetimes that I could have had, but none of them compare to what we have here. Let us never take for granted the laughter and togetherness we have now. This is the life I would choose over and over again. I love you all, my family..”

Everyone begins to cheer. It is nearly fully dark now and so Raylia starts to shoot off the fireworks she brought

As we all gather to watch, I realize something. Though I’m not having as many children anymore, I’m mostly content to let my kids make babies and bring them to visit. But those kids will have children of their own, and then they’ll have kids, too. On and on and on.

A legacy. We’ve truly built a legacy here. And what a remarkable legacy to have built.

As I look over all my children, I see a bright and beautiful future. A new generation of Ishani even greater than the last.

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