Page 60 of Curse of Immortality
“Orenda,” Althea agreed, liking the sound of the beautiful word.
“Orenda,” Zosia repeated, and from the ground a new portal formed from flowers, sticks, and tall grass. “I will send out invitations for all Earthens to join you here. You shall be their leader and caretaker. That will be your task, Althea. These portals will take you wherever you are most needed. Or where you set your mind to.”
Standing in the sun, Althea suddenly remembered how lost and powerless she had felt not long ago when she was stuck in piles of snow on Earth. “Thank you for answering my prayers, Zosia. I will be forever grateful.”
Moving forward, the female shape bowed down and kissed Althea’s forehead before turning into a butterfly and taking off across the meadow.
Althea watched in rapture as the butterfly dissolved and the petals slowly fell to the ground. The portal still stood and before she had time to think, Earthens began to arrive. Over the next weeks, more than two hundred arrived from all around the world. They all told the same story of how Zosia had whispered through the wind for them to plant their feet on the ground, lift their hands, and let the power of the earth flow through them to create a doorway.
To most of the Earthens, Zosia was a name that belonged to myths their ancestors had told them. Some froze in shock at hearing her voice, and others cried with joy, but all of them gaped when they followed her instructions. Portals from natural materials like sticks, stones, and leaves would lift from the ground to form the shape of a doorframe. Each Earthen intuitively walked through the opening sensing a longing to see what was on the other side. The first time they walked into Orenda, they were as awestruck as Althea had been and once they realized everyone here were Earthens, and that no human could harm them, many cried with happiness. Althea soon learned that building a village wasn’t easy. Not only did they have language barriers, but their taste in what a home should look like also varied. The Europeans preferred cottages while the Earthens from South America preferred to build their homes up in the treetops of the forest. Slowly, a community took form with Earthens coming and going to Orenda through portals. Each time the doorway had served its purpose, the natural materials it was made from fell to the ground again.
Everything was lush and the air smelled sweeter in Orenda, where all Earthens agreed that nature was a more generous and gorgeous nature than on Earth.
What had been open flower fields and untouched forest when they first arrived became a large village filled with cozy cottages and gardens where they grew their food. It took time to build the village, but being cursed with immortality, Althea had all the time in the world.
Despite having hundreds of Earthens around her, Althea often thought of her friend Annabel and missed her greatly. After what Zosia had told her, she clung to the idea that her friend was always close by and often talked to both her and Rose. Her new role as leader of Orenda was overwhelming at times. There were days when she loved the feeling of great purpose in her life and other days when she felt unsure and underqualified to make decisions that involved others than herself. On those days, she walked in solitude, seeking guidance from Annabel, Rose, and otherwise Earthens. She asked them how to best accommodate all the different cultures in Orenda and although they never answered her directly, she always came back from her walks with a new perspective and appreciation. So what if things weren’t all perfect? Every Earthen here had suffered deeply and came to Orenda traumatized in some way. Even for those unable to understand one another, it was still incredibly healing to be among like-minded people who would never hurt them. She found comfort in the thought that in time they would heal their wounds together. They all carried ancestral grief from the generations of Earthens who had lived in fear. It made sense that it would take some generations to eradicate all that negativity.
Althea mused that being immortal, she would get to see children born who would never have to worry about mobs of humans attacking their house at night. In Orenda, Earthens could be themselves and take up as much space as they wanted. They were finally safe.
Selflessly, Althea was the last one to have her house finished. She loved her small, yellow cottage with a thatched roof, a green door, and paned windows.
Besides her cozy home, her favorite place was the community house, which was more like a small manor in size with a beautiful library, indoor activities, and a dining hall to eat in when it was raining outside. With so many people working with dedication, the building was close to done in record time. It was barely half the size of James’ manor, but to all the Earthens it felt enormous. Most of them had been nomads on Earth with no more than a tent to sleep in.
Above the large entrance doors to the community house, Althea hung a sign that read, “Annabel.”
“Who is the Annabel?” Khalid asked one day as he and Althea were cleaning the windows in the community house. He was born in Egypt and his accent was thick from only speaking English for a year, but he was a quick learner and an intelligent man.
He wasn’t the first to ask, and Althea happily answered, “The Annabel Manor is named after my close friend, Annabel. She died more than eight years ago but we traveled together, and she taught me everything she knew. She was a warm and wonderful person who always dreamed of settling down somewhere. Unfortunately, it wasn’t safe to live among humans, so we lived a life of traveling while working as healers. Annabel would have loved Orenda, and I thought it was only fair she finally got a home, even if she can’t live in it.”
“And the biggest house in the whole village at that,” Khalid added with a kind smile. “I wish my daughter would come; I know she would love it here, but she’s married to a human, and what with him being unable to enter Orenda, she’s staying in Egypt.”
“As long as her husband is the one she loves and they are happy together,” Althea said.
Khalid sighed deeply with concern in his dark eyes. “Mohammed is a kind man, but it’s her safety I’m worried about. I too lost my wife to the superstition of humans.”
Just then, Maria came walking. She was an older woman from Spain who filled the role as a second leader of Orenda and supported Althea in all ways.
“We all know the price of human superstition all too well here, don’t we, Maria?” Althea asked her friend.
Maria stopped and watched Althea and Khalid working on the windows. “Yes. I think we’ve all lost loved ones on that account. My oldest son was just seven when he slipped up. In hindsight, I should have never allowed him to play with the priest’s nephews but there weren’t many children in our village and they became friends. Despite promising he never would, Pedro told them about Zosia and how the god they believed in wasn’t real.” Maria’s eyes glazed over as memories took her back. “Of course, they told their uncle, the priest, and soon rumors traveled. They came for me first, but my husband and three sons helped me escape. They paid with their lives for that and today Carmen and I are all that’s left of our family.”
Although Maria didn’t cry, the pain on her face from speaking of her lost family was clear and it broke the heart of Althea, who empathized with the woman who was close to the same age as herself.
“It was many years ago and Carmen was only ten when we escaped,” Maria continued, “but we still miss the others every day.” She looked to Althea and went to stroke her back with motherly compassion. “I’m so grateful you’ve created this village. My family would have loved it.”
Althea took her hand and brushed it between her palms as she spoke the same words Zosia had once spoken to her. “Your family is watching you through the eyes of the birds, and hugging you back every time you embrace a tree, and they kiss you through the warm rays of the sun. They’re here, Maria, within Zosia, within us, and they are enjoying the peace of Orenda just like the rest of us.”
“Thank you, dear,” Maria said with watering eyes and brushed her gray hair behind her ears.
For a moment they held each other in a tight hug and empathized with one another.
“At least you have Carmen here,” Khalid told Maria. “I was just talking about how my daughter is married to a human and can’t leave him to come and live in Orenda.”
Althea gave him a small smile, “You should invite her for a visit. I would love to meet your daughter one day.”
“Maybe I will. What about you, Althea? Do you want children one day?” Khalid asked.
Sadness filled Althea. “My situation is a little different from the rest of you…” Her eyebrows tightened as she trailed off. For a moment, she stood with her two new friends in silence considering Khalid’s question. “I’ve lost everyone I ever loved.”
