Seven Wives: Of Siklósi

By James Hendershot

Siklsi, who spent his childhood following his Grandpa, finds himself crippled with nervousness before these two Tamarkins, a race of golden-haired Amazon women that his family kidnapped for him to marry. Siklsi's introversion towards them turns into a challenge for these two Tamarkins, who finally set the trap to force him into marriage. However, something goes wrong and this relationship explodes into a love that merged them into a lifetime bond. Needing Grandpa's approval for an early marriage, they follow him to his favorite mountains. The three young lovers find their love being too much to control. Their adventure whirls them into the mysteries of love. Thereafter, Gyngysi the Connubial Angel, who has waited for all Siklsi's life to marry him, rescues them. Khigir overpowered by love opens her marriage and invites this angel she loves so much to join them. Next, they find another beauty hidden in a sky bride who also begs to join them. She turns out to be the single Queen of the largest kingdom in their peninsula. The adventure continues as they add on three more species, one a sky dancer, one a bear woman shifter, and the last a five-inch female Robin Hood. Afterwards, all seven successfully expecting, devote themselves to their perfect love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jan 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490724058

James Hendershot

James Hendershot, D.D., was born in Marietta, Ohio, and finally settled in Caldwell, Ohio, where he eventually graduated from high school. After graduating, he served four years in the Air Force and graduated magna cum laude with three majors from the prestigious Marietta College. He then served until retirement in the US Army, during which time he earned his master’s of science degree from Central Michigan University in public administration and his third degree in computer programming from Central Texas College. His final degree was the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Kingsway Bible College, which provided him with keen insight into the divine nature of man. After retiring from the US Army, he accepted a visiting professor position with Korea University in Seoul, South Korea.

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© Copyright 2014 James Hendershot.

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ISBN: 978-1-4907-2404-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-2405-8 (e)

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Contents

Chapter 01     Taken prisoner by the mystery of love

Chapter 02     Six spirits for our love

Chapter 03     Our Love found yearning hearts

Chapter 04     Overwhelming loves

Chapter 05     Csongrád and the zamies zanie

Chapter 06     Road to Baktalórántházai

Chapter 07     Our first day at Baktalórántházai

Chapter 08     Three new wives, and the Edelényi

Chapter 09     The beginning of love

The adventures in this series

Author Bio

There shall arise in those days, from tears of love, not the cries of hate, a kingdom in the high mountains, a Queen, from whose heart flowed rivers of love, born in a foreign land, whose mother rejected her crown, who had the seal of an angel stamped upon her spirit, whose brothers and whose sisters were born of an angel.

Dedicated to my wife Younghee, with thanks for financially providing for our family during my days and nights of writing, and to my sons, Josh and John and daughters, Nellie and Mia and check-in coordinator Stacy Canon and book consultant Tanya Mendoza.

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CHAPTER 01

Taken prisoner by the mystery of love

I am one who was called Siklósi, and my story of the sky people started long ago with my grandfather. He was a man created in his world and loved every chance he found to go around the next bend for a new adventure. I remember spending my childhood in his lap listening to all his amazing tales, and then following my father to an unknown adventure. Our time was here, somewhere just ripe for the search and going where our hearts could take us. Not one had ever stopped us, nor did we evermore plan to give them an opportunity. We lie on the ground each night and let the white dots in the sky give us light. Grandfather lived in the Hatvani Mountains, as did all his ancestors. The Hatvani Mountains provided a western border for the entire world that we know of during his lifetime. He never went over the peaks because our legends told about a race of giants that we called the Sensenites. Most were nine feet tall, while a few went as high as ten feet high. He warned me not to walk on their lands. They desired to live alone and harm only those who injured them. We needed them to protect against the ‘killers of the seas.’ My grandfather would take me with him on his pilgrimages to his native homes. My father always consented; nevertheless, he seldom joined us. He stayed with his family and kept our food stores complete.

On a warm summer morning, as the suns were still asleep, Grandpa came running to our tent and said, Siklósi, today we shall travel the Baktalórántházai. Baktalórántházai was Grandpa’s favorite place. I still have nightmares about that place, as I believe it is too close to the heavens and thereby not a place for me. I wanted to live on the sea where waves of water kept the sea’s secrets until they were on you. I craved the mysteries that would lie beneath me, and the thrill of seeing a giant sea beast shooting out of the water. My father took me a few times; however, he would stay close to the shore fearing the dangers that had been told in recent tales. They told of tribes of fear and the demons who appeared as women who lived in the sea of death. We were fortunate, as a land was between our shores and the sea of death, thereby few of these demons had ever bothered us. I wanted to be the one who discovered these tales and give a thrashing to them. Nevertheless, with what fighting force I currently had, the only rout I could give them would be a slight distaste in their mouths, as they would add me to their dinner. Those days were far from now; the mystery for my near future was with my Grandpa. I feel as if he is adding to the thrill of this trip by telling me about a recent dream that he had. He dreamed that the face of the land just before Baktalórántházai had changed and that new people now cut his sacred trees. I asked him, Did you see anything of these people?

He answered, No Siklósi; however, they did wear strange skins on their bodies, and these skins have been created from beasts whom, we have never seen. They are very brave people. I ask him, Grandpa Ráckevei, how do you know they are brave? He told me, Grandson, they walk without spears or bows. I told him, You must have been drinking Radice Root in secret. He would normally drink the Radice Root and sing strange mountain songs to us. This time, he must have grown tired too fast and fell into his sleep. In his defense, I had yet to catch him in a lie, so I must give his vision at least the acknowledgement of the truth, as he perceives it. I asked Grandpa if I could bring my two mating candidates. He frowned, who my two grandmas, Grandma Kapuvári, and Grandma Филипов (Filipov) urged him to approve this request, as they argued, How can Siklósi select his two wives if we do not give them mysteries seeking time together. Grandpa asked, Филипов, what do you mean by mystery time? She replied, The time when they work together on something unknown. I gave my Grandpa a gloomy and disappointed look as if he had been defeated by sadness. After all, Grandpa took us to Тамаркин (Tamarkin) to find our potential mates. He only selected one, who was from the Land of Aszódi; nevertheless, the time when they captured Kapuvári was there last.

The Aszódi set up ambushes to catch these daughters’ thieves. It was our custom to raid other lands and bring back our brides. We worked hard to make them a part of our family; notwithstanding, we expected them to conform to their new role and to be loyal to our tribes. Therefore, we gave them two years to prove to us. If they failed, we returned them to the sea. Those who were proven loyal became our wives and bore our children. We needed two wives so our numbers would multiply. We needed numbers to form our defenses if invaded. A large ship of horrible beasts who devoured those they captured had only invaded us once. They were from the colossal lands on the other side of this world. We could defeat them, and free those who were captured. We permitted these captives to return to the Land of Aszódi and Тамаркин (Tamarkin). Our mothers were successful in recruiting about half the Тамаркин Women to stay, noting that we did treat them with honor and respect. The ship of the beasts could escape from us, with only a skeleton crew. They have yet to return; nevertheless, Grandpa claims they will return. Grandma always said that there were people who lived in the lands south to her homelands they called the tribes of fear who were vicious killers.

Only the deserts saved them in times past. They would draw them into the desert and their ambushes. Mommy’s stories complement Grandma’s stories, which are so many. I will share them later. The important thing straightaway is too round up my Целиковский (Tselikovsky) and Хигир (Khigir) as they are out already working. They stay with my parents until we marry. Ordinarily, they would not be permitted to travel with me on this trip; however, because Grandpa is taking us, it will be okay. Grandparents have an important role in our family structure. If they disapprove one of our actions, this action will be forever forbidden. I often think that is why mating candidates stay with our parents and not our grandparents. Our mothers want grandchildren so much that they might be forgiving to these potential daughters. In our customs, their spouses of the children are adopted as children to our parents, equal in all privileges and birthrights. We also accept that our mothers have not been separated from their homelands while our grandmothers have, therefore, are somewhat updated on their former customs. I ask my mother where my future wives are. Our customs dictate that I live with my grandfather during this trial period. They are afraid that we young bucks will try to sneak some of our merchandise before officially trading for it.

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The official trade is saying, I do. I am pleased with the two we captured for myself. Grandpa and my father knew where and what to look for. We scouted the herd in detail and found the prime beef, traced where they lived and at night burned some odorless Halvány Root in their family tent. We like to burn the Halvány Root because it burns so fast, is fragrance-free, and immediately knocks all who breathe it out completely. It is as a rule totally dissolved within two minutes. We usually wait for five, to be safe. This would not be good, to wake up with them in the morning. We wear rags over our faces to be safe. Thereafter, we bundle our bridges and place brush under their sleeping furs. This way, when their parents wake up, they will think their daughters are still asleep. Our best captures are from a single family. Sisters are easier to control, as one will seldom attempt to escape without the other. It also reduces the competition and fighting among wives. Grandpa always tells in that one wife is a headache, yet two can put a man in tears begging for his freedom. I was lucky, in that Хигир and Целиковский are sisters, only one of our suns apart. The Тамаркин give available daughters to families who have lost a son. The standard fee is two for one, which makes our work easier, considering that these girls have yet completely to bond with their new family and that neoteric family is less likely to have an undying revenge for their loss.

My parents are proud of the progress that I have made with Целиковский (Tselikovsky) and Хигир (Khigir) in such a short period. I feel very comfortable with them, and they have already developed strategies in their ‘husband training’. I might suspect that my mother Лясин (Lyasin) has helped them. My father Cserkút tells me not to worry about this, in that a man is better trained by a wife than by an empty, sad, and lonely tent. I believed my father was strange in saying that, so I naturally bounced it off my Grandpa who shockingly agreed. This made me fear the Тамаркин (Tamarkin) women as a young lad. This fear was eventually eroded by the never-ending love from my mother and my brother’s mother, plus one of our grandmothers. Grandma Филипов (Filipov) was always considerably gentler than Grandma Kapuvári. Back to my Целиковский and Хигир, we have never had even on once of friction. They love my family, thereby allowing my mother to give them total freedoms. We know that they will return, and they have only been here for six months. Twelve months are the earliest that a marriage is permitted, and that is merely by my grandfather. He has told me if might consider 18 months. Grandma Филипов (Filipov), both of my father’s wives and my girls are working on grandfather.

That is one reason I want them to join us on this trip to the top of our world. My three brothers Baranya, Pécsi and Kisbéri, are now searching for them, as Grandpa will not wait long. He claims the voice from the top of the world is calling him. I think it is a tale from one of his friends of a new patch of Radice Roots. Either way, we will soon see. We are lucky that my girls were not far from my home, and my brothers found them quickly. They had picked some berries and were trading them in some fabrics. We could not make fabrics and would therefore steal them from the tribes below us. We always brought back extra bows and insignificant engraved items from the Тамаркин (Tamarkin). We left at least one in the place where we took the fabrics. Lucky for all, these southern tribes did not recognize the Tamarkin relics and thought them to be from the spirits. Thereafter, they would put their garments in special tents a safe distance from their camps. Our women enjoyed these garments to such a degree that they would create relics from their childhood years so that their husbands would not face danger in obtaining the trade items. Not only did our women dress skillfully, their children also titivated well. Their husbands held fast to tradition, thus by staying united could avoid this new style. We liked our furs, as I was only recently allowed to change to furs from my mother’s designs.

When we went to capture my potential wives, I was then permitted to dress as the men do. That is a big day in our lives. Our sisters are also permitted to dress in our traditional clothing when they become thirteen, the age of womanhood. We do this so that they will stay true to our ways and be able to defend themselves from other unknown tribes who raid for their women. I could never figure out why we were all about so much mixed blood. Grandpa tells us that the old teachings say that to marry of the same blood is dangerous in that it creates those who become burdens for us. Our small area has daughter trading events twice each year. We seldom grow attached to our sisters during our childhood knowing that they will soon leave us. This helps us some; however, nothing takes the pain from our mothers. My mother once told me, Although daughter trading is important and the right thing, it still does not take the pain away. I know that someday, I will cry with Целиковский or Хигир as we take one of our daughters away to be traded. The women we receive are given to our grandfather who trades them with his siblings or cousins, for sons. These sons must take women from Тамаркин otherwise, Aszódi as wives.

My future partners in life are with us now, and to my sadness, I see blood rolling down Хигир (Khigir’s) leg. My father’s wives also see it and rush to repair it. Because both wives are from Тамаркин, they care for my brides as if they are already their daughters. We discover that Khigir was in a rush to snatch some large berries and did not notice the briars in her path. We soon had her legs wrapped in some rags. My Grandpa looks at Khiger and tells her, I like a girl who is not afraid to bleed to get what she wants. Khiger answers, Tselikovsky is also not frightened to bleed. Grandpa looks at both and says, I know, never divide sisters, for they are tighter than the bark of an Écorcher tree. I truly am only not appreciating the sisterhood bond of my girls, but also the way they have put me inside that bond. This is one of so many reasons that I feel so comfortable around these beautiful women. My mother is always telling us, You will give birth to handsome sons and attractive daughters. Every time that she tells them this, I can feel the intensity of their desire to become pregnant. Grandpa tells us it is now time to go. He says, We need to find those people who live on the top of the world before they die. My girls grab their bows plus their knives; I grab my bow adding my spear, and we jump in line behind Grandpa. It is very disrespectful to walk in front of him, and such behavior would guarantee non-approval of future mates. We now move toward the Hatvani Mountains.

This mountain is famous for the Halvány Root, or what we call, ‘the family root.’ It would take four days to arrive at the first foothills of this monstrous mountain. We had some yearly ceremonies to thank the Hatvani Mountains for not hiding back in the soil of this world or as my Grandpa says, the land beneath all they skies. I had not known there were other skies until Grandpa explained that there is the rainy sky, sun sky, storm sky, night sky, and the winter sky. Our legend tells that these skies hide in the underworld and take turns covering our endless lands and waters. One of our ancient teachers told of a vision he had where, ‘He who spoke in the vision, told me that one could forever walk on the lands or incessantly float on the seas and not fall off the edges of our horizontal lands." We thought this knowledge gave us an advantage, as so many, to include the Tamarkin and Aszódi, claim this world is flat, and has edges in which those who go beyond they sink into the underworlds. One reason for our success from not being invaded by the Tamarkin and Aszódi is that we have placed warning signs in the sea and lands between us, which caution about the end of our world being near. We were lucky to discover some shallow places spaced throughout the seas that divide us. We have erected large signs among these places with long twisted Csém vines connecting them. Csém vines are great for the seas in that the water made them stronger, and the beasts of the seas did not eat them.

The Tamarkin and Aszódi have yet to cross these pointers as the way the sea grows shallow, reinforces the signs. Back to our adventure into the forests we go. The forests only comprise about one-third of our lands. We have green lands between our forest and the sea. We avoid settling there and even avoid walking over the same place as much as possible. This is because of the dangerous sea raids from the tribes of fear, the sea of death, and the strange people who are from the far west. We leave no signs of life. The few raids that made it to our forests were easily defeated in our ambushes. Not one have, as of yet, escaped. Once we knew the raiding party was no longer at our shores, we cast the dead invaders into the sea, without their boots and weapons. We could find some long knives among them. We save the boots for when we raid for wives. These boots created a different sign on their land, and instilled additional fear in those we invaded. None of them have ever chased after us when they saw these signs on their lands. We do most of our living in the grasslands between our forests and the Hatvani Mountains. We are safe on the sea here, and the Sensenites protect us from the other side of these mountains. We protect our horses and the other grazing animals that feed here. We have also fenced in some places where we have learned to plant vegetables.

Accordingly, many of these grazing animals have grown wild in these grasslands for all our known time. Our forests and the mountains give us much fruit. We survive from killing wild game, to include that who is a danger to our herds, which live in our forests. When the cold skies move over our land, we harvest some of our grazing animals and wrap the meat in leaves in store them in our winter holes. We never have any permanent structures on our lands. When the hot skies cover our lands, we will stay in tents, if the family has been mating candidates, whereas the other families sleep in trees. I love sleeping in trees, on the larger branches of course. Whenever we are mating, we sleep in small tents. When our women are with a child, they stay in tents, and their men sleep in the trees above them for protection. Our children are the futures for us, and we treat our newborn as gifts from the spirits. I need not to think about that now until Grandpa says it is okay. We finally make it to the Platajā Upē (Wide River). It is accordingly beautiful as many of us call it the green waters, because it takes the green from what is around it and seal in itself. There were only a few places to cross this river. Grandpa knew them. We are resting in one of Grandpa’s break areas.

This was a sizeable meadow of short green grass. Below this, meadow was a thick forest. Tselikovsky asked Grandpa why this grass was so short. Grandpa explained, There are herds of special grazing animals that feed in these hills. They graze at night and hide during the day. I afterwards asked Grandpa, Grandpa, if they hide during the day, how is it that you might know this to be true? Grandpa then answered, By sleeping in the trees beside the meadows. I next replied extremely seriously, Grandpa that is very wise. He next told me, Siklósi, only the wise lives to be old. Khigir now exclaimed, Grandpa, what has happened the world before us, did the spirits get angry and disfigure it forever? Grandpa chuckled. I looked at Khigir and said, Are you a fool; those are our mountains. Tselikovsky subsequently confessed, Siklósi, I am also a fool later. Sometimes, I swear these girls would die for each other. Grandpa looks at me and says, Siklósi, neither your grandmother nor your father’s wives knew. There are no mountains in Tamarkin. Maybe you are the fool for not knowing this. I looked at my girls and apologized. They were holding their forgiveness, as the Tamarkin women like to struggle for a better deal. It will take me a few days to work out of this jam. I remind them how beautiful that they are.

The Tamarkin women have hair the color of gold, whereas our daughters have hair dark as night. When they stand in front of one of our three moons or two suns, they create an amazing view, especially if the wind is softly blowing. One of our legends predicts that when a man sees their golden hair blowing in the wind before one of the suns, he can never escape her love. I lie here and tell myself, Why would any ever want to love any other. They thank me for telling them they are beautiful. I may have a strategy against this time, and that is to divide and conquer. Khigir will be the easiest to tackle, as she seems to be more controlled by emotions, so I will look sad and abused in front of her, being careful that her sister does not catch me and pull her little chick in under her powerful wing. Grandpa looks at me now and laughs saying, You may be spending more time with me than you had originally planned. Grandpa looks back to the girls and tells them, What you see before you are the lands of the spirits. Do not fear, for Siklósi and I will make sure you are always safe. The girls look at me, and I quickly shake my head yes. As I am doing penance before them, the agreement is no longer enough, I must hurriedly concur. I have no problems with this, as this will actually compel me to want them more. Sometimes the fear of losing something creates awareness. I must remember these girls came from a different land and are willing to give up all they had to bequeath my children and companionship for the remainder of our days.

I would love to run over then hug them now afterwards beg aloud; however, Grandpa might read this wrong and forbid our marriage. I will stick with him and constantly seek his advice. The thing that has made his marriages prosperous and my father’s marriages successful is the way they give their spouses not only respect but also honor and their love. I can see now that to call them a fool is a poor substitute for convincing them of my love and respect. My goodness, this relationship with women is already giving me headaches, and we have yet to say our ‘I do’s. I would give them the cold shoulder treatment; however, they also have a right to cancel our marriages and select other men from our tribes. This custom was to ensure these children had parents who were bonded to one another. Grandpa now led us down in our first valley so we could travel beside the Platajā Upē River. As we were walking between the evergreens, I saw Grandpa spear something on the ground. He lifted it up, hung it on a branch, and continued to walk onward. I noticed that when my girls passed it, they thereafter began to walk slower, thereby closer to me. As I walk by, I noticed it was a snake. I saw many varieties of snakes in the mountains, as many are safe. The one Grandpa killed, was dangerous. Khigir now asked me, Why do you walk behind us? I told her, There are beasts who will try to attack us from behind.

We want to be sure you girls are okay, especially because I love you both so much. I saw a sparkle flash in your eyes. She currently told me, Everything will be normal again, have no worry and we both still want you to father our children. Tselikovsky now rushed back to see what we were doing. I told her I was explaining why I had to walk behind everyone. Tselikovsky looked at Khigir and said, Little sister, that is because mountain beasts might attempt to sneak up behind us. Khigir looks at her and asks, How did you know that? Tselikovsky answered, Лясин (Lyasin) told me as she was telling me about her first trip to the mountains." This now alerted, me that Tselikovsky knew the shape of the mountains, for my mother always talked about the land that goes to the sky. I would not call her on this fib, as somehow it would come back on me as being bad. Another reason was that I could not bear to see tears come from her eyes. I remember watching their tribe for three days before I saw them. One look was all I needed; the rest was dependent on the Halvány Root. Ever since seeing them first and the way we instantly bonded, I now wonder if we do not have a secret heart that can talk with the invisible world.

We could untie them once we successfully passed the ‘end of the world’ signs. One of the old men from another tribe asked when he saw us get out of the boats, Since when do you take the wives with you to the sea, should not they be back in your forests working? Grandpa smoked them expertly by saying, We did not leave with them, for they came dropping out of the sky. We merely rowed over to them and put them on our boat. They begged Grandpa for the location, and for ten large pieces of garment, he told them. I later asked him, Why did you pick ten? He answered, Ten is more believable, for great things cost much. I have often wondered how he got so wise. We could leave the boats in their hiding places, as all the tribes share the boats. We simply had to provide some of the boats. We were glad about this agreement, as it meant we did not have to carry the boats over the grasslands. As we continued down to the river, Tselikovsky quickly draws her bow and shoots a wild boar perfectly between its eyes. We rapidly go to it, and the girls cut off the head and remove the non-edible internal organs. We always keep the liver and heart. Grandpa comes back and congratulates the girls. He now pulled out some of his wrapping leaves that he collected on our walks so far. He currently joins the girls in cutting the boar into pieces small enough for Grandpa’s spare bags.

We do not trim the meat to the bones as is not practical while on a journey. If we were in our homelands, we would roast the skinless bore. Grandpa now gives me his extra back bag, as we put the boar into it. I put the bag on my back. Grandpa says, We will eat well for about a week. The girls worked fast, as we cleaned this boar in one hour. Grandpa is happy, because now we do not have to spend hunting time for our meals for this week. The Tamarkin women are raised with a bow in their hands. They are drilled as archers and have a practically scary degree of accuracy. This adds to our desire to have them as mates, because they are outstanding at killing game and if an invasion, almost triple our fighting force. This is not in any way a bad deal for baby makers. The path we are descending crisscrosses open areas and forest trees all the way down. We enjoy leaving the trees for the meadows, for when we enter the meadows we can see the river growing in front of us. Khigir can see the passage in this river and asks Grandpa why the water is moving. This time, I keep my mouth shut as Grandpa kindly tells her, Khigir the river begins as many small streams drop into it from the mountain. This, plus the ever so slight dissension of the terrain has pulled this water to the sea.

Do not worry, for I know places to cross that are shallow, and we can negotiate the flow in safety. Siklósi will hold your hand, while I hold the hand of your older sister, Tselikovsky’s hand. I have never lost anyone yet with my secret crossovers. Khigir then jumps beside me. Grandpa afterwards tells her, it will be sometime before we achieve my first crossover point because I prefer staying on this side while possible. My Khigir now asks, Why? Grandpa tells her, Because the mountain spirits will give many visions trying to pressure us to return. The land of the sky is not for the weak of heart. Khigir has now fixed herself at my side and asks, Grandpa; I am a little faint of heart, will you please approve me to stay within the one who I wish so much to be the father of my babies? Grandpa next consents on one condition, You may, so long as you do not attempt to start your family tonight. After that we, including Tselikovsky ask Grandpa, What do you mean by that? Grandpa then says, Oh nothing, and you may also lay next to my grandson. Tselikovsky released her façade of anger and jump beside me, the opposite side of her sister saying to me, Because my sister surrendered to your brutality, may I as well surrender?

I said, Tselikovsky, if I am ever truly brutal to you or sister, I expect you to seek justice, because I want both of you to love and not hate or pain. Tselikovsky got that sparkle in her eyes as both started kissing me with their tremendous love. Grandpa looked at us and as he was laughing saying, Now girls save some of him for his Grandma and mother, or they will chain and beat me. We all laughed at this one as my little chicanery genius Khigir then thanks Grandpa, Grandpa, we thank you for being so honest and kind to us. You help create for us a feeling of being at home. Grandpa smiles at the girls and says, Well girls, I have been trained by a truly wonderful Tamarkin, my wife who has given my many sons and daughters. I have also worked hard to share as much of my knowledge with Siklósi as possible. He will make a good husband for whoever marries him. Tselikovsky and Khigir grip my hands sternly. This grip suggests that they want to hold onto me. This is such a wonderful feeling, as I offer no resistance, as I know the fury of the Tamarkin women. These women take hold of a man to be by his side for the remainder of their lives. We have never suffered from a married Tamarkin woman escaping from our tribe yet. Grandma told me once the reason these women did not escape is that they do not want to leave their new home. This is because our customs are founded on sharing and freedom with these women.

One of our wise men once said, You never truly possess a thing unless you set it free, and it returns. I genuinely trust my girls in what little time I have been with them. Another thing that keeps them, here is the solid foundation that their natives who came before them have in our families. My girls can see how happy my mother and grandmother are. They have another ancient language that they are also taught, and thereby can talk in front of us, because we do not know what they are saying. We have never attempted to learn this language as we value their privacy more. Most times, they are planning a special treat for their loved ones. They have proven themselves without fail, and with them, we have a belief that great things will happen to our children. This last little episode with my girls proves this for me. Although Grandpa tries to put some cautious fear in them, they did not run, but instead held onto me. They do not give up what they have taken to be their own, and alternatively choose to go down together. This is one reason we are reluctant to take them on our boats. Equally, Grandpa and I work hard to protect them, because they give their lives to protect us creating in us a desire to offer our lives for their safety. Considering how beautiful they are, both inside and outside, we gladly accept this responsibility. We decide to camp here tonight, and the girls start preparing our boar meat. They will also smoke the remaining meat, this evening and rewrapped in Grandpa’s leaves.

They have also collected special plants they saw on our journey here, as Grandpa, and I toss in the fruit we collected during the day. Grandpa takes me to my side and tells me, Those girls are yours for the rest of your life. I ask him, How do you know? Grandpa continues, Because today Khigir broke the punishment wall that Tselikovsky had enforced, obliging Tselikovsky to follow Khigir to your side. They will seldom impose joint punishment on you again, to save them the embarrassment caused when one surrenders. Then, I complimented Grandpa on his vast knowledge of the Тамаркин (Tamarkin). He told me that this knowledge came from a lifetime of living with a Tamarkin. I enduringly asked Grandpa Has your Tamarkin wife ever fought with your Aszódi wife because of their different cultures? He told me that they surprisingly got along well, once again complementing Grandma Филипов (Filipov) on her compatibility skills. She works well with all around her, never seeking to stand out but instead to support." The girls have finished our food, and thereby joined us for our evening meal.

We now begin to eat when Grandpa notices their feet having blisters. He pulls out some Encsi Root that Grandma mashed and formed into a salve. He tells me, Fix your women’s feet tonight. I hastily agree to do so, knowing that I do not want to do more penance. Consequently, I truly do not want to see them suffer. They would never complain about a physical pain that was the result of staying with us. This forces us to check them over and respond to anything we see that is not normal. Another appealing thing is that they do not fib when asked a question. When we finish eating, Grandpa goes to scout around our area for some good sleeping trees and to collect some water from a nearby stream. He tries to keep my girls away from water considering the Tamarkin women are clean freaks and will clean everything if the water is near. I am still amazed at how many of their garments they can fit into their back bags. The Tamarkin women can create so many special garments as white is their favorite color. The unique devices that they use to control their hair and the tremendous effort that they give their hair leave us males helpless in their presence. They do not intimidate in their confrontations with us weaker vulnerable males. Instead, they will give you their controlled smile and full eye contact. They use eye contact with great skill, assuring they understand what is being communicated. They are the greatest listeners and will not to control any conversations.

Straightaway, I ask them to lie on the meadow as I begin to work on their feet. It is understood that Tselikovsky will go first as she grips the grass and looks fearfully into her brave mind and stares away. Khigir watches me get the salve heat the tip to her knife and walk toward them. She has a trusting look that tells my mind, she is really begging that I have mercy on her. Those eyes kill me every time as I explain to them, This is true to prevent anything worse too happy to your feet. No matter what words I speak, they are dedicated to undergo this procedure. When Grandpa gave me the salve for their feet, they needed nothing else. They decided at that point; it was indeed crucial they receive this treatment. Grandpa tells me not to worry for they will soon give me the same trust, usually after they bear me some children. The Tamarkin marries much later than our daughters do. They stay with their father until at least 21. This is so they fine-tune their archery skills with undefeatable accuracy. This is one reason we depend on the Halvány Root when capturing them, because, if they were to see us, we would have an arrow in whichever eye they choose. I was even more shocked when my young Khigir confessed to me that they knew we were watching them. Some of their tribe’s warriors disclosed this to them, and asked them if this needed protection. They told them, All is fine. We wondered why each had a back bag beside them. Grandpa and my father recognized this and grabbed each bag. I never noticed this, until we were getting off our boats. They were so crafty in hiding it from me accordingly as not to appear having already compromised their independence and still reserving their right to decide.

They knew much about our culture and marched off the boat in such a way that made my heart flame, and my mind confused. They discovered quickly who their projected mate was then naturally treated Grandpa and dad with kindness plus a spirit of cooperation, as I struggled to please them to gain their favoritism.

I so much dislike sticking this knife on their blisters. Grandpa now returns, heats his knife, and looks at my progress. Siklósi, you must hurry. You must burn it so the little creatures do not eat their feet and that their skin will build a scar over this area protecting them in the future. Tselikovsky and Khigir both now cry and beg me to kill the minute creatures. I slowly carefully drain Tselikovsky blisters, and then move to Khigir’s blisters and afterwards push the knife Grandpa brought sideways against these blister areas. The angels do not even flinch. I notice a few tears flowing down Khigir’s cheeks as she carefully watches me place the knives onto the nearby meadow. I walk over to my bag, pull out a rag mom put in my back bag, go over in front of my women, wipe the tears from their faces, and pet their soft hair. I tell them, "I am accordingly proud of my girls for being so brave. I will have to put some leaves under your feet and wrap them with my rags so that you will be able to walk on them soon. If you must walk anywhere tonight, allow me to help you so you do not hurt my precious gifts from the spirits in our air. Yippee, I see sparkles in their eyes again. This is great. I must make sure to take extra good care of them without hesitations. I help them walk to the tree Grandpa has selected that we are to sleep in tonight. I sleep below my angels as Grandpa dozes above them. I rather wished that we would trade places; however, Grandpa is a skilled chaperon. I might get lucky and one of them falls on me. They are so close, yet by our customs still so far away. Each time I look at them, my heart boils. Until I met them, I had no desire to start a family, yet now as I look at them, I worry about their health and well-being. We all naturally have the fear that the spirits in the air will take them. While we take good care of them and give them our respect, they will be fine. Still a possibility exists that hard times could befall us, and us, and food be scarce. The men of our tribes are proud that we will let our wives, and children eat first. Notwithstanding, with these women, we must trick them into thinking we have eaten, or they will not eat.

Why are they so caring and giving? Each man in our tribes that have Тамаркин (Tamarkin) wives cherishes them more than life itself. I believe this is why we fight so well in battle; we have something to fight for in our lives. I want my gifts, so I can fight alongside the other men of our tribes. The eyes that look on me for their lives are like unto the stars fighting the morning sky from chasing them away. I have seen their hair in the sunlight and have promised everything to include the trees that I will care for them. Every morning on this new journey, I have pled with my grandfather to waive the remainder of my probation. He simply tells me, Siklósi, you will have them in your life. Be patient, they will be here for you. You plead now for fear they will leave. Fear not that they leave you, for if they do we will once again return to Тамаркин and find new ones. You will discover that by waiting your relationships will bond stronger, strong enough to bear children who will be loved. I ask Grandpa, How do you know they will stay, because we all know that when they are married, they will stay? He looked at me, patted my shoulder, and said, They will be here for you. I will consider your best interest and how this mountain journey matures gives you a favorable action, now relax son and let your heart boil as did your father’s heart and mine. We survived and so will you. I know that I will survive; I just want to move on with my adult life and to discover that secret love of the marriage. We have forbidden Use carnal knowledge that our tribes enforce strictly. We will be taught after we are married. This custom is also enforced by the Tamarkin and the Aszódi. I have heard married men talk about how this knowledge adds a new flavor to life. They are careful not to release any details; however, they assure me that I will find this exciting. They tell me it is like a fruit that you cannot stop eating.

I do not think that once we learn about this fruit I will become addicted. We shall someday discover if what I say is true. Anyway, when the time arrives, we will join other newlyweds and travel to another tribe where they have a couple who teaches all our clans through words and an actual demonstration. I do not know if I need a demonstration because I believe we can learn to hug and kiss, as I have been my parents do many times. What else can be involved? Nonetheless, we are not permitted to live in our tents until we attend this lesson. Why do our tribes have so many rules? I can see why they needed them in the old days; however, our generation is so much wiser