14
The gods have been generous. The maize god accepted our offerings of blood and food before the planting and now, with the harvest, our bellies are full. We celebrate these sacred days with dancing and games on the plaza.
Ian joins his life with Itzel, the daughter of a neighboring ku, or governor. Xia’s parents and mine have successfully negotiated for our marriage and, as custom dictates, we move into my parents’ home until the first baby arrives. With Xia and me, mother and father, and the addition of my young sister and brother, the family house is full. Father and Ian are often away advising, as priests do, with Tu Kele and his first-born son, Bada.
I await the signs that will tell me I am with child, but they do not come.
“Drink this,” my mother tells me. “It is made from the p
