BLOODLINES: ANGELO MARKADO

THE VIRGIN AND THE VESSEL

2021 Anno Bhiasti. Luminaria woke up ahead of her mother-in-law to prepare for their long journey to Vincot.

"I'm scared, Naria, I don't want to go," Grace, Lumen’s sister-in-law, said, feeling downcast as she sat by her bed while Naria was packing her things.

"Don't be, you will have fun there," Naria assured her sister, though deep inside, she doubts it. Grace is a free spirit who doesn’t want strict confinement.

"Did you?" Grace asked curiously.

"Y-yes," it's constricting for Naria, but she was safe there, especially with her situation during those times.

"How long did you stay there?" Grace questions are endless. Naria had answered some of them before.

"Until I married your brother, about six years." Naria counted her fingers, remembering.

"I miss Gab. I wish he was the one taking me," Grace sniffed.

"I miss him too," Naria shuffled Grace's hair. She’s the spitting image of her husband, Gabriel.

Naria married Gabriel when she was eighteen, but Gabriel died barely a year after getting married. So, at nineteen, Naria was already a young widow.

"Ugh! Why?! Why do I have to leave?" Grace laid down on her back to bed and closed her eyes, not wanting to move.

"Because you're a woman now, young lady. You will bleed every month from now on," Naria looked straight into Grace's emerald eyes when they opened. Unlike her, Grace has blonde hair and fair skin, while Naria has hazel eyes, brunette wavy hair, and light bronze skin.

"And demons will eat my heart," Grace pouted.

"Yes," Naria said seriously, countering Grace’s sarcasm.

"Unless I get married," being too young, Grace doesn't like the idea of having a husband just yet.

"Yes," Naria could relate to how annoyed Grace was about the idea of marrying very young.

"Ugh! I hate being a girl. Boys have it easy," Grace sighed deeply.

Naria smiled, remembering her husband. Nope, sometimes, guys have it rough too. Naria thought to herself.

"Are you guys ready?" Eze asked, knocking lightly before peeking inside Grace's room.

"Yes, father," Naria zipped Grace's bag and pulled the girl up out of her bed.

From their village in Zalem, there were about twenty girls to travel to Vincot. The commute by water will be seventeen hours long, and by land would be another ten. Armed Brigada soldiers would escort them throughout their journey. 

Vincot is a city located at the center of the continent of Perlaz. This is known to be the sanctuary of the berhen, or menstruating females who don’t have s****l experience yet. Vincot is also a boarding school for the berhen where they learned not just academics but also the true divinity of being a woman.  

Although Perlaz is off-limits to konxeladas, even to hukluvans and channaks, it became a tradition for humans to send their berhen to Vincot to be safe, in case another war breaks out, and berhen are targeted by the hungry konxelada demons again. 

"Naria, here… take this," Sariah handed a water vessel to her daughter-in-law. It is stained, cracked, and patched up, but the vessel is extraordinary.

"Alright, I'll keep this for Grace," Naria took the vessel from Sariah.

"No, it's yours from now on,” Sariah said, stroking the vessel in Naria’s arms.

"A-are you sure mother?" Naria blinked in surprise.

Despite its quaint appearance, the vessel is an important heirloom that her mother-in-law considered her most priceless possession.  It’s a hand-me-down from her family hundreds of generations prior. 

"G-grace should have this," Naria is honored, but Grace is their real daughter after all.

"Nope, the tradition is to hand it down to our eldest child. Gabby may be gone, but you are our daughter, real daughter nonetheless," Sariah teared up; she does every time she remembers her son.

"I'll take good care of this mother," Naria promised, hugging the vessel tightly.

"Be sure to keep it full so both of you will be hydrated. Your journey will be long and hard in this heat," Sariah reminded her that water stored in the vessel always turns cold, sweet, and refreshing.

"Thank you, mother," Naria kissed Sariah goodbye.

"Be back soon, okay? Don't let Grace trick you into staying with her there. Have her settle, and then travel back with the others. Here, take this,"   Sariah handed Naria two copper goblets that go along with the vessel.

"Don't drink from someone else's cups. You have to be careful with viruses and bacteria," Eze added, reminding her girls of what happened two thousand years ago when a deadly virus called RPTR21 wiped out over 5 billion humans all over the world. 

With this, humans became cautious when it comes to diseases that can potentially turn into another worldwide pandemic.  All humans in Perlaz knew about the two most crucial world histories of human civilization that almost ended their existence --  a deadly virus that plagued them and the presence of konxelada demons outside their continent. 

"Are the berhen ready?" one of the Brigada soldiers asked from the bus.

"Yes, we are," "We're here!" The berhen answered in unison before proceeding to their assigned vehicles. Naria and Grace waved to their parents before boarding.

Eze and Sariah waited until the vehicles were out of their sight before walking back to their house.

“Stop crying, she’ll be fine,” Eze assured his wife.

“Why do we have to do this to Grace huh?” Sariah buried her face on her husband’s shoulders.

“It’s tradition. Besides, we never know when another war breaks out, berhen’s hearts will always be at risk. Grace has to stay in Vincot until she’s ready for marriage,” Eze comforted his wife.

Vincot is also known as Ciudad de berhen to prominent men and warriors who frequent the place to choose their wives and ensure the continuance of their bloodline. Grace, who just had her period a week ago, is bound to live in Vincot until a man marries her.

"Let’s find a suitable husband for her soon, promise?" Sariah looked up to her husband with a tear-soaked face. 

Grace's parents are looking into potential husbands for their daughter within the tribe they belong to, the ATI tribe -- a prominent tribe from the South-Eastern part of the new world. They are known to be very conservative and faithful to their deity, Yswah. Although they allow inter-tribal marriages, they discourage their family members from marrying outside their faith.

Inside the moving vehicle, unbeknownst to Naria, someone is closely watching the vessel she's carrying in her arms and comparing it to the drawing on the paper.

******

1521 Anno Bhiasti. Hendrix found the diner that the konxeladas directed him to. When the channak, whom he initially thought was cute, attacked him, he got caught by surprise. Though small, the channak was very fast and robust. The baby went for his chest like a wild animal, scratching, pinching, and even trying to suck his n*****s.  

He fought the baby off lightly, but they still ended up causing a commotion in the street. He was more shocked when others just passed them by laughing. Those who stayed just watched the fight while betting koine on who would win. All along, Hendrix thought that Xego is a peaceful continent.

In the end, he almost tore the kid into pieces just to subdue the channak, who not only smells of crap but is stinking drunk too. The laughter stopped when he finally tied the struggling and foul-mouthed toddler with his jacket.

"Just bring Nzo across the building over there, three blocks from here. When you see the yellow and blue diner, his family will be there to sort him out," one konxelada told Hendrix after thanking him for the koine he won betting against Nzo.

“He usually fights well when he’s drunk,” the konxelada, who lost a hundred koine points, scratched his head, disappointed.

“Only if his drink has breast milk in it,” the winner chuckled after receiving points in his koine purse.

“Yuck!” another konxelada cringed at the idea of mixing milk with alcohol.

F*ck! What is this place?  Hendrix asked himself, referring to the weird vibe of Xego. He plans to leave the menacing baby in the street, but how could he? He’s a freakin’ baby!

He opened the door of the diner, and the delicious smell hit his nosethrills. Then, he remembers that he has not eaten anything since the night before.

"Grandpa!" A beautiful woman in her thirties approached them.

Human, Hendrix thought. It's the first time that he has seen one in Xego. The woman took the kid from him.

"Thank you, where did you find him?" a man asked, another human. Hendrix told them what happened.

"I'm sorry...come in, let me serve you something to eat before you go," the woman grabbed his arm to let him in.

The couple, who introduced themselves as Cathy and Jonathan, welcomed him warmly that he couldn't refuse. His last encounter with humans was centuries ago, and they were mean to him, if not scared.

The young couple led him inside the kitchen, away from the curious eyes of the diner's customers. He watched as Cathy bathed the drunk Nzo on the kitchen sink. The kid is babbling like a child and also cursing like a grown-up.

"Grandpa, how old is this crap?!?" Jonathan commented while throwing the kid's diaper in the trash.  

Cathy is now wiping the toddler dry on the dining table, where Jonathan serves Hendrix a hot cup of aromatic coffee. Hendrix chuckled when Jonathan pinched the kid's butt, and the annoyed channak just frowned. Out of nowhere, Nzo threw him a fork that went straight on Hendrix's forehead, bullseye.  

"Grandpa!" Cathy and Jonathan were shocked.  Cathy hit the kid's hand, but Nzo just played with his saliva, blowing bubbles out of it while looking at Hendrix.

Both humans looked at Hendrix apologetically and scared. Other konxeladas would probably retaliate and throw the kid on the street, but Hendrix suddenly has an idea for a new game based on Channaks. He also found the fork on his forehead, with blood flowing over his face, very funny.

Unable to control himself, he burst out laughing hard while removing the fork on his forehead. Nzo joined in laughing like an innocent child. The kitchen was then filled with a roar of laughter as Cathy and Jonathan joined in, feeling relieved.

"Where is that bastard!" A heavy-set woman suddenly barged in on them.

Another human, interesting. Hendrix drank his hot coffee, amused.

"He’s here Trix, drunk as usual," Jonathan said, pointing at the baby.

"He keeps saying that you broke his heart for moving to a different city and leaving him,” Cathy finished dressing the kid. 

"F*ck him!" Trix thumped her feet as she moved toward the dining table.

Cathy looked at Hendrix and smiled before putting the plate of food in front of him.

"Never mind them. Eat," Cathy even put the fork in his hand.

Trix went to Nzo, who was sitting on the top of the table, clean but still drunk. She slapped the kid on the face hard, left and right, until blood came out of the baby's lips and nose. Shocked, Nzo almost stops the woman, but Jonathan signals him not to meddle.

"Just eat," Jonathan drank his coffee while sitting beside him.

Bleeding, Nzo looked at Trix, finally sober.

"Mimis!" Nzo jumped on the woman, tore her blouse, and went for her breasts.

Trixie cradled the baby and sat down. Hendrix's mouth opened as he was watching Nzo breastfeeding contentedly in front of him.

The kitchen is cozy, the food he is eating tastes good, and the company seated beside him is pleasant, yet all of those melted away while he watched the channak sucking the woman's right breast while squeezing the left one; milk flowed generously from it.

It was a sight to see that Hendrix just couldn’t look away. Slowly Nzo's head turned around, and Hendrix found himself locked in the baby's eyes. Then the kid spits milk straight into Hendrix's open mouth.