Chapter 10 - Jealousy

With heavy breath and stiff arms, Amelia grabs Phoebe's arm, anxiously lifts and carries her into her arms, steps away from the window. 

She tensely shakes Phoebe's frozen shoulder, "Phoebe! Honey! Are you alright? Please speak!"

Phoebe suddenly fainted, Martha grasps her emerald amulet, bowed her weary head, and closed her eyes before she grabs Phoebe's things and heads to the door, and opens it for Dave. 

Dave instantly lifts her daughter's body and rushed her outside the house. Amelia cries endlessly as she follows Dave making his way to exit from the building. They moved quickly and ride Dave's hunchback car going to the hospital. 

A traffic jam causing them to be stressed makes them lift their heads towards the sky as a murder of crows dominate the sky. This gives chills to people passing by, they know that this is a bad omen. The murder of crows symbolizes death.

Martha feels eerie and her voice shakes with fear, "This is a bad sign, do not look at the crows, they might see you and you can be a target of their curse."

Amelia angrily stops Martha from speaking, "Stop it, Martha! This is not the proper time for those unnatural stories of yours." 

"Amelia, calm down, your anger won't help us to reach the hospital, just do what Martha said, she's old enough to warn us." Dave hurriedly overtakes cars while taking a  nervous glimpse at her daughter.

Phoebe suddenly wakes up slightly scratching her right eye, "Mommy, the crows are talking to me..."

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Setting: At Martin's Land

The tribe is still in the midst of their festive celebration and Martin never stops to talk about his dream but Enya wishes to converse on their plans, from building a family of their own to ruling the tribe and amending the law.

Enya chooses to shut her wishes and started to listen to Martin's dreams. She wants to lay her ears to Martin but her heart disapproves of this manner because being able to be Martin's confidante and childhood playmate, she always has this special feeling towards the leader of the Tikaluna Tribe.

"Something is bothering me these past few days, a blurred vision of a woman dressed in a long white gown always appears in my dream. I never had a dream about a woman before, I always dream of my ancestors telling me how I should lead the tribe." 

Martin repeatedly pours these words to Enya but she purposely plays deaf, avoiding such conversations from him that might lead to another love that Martin might find interesting.

Enya chunks a wild blueberry fruit which Sabina hands to her, " It's not immortal I suppose."

Without hesitation, Martin confesses bravely, "Yes, she is always gracefully barefooted in my dreams, and her soft hands always want to take mine, her luscious hair brushes in my arms which  me a feeling of security and passion.."

Enya loudly gulped her saliva which led her to choke, "Ehem. Ehem...!"

"What was that?!" You must have eaten so many berries, haha!" Martin teases her getting the bowl of wild berries from her lap.

"Martin, you know the rules, you cannot love a different creature, right? You prefer to shut your feelings on me, but this girl in your dreams makes your heart flutter? How lucky she is." Enya sighs.

"Yeah, I know, but this seems so true. It's like, whenever I am having this kind of dream, I, myself is there. I can feel the wind, the whole ambiance that brushes through my silver fur."

With pounding heart, Enya courageously asked, "How do you feel about her?"

"Her? You mean the woman in my dreams?" Martin jerked his head and bats his eyelashes at Enya.

"Yeah, that woman, whom I'll be jealous with."

"Jealous? How could you be jealous of someone you haven't seen yet?"

"Martin, no woman, or creature in our land ever dared to look at you, the way my eyes take over yours because they know, they will be stung by my deadly stare. They know that only I can take a huge part of your heart, though sadly, our law does not accept the love that I can offer to you."

Martin wants to cut Enya's feelings towards her because his heart is still empty and still seeking someone to fill it. It is not Enya or any creature in his land. He knows, it is the...

"The woman in my dreams filled a big part of my heart, and I do not know why or how did it happen, it just happened. I just felt it. I just knew that I crave for her in every dream of mine. Enya, do you understand me?"

Enya felt the world in her shoulders and fought with her tears, "No. As someone who loves you very much, no I don't want to understand you. You are so open, you confess this even if I confessed my love for you? Do you expect me to understand you?" 

"But you are my friend. You are my family. You are the only one whom I expect to understand me, it's you, who have seen my ups and downs, my flaws."

Enya took a deep breath and hold herself for a moment, lifting her shoulders, "Oh okay, as your dear friend, your family,  I will set aside this feeling just for this moment... this is so awkward Martin... how could you ever..."

"I'm sorry Enya, I'm beginning to be insensitive towards your feelings. I can not reciprocate whatever love or special feeling you have for me, but I just want to express this and ask this because I have been anxious for days because of this dream."

Enya helplessly asked, "So... why do you think that this girl in your dreams filled a big part of your heart, huh?"

"Because, she touched me, without hesitations, she laid her soft hands into my cheek and I felt that it's real. Her warmth, her hands, it is all real. It's vague, it's an unexplainable feeling. To tell you honestly, I always want to sleep, I always want to see her, I felt like, it is only in my dreams that we can meet, and even in my dream, my feelings towards her develops. Haha! Funny right?"

"How long have you been seeing her in your dreams?" Enya asks displaying her poker face.

"For some months now, long before our battle with Victoria. That girl in my dreams always wears white which I suppose is her wedding gown. She always giggles and smiles though her eyes are blurry, her pearly white teeth, her chin, ears, cheeks, and curly golden hair are all very clear."

"Do you talk to her in your dreams? Is there an instance where you had a chance to ask her?"

Martin widens his lips upward and felt his spirits lift with delight, "Yes. At one time, I was holding her hand in my dreams as she sways mine in the air while we were walking together in a meadow full of red daisies. She stopped and looked at me and she said, "I'm on your way, you just have to wait."

"Then?" Enya annoyingly asked.

"Then she lifted her right hand and touched my face and I kissed her hand." A wide smile from Martin's face never leaves.

Enya stopped breathing for a moment. This is too much for her to bear. This is heartache. This moment is undeniably beginning to traumatize her. She wants to compose herself and hold back her tears. She controls her hands from shaking stressfully because she wants to display a strong person in front of Martin.

But this is hurting. She is hurting. Enya is in pain while Martin continues to tell her about how his heart skips a beat whenever she sees the girl in her dreams. This is the first time that she saw Martin smiling while telling his feelings about a girl. This is the kind of smile that Enya wants to see whenever she displays her affection towards him.

Enya lost a battle even when it has not started yet. She dreamed of having a future life with Martin. With someone whom she grew up with, with someone whom she took good care of and adored so much. 

But Martin does not seem to care for her feelings, or for whatever she has for him because he treats her as a family, as a friend. He holds a kind of friendship with her which he is afraid to fade, and for this, he chose not to love her beyond friendship.

Enya's spirit wants to get out from this hurtful conversation that Martin started but she can not, she will not because loving Martin, is loving every inch, no matter how painful it is for her.

"Well... she is one hell of a lucky creature... " Enya regretfully mumbled.

Martin surprisingly spilled, "But I do not want to lose you, never think of leaving me, Enya."

Enya holds back her tears, held her head towards the sky, and closed her eyes.