“By the way, there’s still one thing that I really need to ask you.” Lith said while Kamila was still chuckling at the joke.
“What is it?”
“What are your thoughts about children?” Those words made her blood flush and her drowsiness disappear.
“I thought you were adamant about not having any.” She looked him straight in the eyes to make sure it wasn’t just another joke.
“I was and I am, but I haven’t forgotten how many times you mentioned it in the past. This is not just my decision anymore, it’s our decision.” He said, making Kamila’s heart race. “Also, I’m an Awakened whereas you are twenty-eight and human…”
“Since when did the age gap bother you?” She asked.
“It doesn’t. I just mean that time flows differently for us.” Being reminded of her mortality smothered Kamila’s enthusiasm, but not by much.
As for Lith, considering his first life he was actually 45 years old. He had spent the first 26 completely alone, shut inside himself without ever letting anyone in. After coming to Mogar, however, family wasn’t an f-word anymore.
Elina and Raaz had proved to him that loving parents did exist. On top of that, after spending so much time with the kids and after Kamila had proposed to him, Lith wasn’t afraid to be a terrible father anymore.
The shadow of Ezio McCoy, his Earth father and the first man that Lith had killed, didn’t haunt his thoughts anymore and he was now certain that nothing of that monster would be passed down to the next generation.
When Kamila was with him, Lith felt like anything was possible.
“I’d really love to have children.” She replied. “A boy and a girl. Not necessarily in this order but surely not together.”
The thought of having twins or triplets like Rena sent a cold shiver down her spine.
“I’m already scared of becoming a mother for the first time, let alone having more than one child.”
“I feel a ‘but’ incoming.” Lith said.
“But not now.” Kamila continued. “I’m unemployed and so are you. We have no real home, we are just Salaark’s guests. We have no plan for the future, only what your Grandma is willing to lend us and only as long as she is willing to.
“Until we decide whether we are going to live in the Desert or go back to the Kingdom, as long as we don’t make something out of our lives, having a child would only increase our burden.
“I want to give them the stability, the love, and the home that I never had.”
“So do I.” Lith said, puzzling her quite a bit.
“On top of that, if we decided to have a child, they would be born with a target on their back. Meln would do everything he could to destroy our happiness.” Kamila replied.
“I would like to see him try.” Lith wrapped her in his arms while projecting the hologram of Salaark, Tyris, and Leegaain taking the oath to protect Lith’s firstborn and the woman who would carry them.
“He may be less stupid than before and Night might be nigh-immortal, but I don’t see them surviving a clash with the three Guardians of Garlen. Heck, I’m not ashamed to say that the worst I could do to him pales in comparison with what Grandma would do to Meln in one minute.”
***
Once the sun had lost the scorching heat of midday and its rays were gentler again, they went back to the beach. Kamila couldn’t wait to learn how to swim and Lith had found the perfect way to make her feel safe even among the ocean waves.
While she swam to the best of her abilities, he walked on the water right beside her. Lith would lift her up or offer her a foothold with Light Mastery whenever she felt tired or started to panic.
Before sunset, they could already swim together. Kamila had learned how to crawl and backstroke whereas her breaststroke was still lacking and she often swallowed water.
“Do you want to sightsee Yrma?” Lith asked after coming out of the shower and letting her in. “Grandma said it’s a nice place and the seafood is good.”
“No chance.” She replied from behind the closed door.
“Aren’t you tired of seeing only my face and listening only to my voice?” He asked.
“After not even a whole day? Not at all.” She opened the door slightly, giving him a quick peck and a sweet smile. “Besides, nothing beats your cooking and with our luck, we’d meet some asshole and you would have to fight.”
“Wow, and here I thought I was the paranoiac between us.”
“Look, I’m tired of the war, of all the bad stuff that always happens whenever we step out of that door. This is our haven, our paradise. Unless I get bored to death, I’m not going out. By the way, what’s for dinner?” She rushed under the shower to have a plausible excuse to not help.
“It’s a surprise.” Lith sighed and went to the stove.
The pantry was filled with fresh seafood preserved by dimensional magic so he had no need to make a trip to the nearest fishmonger. He took cuttlefishes, mackerel bits, and shrimps, breading them before deep frying them in olive oil.
At the same time, he gutted and cleaned a salmon, turning it into two thick slices and bushing them with a bit of olive oil before grilling them.
Once Kamila came out of the shower, the fragrant smell made her mouth water and once she had a taste of the food, the conversation died until she cleaned her plate.
“It was amazing.” She said with a satisfied burp. “What’s the secret ingredient? I barely had to add any salt.”
“That’s because I added a pinch in the olive oil so that it would flavor the fish while frying it. Don’t get too used to it. Deep-fried food is tasty but also very greasy.” He replied.
“I really missed your cooking, but I missed you more.” She said while taking his hand. “I’m too full for a walk. What about a movie?”
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“I was thinking about R for Revenge.” Kamila said.
“I thought you found it too sad. Especially the part when he dies in her arms.” Lith raised an eyebrow in surprise while they made the dishes together.
“I can take a bit of tragedy as long as I have my happy ending sitting beside me.” She replied, kissing him without a care for the soap and water splashing on them.
Almost as if Salaark knew about Lith’s abilities, the three couches of the sitting room were arranged around a square table where to place snacks and in front of a white wall where Lith projected the movie.
Kamila was tired from swimming and having a full belly didn’t help either. She slept for half the movie, waking up from time to time and claiming to have been just resting her eyes.
She remained wide awake only at the beginning, at the letter scene, and for the ending. Lith didn’t care for it, the movie was great and the company was even better.
