Nanny For The Alien General by Athena Storm
Serafina
“Let me help you with that, Keilon.”
“I’ve got it.”
As I watch from my perch on a boulder, I shake my head and smile. Keilon is refusing help from a villager who wants to share the load the Kiphian is carrying. Under one arm, Keilon has several large pieces of lumber. Balanced on the opposite shoulder he’s bearing a stack of tiles.
This morning, old man Berger woke up in a frigid bed. In the night, large chunks of ice had fallen onto, and then through, his roof. As always, when the villagers of Tilleni learned about the incident, several folks banded together to help Berger fix his roof.
Not like always, this time they had a Kiphian lending a helping – and outsized – hand.
It’s amazing to see the way the village has done a complete about-face on Keilon. The selflessness he displayed jumping into the freezing water to rescue those kids a week ago endeared them to the town for life. I’m relieved. I’d nearly lost faith in my fellow humans when they’d begun debating killing him. Their complete and utter acceptance of him now has restored that faith.
As Keilon scales the ladder to Berger’s roof, he exchanges words with some of the men and women up there. I can’t make out what’s said, but the laughter that follows the exchange carries out to me.
They don’t just not want to kill him anymore, I marvel, they actually seem to like him.
Well, I don’t blame them.
“Sewa, Sewa!” a little voice calls to me. I turn to find a very young boy running up to me. His age explains his trouble with the R in my name. His face is contorted with upset and he holding one arm awkwardly away from his body.
“What happened, Kel?” I ask, giving him my full attention.
“Ow,” he replies, holding his arm in my general direction.
“Somebody fall?” I ask. He nods vigorously. “Got a boo-boo?” He nods again, making a pathetic face. “Let’s see,” I say and gently roll up the sleeve of his jacket. He’s got a tiny little scratch on his elbow. “Mmm. Well, we don’t have to amputate,” I tell him.
I reach into the pouch I always wear at my waist, which contains some basic herbs and salves. I put a little ointment on the tip of a finger and apply it to the scratch. It won’t do much for the scratch except provide him a little cooling sensation and take the sting away. But that will do wonders for his attitude.
“All better,” I declare and Kel smiles brightly. Then, as if nothing has happened, he runs off to rejoin the group of kids he was playing with.
A group of kids that include Belanna and Emex. The dozen or so little ones are playing a game with a ball, the rules to which they’ve been concocting for the last several days. I gather, from the rushed and exasperated explanations I’ve been getting from Keilon’s kids at dinner, that the game is a hybrid of human and Kiphian sports. It looks way too complicated to me to possibly be any fun, but they all seem to be having a blast.
We’re a happy little village again. Me, the other humans living here in secret, and our three little adopted Kiphian kin.
But looking past the playing children toward the lake, my smile freezes as solidly as the waters there. The full freeze is fast approaching. Soon, the entire lake will be crossable by foot. At which point, Keilon and the children will be gone.
I wish that didn’t hurt. I wish all I’ll miss when they leave is the novelty of having them here.
The truth is more complicated. The truth is that the night we were being held captive, and he put his arm around me and comforted me, warmed me, I felt something. Like my brain confirming what my heart already knew.
I have real feelings for this Kiphian man. Feelings I have no idea how to express. Feelings that seem pointless to express, given the certainty of his leaving soon.
He’s not some lost soul looking for a home in a remote village, I remind myself. He’s a King. He has duties, responsibilities. A palace, probably. He’s not going to be interested in fixing broken roofs for the rest of his life.
“What’s for lunch?”
I look up sharply and squint against the glare. Keilon is towering over me, silhouetted by the sun. His frame is impressive. Inviting. I rise from my rock, dusting off my butt, and shrug.
“Something hearty for the working man, I guess.”
“Sounds delicious.” Then, he turns toward the game happening nearby. “Kids. Lunch time!”
With a few begrudging goodbyes to their new friends, Belanna and Emex come running over. They immediately flank their father, who tousles their hair.
A lump rises in my throat at the sight of that simple gesture. The relationship between the three of them has become so free and easy. Any hint of distance, of intimidation, has vanished like the spring rains when summer comes.
I follow them back to my house, watching as he tries to understand the game as Belanna and Emex go through the ever-increasingly complex rules.
If only they could all stay here forever, I think despite my best efforts not to go down that path.
As we pass out of the village proper toward my more remote home, I’m struck by how much more at ease I’ve become since they got here. While Tilleni has always been where I live, I’m realizing now I never really felt at home here.
Or, rather, I never felt like where I lived was also a home.
That’s changed. These days and nights with Keilon and the children make my remote little cabin feel like something more than a shelter. Make it feel like a place of warmth and care and…
Family.
Yes. I’d like them to stay. Why deny it? I’d like us to be a family.
When we get into the cabin, I’m grateful for the activity of preparing a meal for everyone. It helps me mask the tears I keep having to fight off.
