Ark(43)

“It wasn’t because of anything she was or wasn’t that I refused to marry her, it was . . . more the principle of the thing. To be honest, I was attracted to her when we were first introduced, but even then, barely out of childhood, I knew what was expected of us. I refused, out of stubbornness, simply because of the fact that my parents had made the choice for me without consulting my wishes.”

“I see. I suppose I can understand that,” Aresia said. “Father tried to make me marry several times. When I told him I wouldd rather cut my own wrists than marry a monster like Sin-Iddim—and actually tried to do so at least once—well . . . I suppose that made him see I was serious.”

Japheth took her wrists in his hands and examined them, seeing a pair of faint lines crossing her left wrist. “You tried to kill yourself?”

“I would not say I tried to kill myself.” She traced the lines. “It was more to prove a point to Father than to really hurt myself. I was terrified when I did this to myself. But then, I was more terrified of Sin-Iddim.”

“With good reason, it seems.”

“Yes, so it would seem.” Aresia looked away, picking splinters from the wood beneath her.

“Can I ask—?” Japheth began.

“JAPHETH! ARESIA!” Zara’s voice echoed from house, interrupting him. “COME EAT!”

Japheth helped Aresia to her feet, and they walked together back through the grass. “Later, perhaps,” he said.

Aresia nodded. “I am not ready for too many questions, anyway, Japheth. Not yet.”

Within the house, Neses, Ne’eletama, and Sedele were setting dishes of food around the long, low table that was the centerpiece of the dwelling. Noah, Shem, and Ham were all lounging at the table already, picking at a loaf of bread as they conversed. Japheth entered first, and a few pairs of eyes glanced up at him, acknowledging and welcoming him. And then, when Aresia entered, ducking awkwardly to fit under the low lintel, Noah, Shem, and Ham ceased speaking, and Ne’eletama and Sedele froze in the act of placing the last dishes on the table. All eyes were locked on her, staring, apprehensive and judgmental. Aresia noticed this, and Japheth felt her tense under his arm.

He hissed in irritation. “Your behavior is insulting,” he barked. “She has done nothing to any of you to deserve this treatment.”

Zara bustled over and guided Aresia to a nest of pillows arranged near the table. “Sit, child, sit. You are welcome at this table.”

Aresia lowered herself slowly through visibly excruciating pain to the floor, working to keep her expression neutral as she settled in. Her brow was dotted with sweat and her breathing was labored as she arranged her robe. She met the eyes of everyone in turn, Zara first, with a smile, then Japheth, and then Sedele, Shem, Ham, Ne’eletama, then Noah, and Neses last.

“I am an intruder here,” Aresia said, at last. “There is no need to pretend otherwise.”

“You have lived among her kind for a long time,” Ham said to Japheth. “For those of who have not spent so much time around Nephilim, it is somewhat disconcerting.”

Zara’s gaze raked around the table. “Enough of this. Aresia is welcome at this table.” She repeated her earlier statement, this time voiced as a command, her tone brooking no dissent.

Heads nodded in assent, yet eyes were cast aside, and Aresia only sighed.

“Do not trouble yourself on my behalf, Zara,” Aresia murmured. “I do not expect a warm welcome.”

“To be welcoming of guests and to show compassion is not a trouble, child,” Zara said, staring hard at her husband. “It is merely what Elohim would expect of us.”

Silence then, thick and tense and uncomfortable. Eventually, Noah cleared his throat, his gaze going around the table. “Welcome, Aresia.”

A brief hesitation, and then Shem, Ham, Sedele, and Ne’eletama each murmured, “Welcome, Aresia.”

Neses alone remained silent, but her gaze was steady and even, her expression open, curious even, though even to Japheth’s eyes there was pain as well in her features and posture.

A moment passed and then Noah gave the blessing of thanks for Japheth’s safe return and the plentiful food before them.

Zara clapped her hands together. “There. Now that we have gotten basic manners out of the way, let us eat!”

The clamor of assent then was much more enthusiastic, conversation resuming in a wave of appreciation. Zara served Noah first, and then once he had received his meal, she personally served each person herself in turn. The meal was a long affair, and awkwardness prevailed at first, conversation stilted. Slowly, however, everyone became accustomed to Aresia’s presence, and conversation flowed once more, though most of it circled around Aresia, floating past her, and she did not seem interested in attempting to join in. Japheth too remained aloof, watching his brothers with their wives, watching the ease with which everyone else interacted, their conversations easy from years of familiarity. One other, however, was often silent, seeming content to watch and listen rather than participate: Neses.

By the time the food was gone and the dishes cleared, night had fallen and darkness pervaded.

Noah tossed a log onto the fire, and the family gathered round the crackling flames.

“The world is a corrupt place,” Noah said, his face lit by the leaping yellow flames, “and Elohim cannot any longer stomach the stench of sin in His nostrils. Man’s time upon this earth is short. Soon, all will be wiped away by floodwaters. Nothing will remain.”