A Love story "The Wedding Dance"

Wedding dance

Awiyao reached for the upper horizontal log which served as the edge of the head high threshold. Clinging to the to the log, he lifted himself with one bound that carried him across to the narrow door. He slid back to cover, stepped inside, then pushed the cover back in place. After some moments during which he seemed to wait, he talked to the listening darkness.

“I’m sorry this had to be done. I am really sorry. But neither of us can help iot.”

The sound of the gangsas beat through the walls of the dark house, like muffled roars of rolling waters. The woman who had moved with a start when a sliding door opened had been hearing the gangsas for she didn’t know how long. The sudden rush of the rich sounds when the door opened was like a sharp gush  of fire in her. She gave no sign that she heard awiyao, but continued to sit unmoving in the darkness.

But awiyao knew that she heard him and his heart pitied her. He crawled on all fours to the middle of the room; he knew exactly where the stove was. With his fingers, he stirred the covered smouldering embers, and blew into them. When the coals began to glow, awiyao put pieces of pine wood on them, then full round logs as big as his arms. The room brightened.

“Why don’t you go out,” he said, “and join the dancing women?” he felt a pang inside him, because what he said was really not the right thing to say and because the woman did not talk or stir.

“You should join the dancers” he said, “as if nothing has happened.”

He looked at the woman huddled in  a corner of the room, leaning against the wall. The stove fire played with strange moving shadows and lights upon her face. She was partly sullen, but her sullenness was not because of anger or hate.

“go out-go out and dance. If you really don’t hate me for this separation, go out and dance. One of the men will see you dance well; he will like your dancing; with him, you will be luckier than you were with me?”

“I don’t want any man,” she said sharply. ‘I don’t want any other man”

He felt relieved that at last she talked. “You know it very well that I don’t want any other women either. You know that, don’t you? Lumnay you know it, don’t you?”

She did not answer him, you know it lumnay, don’t you ?” he repeated.

“yes, I know,” she said weakly.

“it is not my fault, he said, feeling relieved. “You know cannot blame me; I have been a good husband to you.”

“Neither can you blame me,” she said. She seemed about to cry.

“you, you have been very good wife. I have nothing to say against you. “he set some of the burning woods place . it’s only that a man must have a child. Seven harvests is just too long to wait. Yes, we have waited long. We should have another chance, before it is too  late for both of us.” This time the woman stirred, stretched her right leg out and bent her left leg in. she wound the blanket more snugly around herself.

“you know that I had done my best,” she said. “I have to kabunyan much. I have sacrificed many chickens with my prayers.”

“yes, I know.

“you remember how angry you were once when you  came home from your work in the terrace because I butchered one of our pigs without your permission. I did it to appease kabunyan, because like you , I wanted so much to have a child. But could I do?”

“kabunyan does not see fit for us to have a child, he said. He stirred the fire. The sparks rose through the crackles of the flames. The smoke and soot went up to the ceiling.

Lumnay looked down and unconsciously started to pull the rattan that kept the split bamboo flooring in place. She tugged at the rattan flooring. Each time she did this, the split, the split bamboo went up and came down with a slight rattle. The gongs of the dancers clamorously called in her ears through the walls.

awiyao went to the corner where lumnay sat, paused before her, looked at her bronzed and sturdy face, then turned to where the jars of water stood piled one over other. awiyao took a coconut cup and dipped it in the top jar and drank. Lumnay had filled the jars from the mountain creek early that evening. “ I came home,” he said, “ because I did not find you among the dancers; of coarse, I am not forcing you to come, if you don’t want to join my wedding ceremony. I came to tell you that madulimay, although I am marrying her, can never become as good as you are.

She is not as strong in planting beans, not as fast in  cleaning water jars, not as good in keeping a house clean. You are one of the best wives in the whole village.” “that had not done me any good, has it?” she said. She looked at him lovingly. She almost seemed to smile. He put the coconut cup aside on the floor and came close to her. He held her face between his hands, and looked longingly at her beauty. But her eyes looked away. Never again would he hold her face, the next day, she would not be his anymore. She would go back to her parents. He let go of her face, and she bent to the floor again and looked at her fingers as they tugged softly at the split of bamboo floor.

“you wish. I will build another house for madulimay.” “ I have no need for a house,” she said slowly. “I’ll go to my own house, my parents are old. They will need help in the plantings of the beans in the pounding of the rice.”

“I will give you the field that I dug out of the mountain during the first year of our marriage,” he said. “you know I did it for you. You helped me to make it for the two of us.”

“I have no use for any field,” she said. He looked at her, then turned away, and became silent.

“go back to the dance,” she said finally.

“it is not right for you to be here. They will wonder where you are, and madulimay will not feel good.

“go back to the dance”

“I would feel better if you could come, and dance-  for the last time. The gangsas are playing.” You know that I cannot.”

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“Lumnay,” he said tenderly. “lumnay, if I did this, it is because of my need of a child. You know that life is not worth living without a child. They have mocked me behind my back. You know that.” “I know it,” she said.” I will pray that kabunyan will blessed you and madulimay.”

She bit her lips now, then shook her head sobbed. She though of the seven harvest that had passed, the high hopes they had in the beginning of their new life, the day he took her away from her parents across the roaring river, on the other side of the mountain, the trip up the trail which they had to climb, the steep canyon which they had to cross-the waters boiled in her mind in foams of white and jade and roaring silver, the waters growled, resounded in thunderous echoes through the walls of the steep cliffs, they were fart away now but loud still and receding; the waters violently smashed  down from somewhere on the tops of the other ranges, and they had looked carefully at the buttresses of rocks they had to step on-a slip would have meant death. They both drank of the water, then rested on the bank before they made the final climb to the other side of the mountain. She looked at her face with a playing upon his features-hard and strong and kind. He had a sense of lightness in his way of saying things which often made her and the village people laughed. How proud she had been of his humour. The muscles were taut and firm, bronze and compact in their hold upon his skull-how frank his bright eyes were. She looked at this body that carved out of the mountains five fields for her; his wide and supple torso heaved as if a slab of shining lumber were having; his arms and legs flowed down in fluent miuscles-he was strong and for that she had lost him.

She flung herself upon his knees and clung to them. “awiyao,awiyao, my husband.” She cried. I did everything to have a child, she said passionately in a hoarse whisper. She took away the blanket that covered her. Looked at me,” she said. “looked at my body. Then it was full of promise. Then it would dance, it could work fast in the field, it could climb the mountains like. Even now it is firm full but awiyao, kabunyan never blessed me awiyao, kabundan is cruel to me awiyao. I am useless. I must die.

It will not be right to die, he said gathering her in his arms. Her whole warm naked I breast quivered against his own she chin