Leneeca (Conclusion)

We ran up behind Leneeca and watch her immerse her naked body into a lake.  She let out a scream of delight as the water swallowed up her body to the tip of her chin.  She turned and looked at us and went under water, disappearing completely from our sight which caused Eve to panic, forgetting that the young woman cannot die.

“Joseph!” Eve punched my arm to go after her. “We’ll lose her the same way we lost Jago.”

“Wait!  I’m not going to freeze in this cold morning air --- in the cold water!”  Eve saw that I was serious and that I wanted to wait on the shore because I knew Leneeca was in no danger of drowning.

Without hesitating, she ripped off her clothes straight down to her skin and ran into the water.

I could only stand there with my mouth opened wondering how I was going to explain my two naked companions.  I watched on with a very small smile on my face as Eve and Leneeca came to dry land with skin glistening and their hair drenched and stuck flat to their heads.  Eve went to kick me in the groin again as she helped the younger woman to a seat in the grass, but I was too fast this time and dodged the attack.  I guess I shouldn’t have been laughing at this because she swung around with a left hook and caught me square in the jaw.  (I have to say --- that really sobered up my attitude).

The young woman stared out at the water as Eve covered them both with one of Eve’s robes.  Leneeca sat shivering with the clothing around her shoulders and both hands clenched over her mouth just underneath her nose.  Eve wrapped her arm around Leneeca to warm them both as well as to comfort her --- I looked on rubbing my jaw, daring not to interrupt the moment.  After a long silence, Leneeca spoke.

“I’m sorry for the way I have been behaving,” we waited for her to continue, “I don’t know why I cried so much.  I suppose that all of the pain and suffering I have seen has finally caught up with me.  I hate the Romans and I forgive both for associating with them.  I know you are ‘not them’ and I have grown to love you like family.” She sat in thought for a moment, “I am immortal?  How?”

We told her our complete story up until the present – right up to Eve and her sitting naked on the shore of the lake.  She shook her head and said, “I guess I will have to leave this place.  I am so tired and need a different life.  After all I would have died anyway and my story would have ended here.”

The ladies split what clothing they had and we headed back to the village.  The three of us agreed to depart from the village and the Romans in the middle of the night, traveling together the Arabic territories where no one knew us.  There were many Christian groups migrating away from the persecution in the Roman territories so we could mingle among them and hopefully not be noticed. Last we heard, Mona and Jago were moving about in tents and tending sheep, so we were going to join them for a while.  It’s been many years since we have seen them.

Leneeca’s immortality didn’t seem to intimidate her as much as we thought it would.  She‘d ask questions and experience the heeling when the normal aches and pains of the life would surprise us, but she seemed to adapt well to her new situation.

“Where are we going again?” she asked as we traveled.

“We’re going to Egypt,” Eve responded.

“I’ve heard of it. Is it as old as people say?”

“Yes,” I replied, “very old -- older than Eve.” I joked.

“Be careful baldy,” she returned, “I have very fast feet and fists.”

Leneeca smiled as we bantered on.  She seemed to enjoy our company and she loved to sit and watch Eve and me carry on about things. At first I thought she just found us to be entertaining, but later she revealed that we reminded her of her family and this made her feel good – to know she had family that could share in her very long life.  We were grateful that our journey to find Jago and Mona was uneventful and we found our friends happy and just as loving as we left them.  Mona was tan and very beautiful from all of the hard outdoor work she was finally able to experience – she was far removed from her former physical state.  Being able to walk and run and climb filled her with such happiness that we knew we did the right thing when we gave her the potion.  Jago was still very blunt and just as juvenile as we left him, but he and Mona complimented each other and created a perfect balance in their relationship.

We sat around the open fire drinking wine and laughing about the ‘crazy time’ each of them experienced.  The subject once again came up – “Joseph, what did you do during your time of insanity?” They asked.  Eve smiled and looked up at me from where she was seated because only she knew what  I did many hundreds of years before we met.  I smiled and replied the usual prepared statement, “I didn’t have a crazy time”.

When we finally settled down to relax for the night, Leneeca asked us all a question.  “Could any of you survive without the other --- to have your mate, lover, best friend  --- walking through time with you?”

We all just looked at her. “I only love one man, and he was murder before my eyes.  I miss him so much . . . .” A tear rolled down her cheek as she continued. “I wanted to have his children.  I wanted to grow old with him and watch our babies become adults who would also have children.  I only know one thing --- that as long as I live, I will never take a mate.  I’d rather be alone and help those around me that need to be cared for and loved.”  She stopped talking, wiped her tears away, and got up and went to her tent for the rest of the night.

“She doesn’t understand, Joseph.  Forever is a very long time to be alone.”

I looked at our solemn group seated around the fire and said, “She’s one of us and we will love her through many things.”

End of this story (for now) . . . .

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