ee. Knowing Edni.

                Late evening, the fire subsided to red hot ash and ember. Jared retired to a nearby hut. This smoldering fire pit could warm the bones of men all night and into the late morning. Now it was just Edni and I at the fireside though. We sat in silence, watching the embers scurry to the sky. I asked her where to sleep? I was tired. She took the queue and rose from the fireside. Presumption spoke. We would sleep together. Edni took my hand. Nervous as I was with a woman I did not know in a land I had not seen, I followed.

                I realized that I knew almost nothing about Edni. Although she opened the conversation at the fire pit, she delivered me to Jared. He spoke through most of the evening. He prophesied. He taught about this reality I am in. Edni was mostly silent at the fireside. She listened. What are the rules of having sex in this world I am in? I held Edni’s hand as we passed various huts on a path to somewhere. It seems most of the clan were sleeping, although there were several here and there keeping watch. They had torches with them. There were no fences so-to-speak. No walls to keep wild animals away. Flame was a threat to the wild. The men with torches were the deterrents. A big cat withdraws momentarily when faced with fire. One-eye crosses my mind. That saber tooth tiger. The tiger I wounded. I destroyed one of his eyes with a spear. Does he venture here?

                Fire Eyes crossed my mind. Who is this? I have an idea. But I don’t know for sure. No one explained although I heard that name several times. He seems to be well known around here. Stopping abruptly, Edni reached for my other hand. She drew me close. She began to kiss me right in front a common hut. We’re having sex out in the open? She drew me in. I felt her lips. Her tongue; her hands on my hips and under my tethered hide. She loosened the ties. Her breast against me. We moved inside the hut. Soft fur carpet. Beads. Horns of elk, or deer. Pillows of soft fur. A sweet aroma of something unknown to me filled the air. This was Edni’s privacy for me only to see. To share. She made love to me.

                I felt if there ever was a night to remember, this was it. She was the night. She was sunshine in a veil. She was the embrace of passion. Love. She was the gift. The secret. The sensual cause. The center of reason. The heartbeat of a me.

                We pressed tight together. I could not hold back the sensuality extreme. Releasing everything for one moment of intense pleasure, an involuntary promise of spirits mingled. The body, the soul, the spirit; all one. Renewed by a woman’s love. From birth until the extension of time, a woman makes a man a man; she makes me; renews me.

                Whether a king or a pauper, a man is wealthy and rich when he has the love of an honorable woman. His throne is solid when adored by a woman loyal. That loyalty not earned, not inherited. Not even known ‘till now. With that loyalty promised, I slept.