Page 62 of Wild Life
“He loves you,” Aleki whispered.
A fat tear ran down my cheek. “I love him, too,” I admitted. Poaka was more than just an overgrown pig. He was my family.
Chapter 27
Daydreams and Nightmares
Aleki
“Stay still.” Maris plucked a weed from Poaka’s fur as he tried to wriggle out of her hold. I couldn’t blame him. His grooming session was uncomfortable, especially since she was doing it with a plastic fork.
Maris focused intensely, the tip of her tongue sticking out of her slightly parted lips, as she extracted weeds, food, and bugs from Poaka’s coat. She was careful not to disturb his cuts, which were still healing from being trapped in thorns. “You really got yourself into it, didn’t you? And now you’re so stinky!”
He was a pig, after all—one who wasn’t a fan of water.
Poaka dived under her knee, burying his snout and attempting to slide through for a quick escape. “Just one more,” she said, prying a beetle from her burly moving target.
Poaka let out a shrill squeal as he jumped.
Maris’s arms went around him, guiding him back onto her lap. “I’m sorry. Shhh,” she soothed, petting him softly. He cuddled into her like a baby, soaking up the attention.
Suddenly, images of Maris with a baby in her lap flashed through my mind.My baby.Her belly swollen with another little one.
I stood marveling at the mental picture of her eyes glowing with love as she soothed our child.
I had never had daydreams like this, but then again, I had never had this life before.
She caught me mid-reverie. “What?”
I smiled. “You two are cute together.”
She peered down at Poaka, who was as still as if he were asleep. “It’s mostly the furry pig. He can make anyone look cute.”
“It’s funny how much you love him now.”
“I’ve always loved him.” It rolled off her tongue so smoothly that she almost fooled me.Almost.
“Liar.”
“Okay, fine. He was frightening at first. Big and always pushing me around. After the snake attack, he’s grown on me.”
“Just like me?” I asked smugly.
“Just like you,” she purred.
She adored me, and though we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, underneath the lust, there was something more—something deeper that tugged at my heart when she smiled at me. The same feeling that made my stomach drop when I was away from her for too long.
Despite all the happiness, a nagging question prodded at me. “Do you miss your old life?” I asked.
Her face fell, and that pit in my stomach returned. “Yes.”
Hearing it dampened my newly found happiness.
“Don’t you miss it?” she asked, turning the question on me.
I hesitated. I would’ve immediately answered yes if I were still a child. Initially, I had missed the luxuries of the modern world. The convenience. The people. Ice cream. Except, things had changed. I had changed. Hope disappeared. “I don’t really remember my old life. This is all I know. This island is my life now, and I don’t think about anything beyond it.”
She worried her bottom lip. “You never wanted to go back home and meet someone? Fall in love? Start a family and have some cute little baby Cryptids?”
