“I love you, too.” she replied in her new native tongue. This is why she was here. The goddess had blessed her family with new life, and she was the perfect creature to care for them. Thoughts of giving birth and raising another child filled her with a satisfying warmth. She couldn’t wait to give her husband another daughter, and to give Miao the little sister she’d been wishing for. The new mother grabbed a tattered skirt she’d found while foraging and wrapped it around her waist. The pair stood up and walked outside, the mother’s swollen breasts swinging freely. They spotted a couple of Americans walking around the village, calling for someone named “Chris” and holding their phones up in an effort to get a signal. Silly foreigners, don’t they know that their technology won’t work out here?
The older American man noticed Sai and her daughter standing in front of their hut and stared, mouth agape, at the beautiful, shirtless woman until his wife forcefully dragged him away. She couldn’t understand what the people were saying, but it didn’t sound like she was happy with him. The couple resumed their search for “Chris” while the mother and daughter began to make their way to the praying grounds. It was time for their daily prayer to the fertility goddess. They were thankful for everything she had given their people. After all, it would be rather difficult to grow enough food for their newest tribe members if it wasn’t for this fertile land.