Franz's n left before the first snow hit because of how terrible the winters in this mountains were. Thankfully we finished all of the major construction before then, even the houses for the returning Kanta who ca later in the sumr.
They had to supply us with rations for winter because our own hadn't grown yet. By this ti next year we should be self-sufficient.
Once everything was built we were able to breathe a little and focus on trying to build up our economy and shops in town that would keep us running. That was difficult to do once the snow hit.
Winter here was ten tis colder than winter in the capital of Annalaias had been. I wore layers and layers of clothes and still felt cold, even huddled in front of the fire. An Arizona girl was not equipped for this kind of snow without an electric heater.
Life in the village slowed to a standstill. The older generation knew how to keep going in the cold but no one else had lived here since they were very young or not at all.
As the clan leader's wife, I was expected to help everyone all the ti. But I was frozen to my very core so I didn't see how I would be able to help anybody. I spent the first month of winter huddled up under every blanket we owned, hardly daring to step outside.
One good thing ca of that winter though. To keep warm, Al and I spent a lot of ti under the sheets (if you know what I an) and I ended up pregnant with our first child.
I already knew it would be a boy because of the blessing of the mountain spiritswhich nobody here knew extended to temporary immortality until Sigmund dropped that bomb on usand had a hard ti deciding on a na.
"Ayana says the clan leader's na has started with A for generations," Al said casually. "Would you be alright with continuing that tradition?"
That still left with a lot of options. I didn't mind. "As long as I get to pick a na from my world."
He tilted his head at curiously. "What kind of nas do they have in your world? Katrina and Abigail seem like they could feasibly belong to people in Annalaias."
"My parents were old-fashioned," I explained a bit self-consciously. "Abby and I always went by nicknas because our given nas are so outdated." I went on to tell him about popular nas from my ho, almost all of which he had never even heard of.
Discovering I was pregnant brought my frozen self back to life. I was revitalized enough to continue my duties as the clan leader's wife for the rest of winter. But I had to admit, when spring finally ca to lt away the snow I nearly cried tears of joy.
We abandoned all of our other jobs to harvest the grains we planted in the fall and store them in the granary. Once the harvest was over we held a celebration of a traditional springti festival. Not all of the Kanta traditions were dead even though many had been forgotten.
The mountains were absolutely beautiful in the spring with all of those wildflowers beginning to bloom. Seeing that, I could understand why Al's people loved their holand so much.
As spring turned to sumr more refugees joined us so we had to focus on building again. Our mining export business was slowly but steadily growing even though we had to stop production so often to work on construction projects instead.
There were so many ideas I wanted to implent but I wasn't able to do much while we lived in a construction zone. At the very least, as promised, I got my library full of books donated generously by Franz and Mariela.
Many of the Kanta didn't know how to read so I did my best to teach them. I was the clan leader's wife and had to stick to my duties but I was also a librarian and librarians helped patrons no matter what.
Sumr turned to fall and I was too pregnant to help with the vegetable harvest but nobody begrudged that. I ran around a lot for a pregnant woman.
It was exhausting and I struggled without the modern conveniences I thought I would have when pregnant. I craved foods that didn't exist here and wanted to watch movies I couldn't watch. Sotis that, coupled with my hormones, made irrational and angry.
Throughout all of this Al was a saint. He continued to patiently love through it right up until it was ti for to give birth in the fall.
I refused to follow the tradition of kicking the husband out. My mother and sister weren't here to coach through this and I refused to push a human being out of on my own. The midwife looked at funny but let be.
Adam de Kanta ca kicking and screaming into the world right as the sun began to rise over the mountains following and long and difficult labor. He was absolutely beautiful. My family would have loved him.
Everyone in the village celebrated the birth of the future clan leader in a party that lasted for two whole days. I was overwheld by the sheer number of handmade baby items that people gave wanting the future clan leader to have sothing they made.
Al accepted everything graciously, thanking everyone for their contributions in the way only he could as their leader. Once everybody finally left, we had a mont to ourselves for the first ti since the birth.
I held Adam in my arms so he ended up holding in order to cuddle both of us. He radiated both exhaustion and contentnt.
"I didn't think it was possible to be this happyor this overworked. Or this happy about being overworked," he said with a laugh.
I knew exactly what he ant. Snuggling closer, I replied, "This is what we get for starting our own country and starting a family at the sa ti. I'm happy too though."
Looking up into those beautiful gray eyes seriously, I thought about how lucky I was that out of all the people in this world I ended up with him. I often wondered why my soul had co here after my death instead of going to a more traditional afterlife but as ti went on I thought I knew.
I was supposed to co here to be with Al and help the Kanta people recover what they had lost. My second chance at life hadn't started off on the best footing but now I was happier than I had been since before my parents died, even though I still missed Abby terribly. If she could be here, everything would be perfect.
"I'm glad that out of everybody I could have t after coming here that I was able to et you," I told him with a smile.
My husband's eyes softened and he kissed before kissing our baby. " too, Katie. too."
No matter what happened from here on out, I knew I would be okay because I had Al and Adam by my side. I had a family again and I would cherish them no matter what.
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