The sun set slowly, giving way to the silent dance of leaves beneath the cold breeze, carried by the sounds of the night. I crossed my arms in an instinctive attempt to warm myself and walked toward the great bonfire raised between Mirtis and our village. The Xerantos had used logs and dead branches. The lights of Mirtis illuminated the area, but they were too intense, almost stealing the fire’s primitive charm.

  Warmed and seated in two curved rows among dozens arranged around the flames, Aluram and I observed a curious scene: while the Sekvens exited the ship and gathered on one side, the Renascidas assembled on the other.

  Anastácia and Tariel joined them. As the Sekvens approached, the Renascidas grew restless, holding onto one another, laughing at the effort required not to run into their arms.

  The Sekvens stopped at a respectful distance, about ten meters.

  "Hold me!" Lira asked Nissi, just behind her, taking two steps forward.

  Melissa did the same, advancing with restraint.

  Then the Seliums knelt.

  "Why is that, my dear?" Melissa asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

  "We want to thank you for giving us William."

  Pride filled my chest without asking permission. The Seliums understood that it had been through my feelings that everything else had become possible.

  Then something unexpected happened: all the Sekvens knelt as well.

  "And we thank William for giving us you."

  I stood at the center of that crossed gesture. There were two seconds of silence until Lira, as surprised as I was, asked:

  "Please, stand up. You must not kneel."

  "And why not?" Melissa replied, serious.

  In that instant I understood what was happening. Lira remained still, searching the others for an appropriate answer. The Sekvens rose.

  "Stand up," Melissa said, in a tone that made them all obey immediately. "Never kneel again. You belong to the Known Universe. You belong to us. No one is superior to you."

  The lesson was clear, firm, necessary.

  Before Lira could say anything, Melissa anticipated her:

  "Do not apologize. You did nothing wrong. We know it was a pure and sincere act. We only used the moment so you may understand how much we love you and how important you are to us."

  A genuine smile appeared on every face there.

  "I want you very much," Lira said, biting her lips without disguising it.

  "So do we," Melissa laughed, turning back into Kane’s arms.

  "Hold hands. Form a chain," Sacha requested. "This time we will do it in a controlled manner. Kane will serve as a counterbalance."

  Kane took the hands of his partners, each holding one side of the chain. The other Sekvens did the same, while Yoko kept her hand at the back of Kane’s neck, beneath his hair.

  My heart raced. Anxiety would not allow me to remain seated. I tried to move closer, but Yoko’s gaze restrained me. I focused on Anastácia and Tariel’s reaction to the kiss they had received. They knew they could not overdo it. At least, that was what I hoped.

  Almost a minute later, Melissa and Sacha released their hands. The Seliums sat down, lay back, or embraced one another, calm and happy.

  I breathed in relief.

  "William?" Melissa called. "They are delightful," she smiled naturally. "Let us talk."

  With me at her side, she addressed the Renascidas, who strained to hear her.

  "Unfortunately, we cannot create pseudomemories to soften the trauma you endured. But we have visited your memories to help you in another way." She paused briefly. "You will remain medicated for a time, to accelerate recovery."

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  Sacha approached and embraced me. It was brief, but enough to erase any serious expression from my face.

  "When we called William for this mission, he could barely endure approaching us. Today he already accepts an embrace," Melissa continued. "The time will come when all of you will receive embraces and kisses, like Tariel and Anastácia."

  There were murmurs, contained excitement.

  "Affection like that requires great effort from us, to minimize the energy we transmit. At present only Sacha and I, after millennia dealing with humans, can manage such a thing. And there are many of you," she laughed softly. "We cannot manage alone."

  "That is why we will come frequently to Donna," Sacha completed. "We need to accustom you to our energy."

  Melissa continued:

  "We learned, by observing Tariel and you, that Seliums need to feel cared for. In time you will understand that, in the Known Universe, no one cares for themselves—we are cared for by others. Until then, and to help you overcome the trauma, all of you will sleep with William, as we Sekvens do." She pointed toward the largest structure. "There is a room there that is, essentially, a great bed. All of you will fit. At night, when insecurity arises, you will awaken and see that he is beside you. And not only him."

  "You may go even today," Kane explained. "The structure is not finished, but the room is ready."

  Aluram stood, drawing the trio’s attention.

  "I would kneel, but…" he laughed, restrained. "Could you also give us William?"

  Laughter was inevitable.

  "You already have him, Aluram," Melissa said. "Tomorrow we will show our love to every person in your village, as we did now. That will help your people find balance."

  "The Fadas will help," Sacha added.

  "They came?" Tariel rose quickly and ran to Sacha, drawing everyone’s attention.

  "They were so excited that they decided to make love to relax before coming," Sacha drew laughter. "They are arriving," she warned seconds before the Fadas exited the ship.

  There must have been about thirty of them, their wings reflecting the ship’s light. They made quite an entrance, enchanting everyone present, and it did not take long for some Seliums to nearly lose consciousness after being kissed or even brushed by a miscalculated flight.

  "I already said no kissing!" Aninha shouted, approaching us. "Be careful not to bump into anyone! Oh dear…"

  Aninha stopped right in front of Aluram.

  "What a handsome man!" she made a playful face. "More handsome than William… much more!"

  "Aninha!" I protested.

  "Thank you," Aluram replied, eyes wide.

  Aninha turned to me, stroking her chin as if caressing a beard—a gesture she liked to imitate.

  "Still imitating the captain?" I asked. "How long has it been? A thousand years?"

  "Which captain?" Aluram showed interest.

  "I do not know. I never asked his name," Aninha said.

  "Aninha went to his ship to warn them," I turned to Aluram. "He did not hear her, and they all perished."

  "I do not want to know about any captain!" she moved so close to my face that I had to lean back. "I want to know what you did here!"

  The Fada opened her arms toward the Renascidas, who were enjoying themselves with the small beings.

  "Are you going to handle all of this?"

  "You will help me. I cannot do it alone."

  "Us?" Aninha burst into laughter. "Humans are greedy… do you not agree, Aluram? He was so enchanted by so much beauty that he could not even stop."

  "From my point of view, you are all mad."

  Aninha laughed so hard that she caught Aerin’s attention, and Aerin joined us, standing at my side.

  "Look at Aerin," Aninha called her by name, without ever having seen her in person, "she is as beautiful as Sacha!"

  Before Aerin could say anything, the Fada quickly kissed her cheek, unbalancing her. I pulled her into my lap and held her.

  "I forgot! I was not supposed to kiss you." She covered her mouth with both hands. "But, William, you do know they are not with you only for pleasure, do you not?"

  "I know…" I replied, even knowing she would explain.

  "You offered them something scarce, yet abundant in you: belonging. The need to belong transformed exclusivity into a shared choice; that is why they share you among themselves. You did not create merely a harem. You created a sanctuary, where they are loved, cared for, and can express love while feeling safe."

  "Well said, Aninha," I teased.

  "I philosophized, did I not? I even became serious!" she laughed, leaned closer, and kissed my face. "Of course, the result of that is a great deal of pleasure."

  "How delightful! Aninha, kiss me again!" Aerin asked.

  "Never! I would be scolded."

  Aninha went off to have fun with the others. I smiled and turned my face, meeting Aerin’s eyes.

  "She is right. When worries fade…"

  Aerin kissed my lips.

  "I want you."

  Strangely, Tariel always appeared at such moments. And that instant was no different.

  "He is mine, Anastácia’s… and yours as well," Tariel said with a wide smile. "They are serving food. Shall we? You too, Aluram. Come with us."

  The Xerantos and some robots had set up several tables with food and brought a container filled with extra chairs. Whoever wished to sit simply had to fetch one.

  The Sekvens gradually reduced the physical distance as the Renascidas managed to control themselves better. This led to some amusing scenes, and mixed conversation groups formed. Yoko and Aerin spoke beside Aluram and me.

  "Why do you not play music?" Yoko asked Aerin. "We know that you, Nissi, Arwen, Elanor, Nessa, and Tilion can play some instruments."

  "How do you know that?" Aerin’s eyes widened.

  "We united today, my love," Yoko smiled. "We have been in your memories."

  "It is astonishing!" she laughed. "But we have no instruments."

  "We do. We copied some musical instruments found in Vila Selium," Yoko said. "They will bring them shortly."

  "Will you know everything about us?" Aluram asked.

  I waited for the wind to settle before answering.

  "Afraid?"

  "Very."

  "It is true… I did not like knowing they would enter my thoughts, my history, my feelings. But that is where the secret lies," I smiled, gesturing toward the lightness of the women. "Lightness takes hold of us, without unnecessary burdens. Only the certainty and the happiness of having someone who knows everything about us and, even so, without reservation, wants us for themselves and loves us with passion."