The Wedding

In which Alo and Wyome begin their journey together in search of a blessing

The following is the first installment of my serial novel, ALO & WYOME.

FLAMES BURNED BRIGHT IN THE GREAT STONE OVENS lining the edge of the field. Columns of smoke rose from their chimneys, each hewed long ago from boulders that nature herself placed in a half circle.  The late winter sun cast a burgundy light that made the fires look bigger than they ever could on their own.

Villagers congregated in the center of that half-circle, arms linked at the elbow. While the flames and the waning sun gave everything an ominous tint, hope flowed from person to person, and anxious feet tapped out an arrhythmic beat with no melody. 

A betrothed couple knelt on the ground some distance in front of the crowd. The bride and groom gave their best displays of long-suffering, but their hearts pulsed in time with the tamping of the feet behind them. They trembled with nervous excitement beneath their facades. Tradition kept them separated for several weeks before the ceremony of their union. Tradition n…