Beh’s smile broadens, and I move closer to press my mouth to hers. Her lips are soft and warm, just like they always have been.
Slowly, she pulls away and lays her head against my shoulder. I settle down into the furs and look down at her face. I can feel her struggling breaths against my skin as I hold her close. She turns her face to me and gives me a final smile.
Again, she turns into my chest, and I feel her lips press against my skin. Another labored breath. Another.
No more.
My eyes burn, and my chest tightens. I pull her to me, tucking my head against her shoulder and inhaling the scent of her hair. My nose trails over the textured skin of her neck, and I place my lips lightly against her jaw.
I can’t stop the tears. I don’t want to cry. I’m too tired to cry. My life with Beh was beautiful, transcending everything that set us apart from each other and bringing us together with our family and tribe.
I shouldn’t cry.
I rub my cheek against her shoulder and tighten my grip. I wrap my arms around her and twist our legs together as well, just for good measure. I want to make sure nothing can separate us. I want to be positive we will remain together forever.
I settle myself against Beh’s body, sniff her hair again, and let out a long, deep breath.
Finally, I close my eyes for the last time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR | EPILOGUE
Many millennia later…
“Elizabeth! Isn’t that your mom’s find?”
I sigh, shrug my backpack further up my shoulder, and turn to see Teresa and Sheila coming up behind me. They both grab an arm to link through their own before dragging me to the next museum exhibit.
The Prehistoric Lovers.
“Is her group still being investigated for fraud?” Teresa asks.
“Yeah, I guess,” I reply. “No one’s admitting anything, and they haven’t found any kind of real evidence it was planted on purpose.”
“What was planted?” Sheila asks. Her parents totally forbid any television watching or internet use, so she never has the slightest idea what’s going on in the world. I can’t imagine not having a television, or an iPad, or my phone. Just…no.
I really don’t want to go into it all with them, so instead of answering, I lean over and push the little button near the edge of the exhibit that holds the skeletal remains of two prehistoric people, wrapped in a tight embrace.
“The Prehistoric Lovers,” a soft, feminine voice begins. Mom’s voice always reminds me of when she would read to me before bedtime, and I smile as it chimes through the museum’s speakers. “The dig, located near Pecs, Hungary, was discovered…”
Several other patrons join the group—some from my senior class and some just the usual museum visitors. The find received a lot of national attention from the get-go, but when its validity was questioned because of one of the items found at the site, the media went berserk. I don’t understand their fascination with the whole thing, really. I mean, it has to be a mistake, right?
“…carbon dating establishing them far earlier than any other Homo sapiens’ remains discovered…”
I look over the various objects found at the site. Most of it is the usual stuff. Aside from the actual, fossilized skeletons wrapped in an everlasting embrace, there is evidence of a cooking fire, including some bits of broken pottery that were found in a nearby lake that were thought to be the same age. The pieces aren’t really fired, like I learned to do at the YMCA last summer, just rough clay pieces. The break is strange, making a unique zigzag pattern down the center.
“…controversy around the site began when a small, round button was discovered amongst the remains…”
A spotlight comes on, and I have to roll my eyes. I can’t believe they are actually highlighting the thing that has made everyone question the entire find. The light reflects off a small, silver button with letters spelling out “JORDACHE” in a semi-circle around it.
“…though no real explanation has been determined…”
“Oh my God!” Teresa exclaims as she reaches down and grabs at the metal button of my jeans, which also happens to have “JORDACHE” stamped on it. “I always knew you had the fashion sense of a Neanderthal!”
Teresa goes into a fit of hysterical laughter, and Sheila giggles into her hand. I’m sure she’ll try to use this as a way to get me to reconsider a shopping expedition to Atlanta this weekend. I have way too much homework, and between Mom’s find and Dad’s experiments, I’m the only one doing any housework these days, too. The dirty laundry is going to form its own system of government if I don’t get it washed soon.