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“Hey, Buck,” Stanley touched his shoulder, “what’s the matter? You look all phased out.”

Scott called for another weak drink. “I’m fine,” he said. “I’ll be fine,” he amended.

He had hoped to be able to go to the Anai valley for the celebration of the first sunrise, but was too busy welcoming the delegation of scientists, officials and government workers that had arrived on the first flight from New Zealand. Fifty or so of the summer workers that have been stranded at McMurdo since before darkness fell would join them on the flight back. Scott gave the kiwis a thorough tour of the station and, as he has long been in the mood to wipe his bottom with his contract’s secrecy clause, gave them access to the Anai records, which left them speechless.

“It’s a hoax,” one of the officials, Dan Braam, kept saying, shaking his bald head. “It must be a hoax, or… if it isn’t, it’s the greatest government conspiracy I have ever encountered.”

“It is not a hoax,” Scott said. “If the weather is fine, we can fly to AN-85 even tomorrow, and you will see with your own eyes.”

The jaws of the New Zealanders nearly hit the ground when they finally made their way to the Anai valley, saw the settlement and the crowd of strange-looking people advancing from it, and heard Scott’s interpreting.

“Amazing,” Dan Braam couldn’t stop repeating. “Amazing. Amazing. If the world weren’t in such a big mess after this war, the United States government would be facing some extremely harsh scrutiny from the international community. It appears the rights of these indigenous people have been trampled under the boot of greedy government agendas far too long. This injustice will be rectified. They will receive an internationally recognized right to their lands, and access to as much civilization as they can wish… though nobody will foist it on them, to be sure. And this can be published! It will be a sensation!” Braam’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Scott left the New Zealand men to walk around and admire, and took his steps to the house of Tahan. She was alone in the little field, sowing the strange grain the Anai grew. Upon seeing Scott, she straightened up and smiled.

“We had hoped to see you for the first sunrise,” she said. “There is very little sun yet, but soon there will be plenty.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come. I will tell you about it now… where is Egan?” he asked.

“Omrek took him for a visit. Egan just loves going to the new house. I just hope he won’t get jealous once Omrek and Manari have children of their own,” Tahan shook her head.

They came inside and, like so many times before, sat on the grass mats before the cooking fire. “Tahan,” Scott said, “you might have glimpsed the new men I brought to the valley. These men come from beyond the sea, and they are friends, to us and to you. They will make sure the whole world knows the valley and bay and the lands around are yours, and no evil men like Nash will ever come to bother the Anai again. The Great War is over, and I hope the world will find its footing once again.”

She nodded but, to his surprise, a frown of concern appeared between her brows. “Then those who couldn’t leave before the dark season will be able to leave now?” Scott had told her of their predicament before.

“Yes.”

She looked straight at him. “Are you going to leave, Scott?”

He returned her gaze, shifted closer, and took her hand in his. This was the moment of truth, and his heart was hammering. “Tahan,” he said, “I will never leave, unless you want me to.”

She held his gaze and smiled upon him, and that smile was like the first dawn after the long, dark winter. Her beautiful eyes were luminous with promise, and hope, and new life. With a contented sigh, she rested her head on his shoulder and, on impulse, Scott leaned in and kissed her. She looked up at some surprise — the Anai were not accustomed to kissing on the mouth — but certainly with no displeasure.

“Is it one of your customs?” she asked, smiling coyly. “I should like to learn.”

“I’ll teach you all about it,” Scott promised.

* * *

Jerry and Zoe were married shortly after, in an improvised ceremony that took place in the Chapel of the Snows. The chaplain, who was just preparing to leave for New Zealand with the delegation, was a little flummoxed at the request to conduct wedding rites before he embarked on his flight, but complied with good grace. The cooks provided a surprisingly lavish wedding brunch, including a three-tiered cake decorated with sugar flowers, and volunteers decorated the church with many bunches of colorful balloons and an enormous banner that said, ‘Jerry and Zoe — Congratulations!’

The bride wore a scrupulously ironed white gown, which she had brought with her to McMurdo to be worn at special events, and which had lain unused for years at the bottom of her closet. She also had a veil, ingeniously made from a mosquito net that Petri Karhu had brought with him — heaven knew why — when he first traveled to the station.

Tahan, Egan, Omrek and Manari were present at the wedding. Dan Braam was quite enthusiastic about promoting the mingling of the Anai with modern society, and looked complacently at the unusual guests who, in their sealskins and ivory beads, attracted almost as much attention as the bride and groom.

“Scott,” Tahan said in a whisper, just as the chaplain launched into the recital of wedding vows, “I have talked to elder Ne Riorag about — about us, our joining and you becoming the man of my hearth and father to Egan.”

“Yes?” Scott’s arm sneaked around her waist.

“He is happy for us, but said that with me being chieftainness, and Egan due to become chief after me, the Anai people won’t approve my choice unless you are an Anai man as well.”

Scott frowned. “Well, I am not… but can I be? Can one become Anai?”

“I asked Ne Riorag just that. He didn’t know what to say at first — the Anai have lived so long without seeing any other people, that making a foreigner one of us was never a question. But he said that, as you are a friend, and respect our customs, and as the people know you and like you, it can almost certainly be done, if you agree… do you agree, Scott? Would you become a man of the Anai?”

Scott looked at her with a rush of feeling. “I would become anything to be with you,” was on the tip of his tongue, but he realized it wasn’t strictly true. The Anai had become almost kin to him, and he had lost his home — his homeland would never be the same. He could put in roots in the strange, beautiful, fertile valley, and become one with its people.

“Yes,” he said, “I will be very happy to become one of the Anai.”

When Scott came over to accept a slice of wedding cake from the hands of the bride, he didn’t mean to slow down the queue of well-wishers and friends, but Zoe’s voice made him linger. “Scott,” she said, “I have been meaning to tell you… Jerry and I are leaving.”

Scott stared, a plate of cake in his hand. “Leaving?” he repeated.

“Well, not quite right now,” Zoe went on apologetically. “We’ll wait until the station is in proper shape. But we’ve discussed this, and we both really want a change. We won’t return to the States, though. There’s nothing there for either of us. We plan to get some land in New Zealand, if we can, and start a nursery. Jerry is itching to get his hands into some real soil, not artificial potting mix,” she concluded with a smile.

Scott swallowed. This was a harsh blow, but he wouldn’t let selfishness take over at this moment. “Congratulations, Zoe, and good luck,” he said.