Still, though, Erik’s eyes locked with his wife’s, as if he was checking to see if the old Angeni had returned yet. Poor Erik—he hadn’t realized that she was never coming back.
“You guys have been working hard out there,” Angeni said.
He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and said, “We sure have.”
Someone had made a comment recently about how her household seemed divided along traditional gender lines, with the women (Angeni; her soul sister, Aurora; and their newest addition, Sitka) canning tomatoes and caring for Freya while the men (Erik and his soul brothers, Jer and Matt) tended The Land. This had been her dream—to create a loving community where members could contribute their individual strengths for the greater good. While she was the matriarch, everyone had their cherished part. She felt so supported in an era when she knew so many new mothers lacked support. Freya would grow up knowing her auntie Aurora and uncles Matt and Jer. There was so much affection, so much warmth. Angeni loved to share Instagram posts and reels of the life they’d created. They were living proof of a different way to do modern life. Angeni was convinced that if more people lived like them, they would be happier, less stressed.We are made to live in tribesshe’d posted recently, along with a photo of her tribe. The responses had varied—several people commented with#lifegoals, while others posted eye roll emojis with no further explanation. Erik said people were envious of the life they’d built, and, well, who could blame them.
Our division of labor is according to the interests and skill sets of the people involved. I expect other people divide labor according to what works in their unique family situation
The person wrote back:
And why do you think you’re interested in baking cookies and sewing booties while the men are getting a workout building a yurt? #gendersocialization
She didn’t respond to that one. There was no winning.
What people didn’t seem to understand was that she had the typically male role of breadwinner for their family. The Instagram accounts, the webinars, the workbooks—they were all her creations, and they all generated enough income for their family to live on. Erik participated in the couples-based work, yes, but there wouldn’t be couples-based work without Angeni’s initiative and ambition. Of course, calling attention to these facts would be detrimental to Angeni’s relationship with Erik. She understood his childhood wounding, his sensitivity to feeling unimportant and overlooked.
Freya fussed in her baby wrap, waking from the nap she’d taken while Angeni was making pasta from scratch. Angeni wiped her hands on a dish towel and lifted Freya from the wrap.
“She heard Daddy’s voice and wanted to say hi,” she said, holding the baby out to Erik.
Erik took Freya in his arms, his biceps flexing as he held their baby against his bare chest. People seemed to think skin-to-skin contact was only relevant for the newest of newborns, but Angeni was hoping to shift the cultural narrative about this by posting photos of Freya continuing to love skin-to-skin contact with her parents. Angeni was usually topless beneath the baby wrap, allowing Freya to nuzzle her breasts and feed whenever she needed. Angeni didn’t share this fact with the outside world, as she knew there were prudes that would be horrified that her boobs were on display daily in an environment shared with men besides her husband. People already thought it was strange that she lived in community with men besides her husband:anyone think she’s boning those two beefcakes?Sex was such a ridiculous fixation of modern society. Their community rose above all that. They didn’t believe in mind-numbing substances or escaping through screentime. They didn’t condone meaningless sex outside the bounds of a loving relationship. Matt had a girlfriend, Annika, who lived on Point White, at the southern end of the island. They had all met her, but she never stayed overnight on The Land. Matt stayed at her place a few nights a week. Angeni had made it clear that the community was to be kept small, intentional. She wanted everyone to feel completely safe. Jer was shy, private. If he dated, he kept it to himself, never advertising if he was spending the night elsewhere. Aurora hadn’t shown interest in romance, said she was more than fulfilled by the platonic love she felt on a daily basis. They all lived in peace, free of the drama that so many people seemed addicted to online.
“Morning,” Sitka said, stumbling into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
She’d been up most of the night with Freya so Angeni could get some much-needed rest. Angeni couldn’t deny that Sitka had been a wonderful, if unexpected, addition to their little community.
She’d arrived a month ago, showing up quite literally on Angeni’s doorstep, peddling turquoise the way Girl Scouts peddle cookies. She had all these pieces of jewelry in a little cart on wheels, the kind teachers use for classroom art supplies. She looked to be in the first half of her twenties, thin as a reed, gold hoop in her septum. When she introduced herself as Sitka, Angeni gasped.
“Sitka? Like the spruce tree?”
See, Angeni had a special relationship with trees, communed with them when feeling the need for grounding, planting her bare feet in their soil. The Sitka spruce was one of her favorites. There were a few of them on The Land. She could see the tallest one from the picture window over the kitchen sink.Majestic,she’d called it in one post.
“Yes, like the spruce tree. Not many people know that,” Sitka said with a nervous laugh, as if she were embarrassed by her namesake.
Angeni was convinced that this was not a chance encounter.
She invited Sitka in for tea and watched Sitka and Freya connect instantly with each other. Angeni believed that soul bonds were notjust of the romantic variety, but could exist between any two human beings, regardless of age, gender, or sexuality. Love at first sight was a more far-reaching phenomenon than people realized.
As they drank their tea, their conversation strayed from small talk to something deeper. They discovered that both Sitka and Freya were water signs—Sitka a Scorpio, Freya a Pisces. Sitka and Freya also had the same 6–3 Human Design profile, each carrying a potent mix of innocent curiosity and wisdom.Uncannywas the word Angeni used to describe the whole thing.Fatedwas the word she felt in her heart.
Angeni decided, rather impulsively, to invite Sitka to live on The Land. Their community did not have a formal handbook of rules, but Angeni had once stated that any new members would be welcomed by group consensus. Inviting Sitka without discussing it with anyone, especially Erik, was unusual, but she was the matriarch, and, well, she’d felt so drawn to Sitka. That was how she explained it, first to Erik, then to the others. They were noticeably skeptical. Especially Aurora. Angeni and Aurora had been friends since childhood, growing up in a poor neighborhood in Chelan County before making their way together to Seattle. Angeni had a feeling Aurora’s apprehension was less about Sitka being a stranger and more about Sitka being a potential threat to Angeni and Aurora’s bond.
“I don’t know what it is—I just feel this is right,” Angeni told the group when making her case for Sitka.
“Past-life type thing, maybe?” Erik ventured.
“Maybe. It’s the oddest thing. I feel like Spirit brought her to us.”
They didn’t like the wordgodfor all its connections to traditional religions and their power structures. Instead, they spoke of Spirit. Spirit had brought Angeni and Aurora together as girls. Spirit had brought Angeni and Erik together as partners. Spirit had brought Freya into Angeni’s womb. Spirit had brought Sitka to their doorstep.
“Your intuition is so powerful, Ang,” Jer chimed in. He was usually so quiet, to himself. When he spoke up, it was especially meaningful.
“Surrender to the universe,” Matt said, lifting his arms to the sky in his usual demonstrative fashion.
Aurora’s arms were crossed over her chest, her mouth a straight line.
“Trust the mysteries,” Erik said.
