“Not too soon, though,” I interjected hurriedly.
“You don’t have to worry about that for a long while.”
Both of them Laughed at my obvious concern. It wasn’t like a man could force her. My worry was
comical to them.
Still, how I wished everything in her Life would take a long while.
It was not to be. Kennedy grew fast, much quicker than Hannah. I knew the steps now and watched
them happen sadly. She flew and her wing tips were hardened. Unlike her older Sister she epted
the paint on the barbs graciously. When her talons grew I nearly spent the day in tears. I knew what
came next.
Rose and Fuji did their best tofort me. Rose understood my sadness, Fuji did not.
“We keep our children on Earth,” she told Fuji repeatedly. “The freedom they have here would be
unheard of at home.”
Fuji could notprehend, but she did her best to help me. She taught me a dance they did on her
native. It was one to celebrate new beginnings. I found the activity distracting and focused on
that when the sadness struck. Being active seemed to stave off the sadness, so I moved as much as I
could.
The day Kennedy’s teeth started toe in Hannah happened to be around. We sat and talked as my
youngest sucked on the cold stalks. Hannah was thrilled Kennedy could soon join her and Learn the
world. I did my best to be happy for them and not mourn my loss.
Within fifteen days of her teeth fully erupting, my second daughter left our dwelling. Seeing her fly off
with Hannah was moreforting than seeing Hannah do it all alone. Still, I cried on Christof’s chest
for most of the night.
My breast milk was dried up with a liquid that I drank daily for four days. It wasn’t as quick as the shot
had been, but I guess it didn’t hamper my fertility. I could not believe I was expected to reproduce so
soon.
Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.
My family and I, along with Basin’s and Stayne’s families were moved back to thepound after
Kennedy was gone. They were happy to get out of the mountains. I just felt numb.
The trip from the mountains to thepound was a haze for me. It seemed my world was held in a
permanently fog. I couldn’t seem to lift myself out of it.
My first day back at the Keepers for the Administrators was something I dreaded. Last time I’d been
here Vesa and her friends had attacked me. I feared finding out what had happened to them and I
wondered if they would still hate me. It wasn’t like I had the energy to fight with them.
Damien walked me into the Keepers that first morning and took me all the way into the hall we worked
in. He found my seat next to Rose and settled me. Leaving a hand on my shoulder he talked to the
Keepers and insured I’d have everything I needed for the morning.
A N G E L A ‘s L I B R A R Y
It was an odd disy. I assumed it was so the other girls would note how interested he was and not
harass me. If he’d asked I would have told him not to treat me different, but he obviously had his own
ideas.
I felt a kiss on my head and he was gone.
I sat staring nkly ahead, waiting, when Rose took my hand.
“They wish us to write Ciara, as we did before,” she said gently.
I had no ideas and sat looking at her. Rose took the initiative and started to write a short story. I wasn’t
even sure exactly what it was about. Fuji drew pictures for itter in the morning. It was all a blur to me.
My kneeling ce was by the front gate at lunch. The sun here was so much warmer than in the
mountains. I knelt in the warm rays and a tear crested my eye. Kennedy would love the weather here.
She adored sitting in sunny ces and talking with me. I was sure wherever she traveled she would
like the warm ces best.
Hannah was never that particr with Light. Obviously she adored the sky, but she had liked exploring
the crevices in the mountain, too Darkness and cold never seemed to bother her. Probably this would
suit her well for a mining career. That seemed a good way to earn money.