《Granny's SETI Goblin》 Free Clinic "I don''t want to go." I sat beside my daughter, who had the most miserable expression I''d seen on her in 19 years of life. She held a backpack with woefully little room for 65 years of my collection. Outside the window of the bus, I watched old mansions of Inman Park with their dead trees and bushes. I guess that''s me, now. "Granny, I don''t want you to go, either." Luna, my 4 year-old granddaughter, hugged me with her smelly goblin toy my daughter¡¯s sorry ex gave her for her birthday last week. Already, her dog Bully gave his opinion of the toy, and no amount of scrubbing makes it smell better. ¡°I decided you need Dromie more than I do.¡± She pressed the toy into my arms. A pointy ear snagged one of her twin braids. Her hair was lighter brown than ours. As if I don¡¯t have enough nightmares! This thing had an evil smile, a green plastic face with pointy ears, and enough teeth to chomp my arm. Blue eyes and a softer plastic body didn¡¯t make it very comfortable to hold. It probably started life as a Halloween yard decoration, as faded as it is. I showed her Andromeda in my telescope but she calls it Dromie, so now this ugly toy has the name. Luna had tears in her blue eyes. ¡°He¡¯s the best toy. He listens to all my problems.¡± She gave a dramatic sigh. Everything¡¯s dramatic for this wannabe little actress. She could pass for white with that tan skin. Gwen¡¯s medium brown and I¡¯m dark, but my mama was blue-black. Luna has her blue eyes. ¡°Then, you should keep him¡ª¡± ¡°Mama won¡¯t let me. You¡¯ll keep him safe for me, won¡¯t you?¡± The screeking of bus brakes gave me an excuse not to answer. I wasn¡¯t so sure I wanted a free clinic giving me a referral to a nursing home. We got off the bus and my daughter Gwen dropped her bomb. ¡°Mama, I¡¯m getting a divorce. We¡¯re locked out. That¡¯s why I¡¯m doing this.¡± Her green eyes filled. I nearly lost my grip on my walker! ¡°We¡¯re homeless? But, you¡¯ve got rights! Bubba can¡¯t keep our things¡ª¡± ¡°Mama, he threatened me with his .45! He warned me to leave the key on the kitchen table. I don¡¯t know where Luna and I are goin¡¯. I¡¯m takin¡¯ her to pre-school, then I¡¯m job-huntin¡¯ again.¡± She sobbed. I tried to hug her and the walker creaked. ¡°Mama, just hold onto this. I stuffed a few clothes in Luna¡¯s backpack, and a few in mine. I know this clinic¡¯s new, but maybe they¡¯ll let you sit there long enough for me to find us a place. I put your meds in your bag. There wasn¡¯t room for clothes, but they¡¯ll put hospital gowns on you in the nursing home, anyway.¡± I already panted. The walk from north from Ponce de Leon Av went on forever. I had to sit in my rollator often. A pleasant day, but cold. When I put my right hand in my pocket, there were snacks. I gave a pack of peanut butter crackers to Luna. ¡°Dromie needs that. Here, Dromie.¡± When she pressed the end against his mouth, it opened! I wasn¡¯t expecting it, and the teeth went down on my finger and crackers crunched. ¡°Ow!¡± ¡°Bad, Dromie! Don¡¯t bite people!¡± The mouth opened. My finger had a cut! It¡¯s mechanical, too? Who would build something like that, for a kid? Gwen produced a used paper napkin from her pocket. No trace of the crackers. Gwen¡¯s brown eyes rolled. ¡°If you get hungry later, I¡¯m not puttin¡¯ my hand in there! He got me good after the party.¡± She rubbed her hand, which had a jagged cut on the back. It¡¯s red. ¡°Did you put anything on it?¡± ¡°Yeah, an¡¯ Bubba hit me. His first aid kit is off limits.¡± My daughter got teary. I thought he just yelled. Now I noticed how big her right shoulder was. Oh, I wanted to give him Dromie! ¡°Why didn¡¯t you bite Bubba? We¡¯re the good guys!¡± ¡°Yeah, the good guys!¡± Luna nodded hard. I laughed. She¡¯s so funny. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. A wicked laugh came from Dromie. I felt really creepy about this toy, but Luna never went anywhere without it. Not since Saturday, anyway. ¡°What about her dog?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Bubba¡¯s dog.¡± Why would I think he¡¯d get anyone a dog? He probably named it Bully. Didn¡¯t live up to his name, though. He loved Luna. Brown and white Pitt bull, of course. I kept having to sit after just a few steps. Gwen sighed. ¡°Mama, I¡¯m sorry, but I have to get Luna to pre-school at Toomer Elementary. Can you make it? Here¡¯s the address.¡± She wrote it on an old bus schedule. ¡°I¡¯ll make it. Honey, I wish I could help you¡ª¡± ¡°I know you would. Be careful, Mama.¡± She kissed my cheek and left with Luna. I put my smelly goblin friend in my bag with my phone. ¡°Don¡¯t eat anything in there, okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I startled. Looked behind me, and Gwen had Luna on her back, running. ¡°My poor daughter¡¯s gonna kill herself. I guess it¡¯s just Granny and the Goblin, now.¡± I looked at the address again. It¡¯s a long way. I got back up and grabbed the handles. My walker has hot pink spray paint on it and white truck bed sealant on the seat. Rips from Bully make it darned uncomfortable to sit on. ¡°Granny and the Goblin. I like.¡± The plastic face didn¡¯t move. ¡°Uh, okay. You wouldn¡¯t have anything to do with SETI finding aliens this morning, would you?¡± ¡°They did?¡± That voice wasn¡¯t gravelly like I¡¯d expect, but more like just a male adult. I made it a few more steps and sat down again. I had him on the side so I wouldn¡¯t be feeling that big nose against my back. ¡°Yeah, SETI got prime numbers, then Morse code, then a whole treaty. They want us to join a trade network. Maybe two of ¡®em.¡± I felt silly talking to a toy. Or is it? I really didn¡¯t want to be alone with it. ¡°Oh, then I guess I don¡¯t have to hide now.¡± He got out of my bag and stood beside me. Now, he¡¯s as tall as Luna and looked like her. ¡°You like the way Luna looks. I can talk like her, too. Her hair¡¯s soft.¡± He pulled at medium brown curls with a hot pink ribbon on each. She didn¡¯t have that. I¡¯ve been talking to him. But, I¡¯m holding that napkin down with my finger and it¡¯s still bleeding. ¡°It wasn¡¯t very nice of you to bite me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I guess I was pretty hungry. I don¡¯t eat people. I¡¯m really kind of lost.¡± He had tears in those blue eyes. ¡°Lost? Why did you come here?¡± ¡°They made me work in a mine because I can change my shape. I can get in places others can¡¯t. But some of us escape-ded. I hid on one of the ships that came here.¡± I stopped. Panted more. ¡°You mean, there are more of you?¡± ¡°Not like me. I¡¯m the only one of my kind left. You call me a goblin, but I¡¯m a¡ªthere¡¯s not a word for me.¡± He said it, and I never heard a sound like that in my life except in a horror movie! Kind of a metallic screech. ¡°I¡¯ll stick with goblin! I never was any good at foreign languages, anyway.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t look much like a goblin. We¡¯re related to Bisillips, so I do have green skin.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a Bis¡ªwhat do you really look like?¡± ¡°You really want to see? You weren¡¯t very happy with me being a goblin.¡± He looked at his pink shoes. ¡°Mama always said, ¡®Be yourself.¡¯ I¡¯ve known people who were born with deformities, but it¡¯s what¡¯s inside that counts. As long as you don¡¯t want to bite people or beat them up. That¡¯s not good.¡± He frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯t like it when Bubba hit Gwen! She cried. I didn¡¯t want to scare her. Are you sure you want to see what I really look like? People in the mine didn¡¯t like me.¡± I sat on the walker. ¡°Yes, I really want to see.¡± Hoped I could handle it! ¡°Okay.¡± He got taller and his skin turned green and shiny. ¡°Is this okay?¡± He was thin as a skeleton, with a very bony face, but he smiled. His face clicked. ¡°That¡¯s okay. You look like that?¡± ¡°Yes. Should I have ears? You think I look funny.¡± He didn¡¯t. Or hair. Behind him, a couple walked towards us from the next block. ¡°Maybe you should look more like me. Not fat, though.¡± He stayed about at my elbow in height, but skinny. Stocky and dark brown, like me. ¡°Pass for Earthling?¡± ¡°Pass!¡± I held my hand up for a high five and hoped he wouldn¡¯t do it hard. He barely tapped my palm. ¡°You¡¯re tired. Let me carry you.¡± Somehow, he got himself under the walker and moved. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt yourself!¡± ¡°I¡¯m strong. I lifted rocks twice as heavy as you in the mine.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯ll get arrested for child abuse! You still look like an 8-year-old!¡± He put me down and rolled the walker. ¡°Uh, that¡¯ll tear up the wheels!¡± They got beefier. ¡°Now it¡¯s better! Let¡¯s go, Granny!¡± He ran pushing the walker. I worried that it''d get caught on a crack in the sidewalk, but the ride wasn''t bumpy at all! I waved at the couple. But, they turned around when we passed them and walked behind us. ¡°Excuse me, are you going to the clinic in the embassy?¡± Escort To The Embassy Dromie stopped. ¡°Yes, we are! We¡¯re going to the Atlanta Alliance Embassy.¡± ¡°Let us walk with you. I am Javier, Diplomat Of Elshar Zheiea, and this is Bettina Escoria, Lawyer Of Atlanta.¡± ¡°Elshar Zheiea? As in, Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony?¡± The man frowned. ¡°We should nae discuss here. Let us go to the embassy¡ª¡± ¡°But, if you are Zheien, will you declare me a citizen? I need a place to go. This lady needs a place to go, and her daughter and her 4 year old granddaughter!¡± ¡°I declare you a citizen of Elshar Zheiea! But let us discuss this in the embassy.¡± I wanted to tell him I didn¡¯t agree to a nursing home on another planet! But maybe I¡¯m not legally able¡ªthe way that social worker talked to my daughter yesterday. They kicked me off the list for Medicaid residential services. If she told her we were going to be homeless, maybe that explains why. I couldn¡¯t talk to Gwen because Bubba was in one of his moods. Now I wish I¡¯d called 911. Javier frowned at my walker. ¡°Such a hard seat! Shall I carry you, Lady?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± The seat was digging into my rear, but it¡¯s just a little ways further. I am 250 pounds. He leaned close. ¡°I feel pain from you¡ª¡± Dromie cried. ¡°I promised I wouldn¡¯t hurt her! I already bit her finger!¡± The man startled. Looked at my still-bleeding finger. The napkin was soaked. But he reached a hand over. Hummed. All the blood vanished from the napkin! My finger didn¡¯t have a cut. My glove had teeth marks, but he waved and my clothes looked new! ¡°Ooh, he¡¯s magic! I¡¯m just a demon.¡± I laughed. ¡°Dromie, you¡¯re not a demon¡ª¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what a goblin is?¡± ¡°Goblins aren¡¯t real. They¡¯re made up.¡± Dromie put my hand on his arm. Cold! ¡°I¡¯m real.¡± ¡°But, you were pretending to be a goblin toy.¡± Javier looked worried, and more people walked towards us. ¡°Please, Friends, let us discuss in the embassy. May I carry you, Lady?¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m heavy¡ª¡± ¡°Her name¡¯s Aine. It rhymes with bane, like ¡®the bane of my existence¡¯¡ªmaybe that¡¯s not a good one.¡± I laughed. ¡°Next time, use train. I love trains!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I was shaking, just being on my feet this much. Javier picked me up and walked. I heard the walker clattering behind us. Unlike Dromie, Javier was very warm, which felt wonderful to my arthritic joints! He hummed pleasantly as we walked. We passed historic Victorians. At least they¡¯re all nice aliens. But leaving Earth! That¡¯s scary. Gwen and I have problems, but I know the problems here. Dromie came from a mine? On his world? Why doesn¡¯t he want to go back? But he said he was the last one. Maybe he just doesn¡¯t want to be alone. People stared at us as we passed. With this man carrying me, it didn¡¯t take long to go up the long hill. I knew all these houses from Inman Park Tour Of Homes. When I was married to Harrison, I had to memorize details about each house and who first lived there, because we volunteered to answer questions about them at the end of the tour. But, we walked in a gate up a curved walk to a house I didn¡¯t recognize. It matched the style of other houses, but was medium blue, a very bright color for a house. I would remember this one! They faked a house? I knew the map of every street in Inman Park, including Elizabeth Street. This house was too perfect. Every rosebush and tree was exactly spaced, though bare in January. No defects in the front door jamb from settling of the wood. No evidence of old repairs. Not even a patch of flaking paint or wear on the steps or the porch floor. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The door opened without him slowing down. My reflection showed a very fat lady with a young face for 65. ¡°O, bring her here! Lady, I am Pas, a healer.¡± This fella had red-gold eyes! The front door closed. ¡°Hey, can I wave this thing into her terminal?¡± ¡°Eae, you may. How shall I call you?¡± He made that sound like scraping metal, a high-pitched sound that made people around us flinch! Javier was now yellow-skinned, and his blue eyes went black, like black marbles in the white! This other man had orange skin and took me in a room. ¡°Isn¡¯t Dromie coming?¡± He shivered as me made me comfy. ¡°Javier brought Pirad. Let me see you first.¡± Then, he startled as he raised twin-fingered hands. ¡°You see through my image? Does my appearance frighten?¡± I laughed. ¡°Dromie doesn¡¯t scare me now, so I guess you aren¡¯t as scary as he is! What are you and Javier?¡± He smiled. ¡°We are Zheien. But Javier is a diplomat and I am a healer. I wish to touch your forehead, and I can use my telepathy to heal you.¡± I told him about my arthritis and having trouble remembering things. They usually want a list of my meds and Gwen has to carry a print-out of it, but he had a list that floated in the air with my latest test results. ¡°Who¡¯s Pirad?¡± ¡°He knows greater healing than I! If you are ne frightened, I can bring him. He is Bisillip.¡± A picture came up of a bony man, half my width and green. But, Dromie has three fingers and three toes. This man had hands and feet like mine, but very bony and angular. ¡°Dromie said he was related to Bisillips.¡± This man just appeared on my bed and clicked his jointed face into an expression of dismay. ¡°He is not!¡± Pirad touched my head and I thought a lot better! Arthritis didn¡¯t hurt as bad, either! ¡°Thanks! But, you¡¯re cold like Dromie.¡± ¡°You think of him as a friend, but he is not! I will take him¡ª¡± ¡°But, I want to take my family to MarKu. They have a Black city planned. They are Black and want to be part of a community like them.¡± Pirad frowned at Dromie, who now looked like he did as that plastic doll, just taller like an 8 year old. ¡°They may go but you cannot.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell me what to do. I¡¯ll tell Rentappenen!¡± Everyone in the room gasped! Pirad clicked his face into an expression of horror! ¡°You would help him destroy 13 more galaxies?¡± I frowned at Dromie. ¡°You don¡¯t want to destroy galaxies, do you? Earth¡¯s in a galaxy. Bubba¡¯s mean, but there are a lot of nice people on this ol¡¯ Earth, and I don¡¯t want you to hurt any of ¡®em!¡± He lost the silly, wide-mouthed smile and blinked those huge, blue eyes at me. ¡°But, that¡¯s what we do. We¡¯re good at destroying things that get in the way¡ª¡± ¡°Get in the way? Galaxies have people, and people are important. Did you get to know anyone in ¡®em before you went and destroyed ¡®em?¡± I got upset. Dromie looked at his huge feet. ¡°Well, no. I was scared of Rentappenen, so I just did what he said, so he wouldn¡¯t destroy my people. But, he got mad and did it anyway. I was a slave for a long time. I hid.¡± ¡°So, why would you want to talk to him or do anything for him again?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s strong, and he¡¯s gonna win.¡± He got that silly smile. ¡°He¡¯s a bully. If he wins, he¡¯ll get all the good stuff, and he¡¯ll probably kill you, too.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Would you miss me, if I die?¡± ¡°Luna sure will! Of all her toys and even her Princess Priscilla doll, she took you with her. She said you listened to all her problems.¡± I looked in his big blue eyes. ¡°Yeah, I guess I¡¯d miss ya, too.¡± He hugged me. ¡°Then, I¡¯m sorry I bit Gwen. She was going to throw me away and I wanted to be with Luna, so I bit her. But, when I did that, she became part of me and I thought about things. Now you¡¯re part of me and I think more. ¡°In the mine people were scared of me. I don¡¯t look like anything nice, like Zheien or Thordes or even Elshars. Elshars aren¡¯t nice. Well, some were. But they didn¡¯t become part of me. Not until you. Now, it¡¯s different. All of them are part of me. You did that, Aine.¡± I hugged him, and my body changed. I¡¯m not fat! ¡°Thanks, Dromie! But, I guess I should try to pronounce your real name.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it. Our people were all warriors. Maybe we shouldn¡¯t have been. We conquered or we destroyed. Andromeda is pretty. Remember when you had Gwen get your telescope out to look at it when Bubba left? Luna held my eye so I could see it. She said it was pretty, and I looked, and it is pretty, and I saw worlds of people like this one. Luna doesn¡¯t even know them, but she loves them anyway. Eriganh and Rentappenen like hate. So did Satauuver, but hate killed him. Rentappenen will kill me if I don¡¯t help him.¡± I hugged him harder. ¡°Some things are worth dying for, Dromie. Sounds like he¡¯ll kill you no matter what. But you can die fighting him.¡± ¡°Okay, Granny. I¡¯ll fight him! Here¡¯s what I can do, Pirad!¡± They stared at each other. Pirad backed away with a scared expression frozen on him. They Don鈥檛 Want Him A white walrus appeared and wailed at him! He screeched that metallic screeching at him. He backed away, too! Looked at me with his huge purple eyes. He wore a blue vest and top hat. ¡°This is your fault! Earthans are not supposed to interfere in matters of the Councils! You are primitives and do not know what is involved! This man should leave our level!¡± Dromie hugged me and cried! ¡°I won¡¯t leave them to die! No! I will fight Rentappenen. All of you are fighting. I will prove my loyalty by fighting with you!¡± That walrus waddled closer. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you! Your people pretended loyalty, then gave the Jain weapons they were not ready to have. They destroyed themselves¡ª¡± ¡°Eriganh forced us to work for Rentappenen. We gave them weapons because Eriganh told us to make weapons for them. Eriganh said we were born for masters. Rentappenen said we were slaves for masters. This lady is the first to tell me I can be free, I can choose!¡± He pointed to me with a gnarled finger. ¡°I choose to help your new Council.¡± ¡°Your help is fatal! We can die without you.¡± The walrus made a hmph sound. Dromie hopped off the bed and looked up at him. ¡°We can all live, with my help. My people¡¯s weapons are in every place Eriganh¡¯s and Rentappenen¡¯s men live. All I need to do is change them, because they are alive.¡± ¡°If you make them live, how do we know if they will help us, or interfere with Eriganh¡¯s battle? There can be no interference with that! You must wait! You can¡¯t go to Alb. Rentappenen will find you and destroy us all!¡± ¡°Then, take me with you to the 6th¡ª¡± ¡°You think they want you there? No Council will accept you. Your only option is to leave.¡± ¡°Good!¡± Gwen came to the bed holding Luna. ¡°Dromie! Granny, you kept him safe for me!¡± She held out her arms, but Gwen snatched her away. ¡°That thing bit me! I¡¯m not goin¡¯ near it! Granny, they have a Black city on MarKu! Imagine, a whole city full of Black people like us! All our lives, we been tryin¡¯ to live a white life! Now we can get in touch with our culture.¡± She went on about it, but behind her was a sunset. We¡¯ve been here all day? That white-robed healer put them on the bed. He sang something pretty and the gash on her hand healed up. ¡°I can do better than that!¡± Dromie grabbed her hand and her arm cracked! Gwen tried to jerk it away, but she broke her arm as a kid and it was crooked. Now it¡¯s straight. That walrus moaned. ¡°You¡¯ll bring Rentappenen¡ª¡± That healer waved, and white goo fell on our ankles. ¡°This is an aandat. Once it places itself, you will be healthier. Most Earthans have immunity from all diseases, you heal faster from injuries, and gain telepathy.¡± ¡°May I have one?¡± Dromie blinked his huge blue eyes at him. ¡°Ea.¡± He waved a twin-fingered hand and one also dropped on his feet. It zipped up his shorts and he giggled. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fast!¡± The healer lost his smile. ¡°Are you unwell, my son?¡± That walrus frowned! ¡°Do not think to heal him, Pas! You would die, to touch his mind! Would you try to heal a Kajarian? He is like 20,000 of them!¡± Pas gasped and rolled his twin fingers up. ¡°Can you heal him?¡± ¡°I could, but I will not! He can destroy the 13, with a thought!¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Thirteen galaxies. With a thought?! ¡°Well, what if I think to bring back all of the galaxies my people destroyed?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that until Adia fights Eriganh!¡± ¡°Look there!¡± Dromie pointed to the big picture window in the lobby. We could see it from the doorway of the one room clinic. Red and white flashes in the sky was like fireworks! Then a big purple flash, and it was just a pretty pink sunset. No clouds. ¡°It¡¯s over. Now can I do it? I¡¯ll prove my loyalty to all of you!¡± Another person threw purple light all over! His features and body changed constantly. ¡°I am Wslarc. Yes, you should bring all of the civilizations back that you destroyed, but not any of your people. These people are contaminated by you. They must not set foot in Alb. Go and fight Rentappenen and bring my armies against him.¡± ¡°But, it¡¯s over! He¡¯s dead!¡± Dromie spread his arms out. ¡°Do not argue with me. Bring them forth in time to help defeat them. He is hiding in the past. You can find him and destroy the Cube Of Many Colors with your weapons.¡± ¡°I tried this in 1,897 timelines¡ª¡± ¡°If you mean what you say, you will do this. Many more civilizations died in this fight, because you did not help. It is not allowed to destroy civilizations. As the last remaining of your species, you will take their penalty.¡± ¡°You won without me! Why should I die for you?¡± Dromie crossed his arms. I touched his shoulder. ¡°Dromie, you said you¡¯d bring them back. You gave your word. A man¡¯s word is his bond.¡± I thought about civilizations on Earth that died. The Roman Empire. The Assyrians. The Babylonians¡ªmaybe they should¡¯ve. But that¡¯s not for me to judge. Lots of civilizations just here on Earth, and these were worlds and galaxies of people! Dromie looked at me. Nodded slowly. ¡°You don¡¯t even know ¡®em, but you love ¡®em. Okay, Granny, I¡¯ll go fight, for you, and for my family.¡± He vanished. Luna cried. ¡°Dromie! Where¡¯d he go? He can¡¯t fight! He¡¯s little!¡± Gwen picked her up. ¡°I¡¯m glad he gone! He creepy¡ªhey! Where¡¯s this?¡± I looked out of that big picture window. No trees? The Embassy was empty. We got out of that soft bed and walked to the front door. Luna opened it. Outside was a rocky landscape. No plants! But, no people. I looked around. Beside the Embassy was a cute Victorian like we always talked about when Gwen was little. Hot pink with blue trim. A black iron fence. A little version of it in the yard with a kid-sized door and windows. Luna saw it and ran for it. Flowers grew all around it. ¡°Oh, I made a wish and Dromie did it! I have my own garden, and furniture like I saw in Disney movies!¡± She opened the door and it had a grand staircase to the 2nd story, but her size! There were only 3 stars in the black sky. Empty. I was nervous about leaving Luna there but Gwen ran up onto the porch. It had two sets of wooden swings facing each other, each in a round part on the corners of the 2 story house. She opened the door and we had all sorts of furniture in all colors. The living room had sofas in a square with a soft, brown carpet. Potted plants and trees decorated it. Went into the kitchen and a deep freeze had all sorts of food like we talked about. Frozens and meats and vegetables that we could cook. A shelf in the huge kitchen had every cookbook I ever saw from our family and in bookshops that Mama looked through. Copper pots and pans of every description hung on the blue walls. A flower pattern Mama found on the Internet and we talked about, if we had a house, how we¡¯d decorate. She learned a lot about that from a lady whose house she cleaned. Gwen looked at the stove. ¡°Oh, I wish we had a rotisserie for that turkey! I¡ª¡± It appeared above the stove! I frowned. ¡°Is this even real? Things don¡¯t just appear when you talk about ¡®em, do they?¡± Dromie appeared, but shimmery, like a hologram. ¡°Oh, you can have anything you want, here! I made a world for you.¡± ¡°But, I want to go to MarKu, to that Black city! I want to live there!¡± Gwen shook a finger at him. ¡°You have to stay there and wait for me. I¡¯m sorry, but they said you can¡¯t go there now.¡± His blue eyes had tears in ¡®em. ¡°An¡¯ whose fault is that?¡± Gwen glared at ¡®im. Pulled at a braid. ¡°The Council decided it. I am very sorry, but you¡¯ll have anything you need¡ª¡± ¡°Can ya give me a man? Someone who¡¯ll love me for who I am inside? I had hopes, in that city, that maybe I¡¯d find a decent husband, and there ain¡¯t anyone here!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gwen. I got you exiled. I gave the server some traits, but it can¡¯t do what I do, and I don¡¯t know if I can come back. When I finish, I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°They said you lied to ¡®em! I don¡¯t trust you!¡± Gwen stormed out. Luna ran in and tried to hug ¡®im, but he vanished. Exile Luna was inconsolable. ¡°I want Dromie! Mama, you made ¡®im leave!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t make ¡®im leave, he left under his own power!¡± Gwen walked outside. We followed. The house had a nice garden under a blue sky with a yellow sun. It¡¯s light? I felt okay, so I took Luna¡¯s hand. ¡°C¡¯mon, Honey. Let¡¯s take a walk. At least we have a nice place to live. I wonder if we got neighbors. Wanna see?¡± It felt funny, to look at my arms and not see fat. My upper arms didn¡¯t have flab now! Felt light. She waved up a pink dress and a bunch of fake jewelry. I replaced my brown dress with a pretty brown patterned one. Designs had red, yellow, orange and lots of shades of brown and black. Soft material, too. The porch and swings were still until Luna swung ¡®em. Poor little thing sobbed like she lost her bestie. But, she walked with me. ¡°I wish Dromie could walk with us, Granny. I really do!¡± ¡°I know you do, Luna.¡± Down the steps and walk, pretty flowers bloomed. On the right was our huge garden with blueberry bushes, strawberry plants, watermelon vines and a line of fruit trees with ripe fruit. An apricot tree, a peach tree, a pear tree, and an apple tree ended the front yard. Beyond that, gray rocks and sand that stretched on forever. We didn¡¯t have a fence. Nice grass, but no insects. It was warm, not too warm, maybe mid-70s. A gentle breeze blew as we reached the end of the walkway. Gwen walked behind us, takin¡¯ it all in. Sidewalk to the right ended where the rock began. On my left as we reached it, our yard ended pretty quickly, then the house that was Atlanta Alliance Embassy stood, front door still open. Luna ran up there and pulled it shut. Gwen ran behind her. ¡°Don¡¯t close it! What if it locks?¡± Luna opened it again. ¡°See, Mama, I can open it.¡± I kept walkin¡¯ but the yard just went past a big magnolia tree in full bloom, and that bare rock was the rest of the street as far as I could see. Sidewalk ended, grass ended, and a line of rosebushes marked the yard. There was a pine tree, well, five of them in the back corner of the black iron fence and a low rock wall. Breeze carried their fresh scent, and the sweet smell of the magnolias and roses to me. Sidewalk went all the way back. We turned left and walked it, and the back yard ended in gray rock, too. Behind our house to that line of fruit trees, and there wasn¡¯t a sidewalk on that side of our house, either. Our house and the Embassy was a little island on bare, gray rock, filled in with sand. We walked a little way on that but my feet got sore in my sandals. As the sun sank lower, it got cool. So quiet. Just the tapping of our feet. Gwen took Luna to the porch and they swung. The walk did calm her down. Tears still dripped off her chin. Gwen waved and got a white cloth to wipe her face with. I got tired and came up on the porch to sit in the other swing. Soft cushions. ¡°I guess we really are alone. But we have each other. Let¡¯s carve up that turkey. You started it cookin¡¯, didn¡¯t you, Gwen?¡± She sniffed the air. ¡°Is that what I¡¯m smellin¡¯? I think I feel like eatin¡¯ now.¡± Gwen had tears in her eyes, too. We went in and that turkey was perfect. Gwen carved it and I boiled collards with bacon, and all my spices were in a pretty spice rack. Supper was tasty but really quiet. ¡°I don¡¯ know why I¡¯m bein¡¯ quiet.¡± Gwen cut another bite of turkey. ¡°Guess I¡¯m expectin¡¯ sorry Bubba to come outa one o¡¯ the rooms t¡¯ fuss.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s right! We can be loud an¡¯ proud all we want, can¡¯t we?¡± I laughed. ¡°How long has it been we had food this good an¡¯ no one to tell us to shut up?¡± Luna yelled, ¡°I¡¯m bein¡¯ loud! Gonna fuss, Daddy?¡± She kept on and we all laughed. There was a fudge cake in the fridge like Mama used to make. Oh, and ice cream to put on it. Butter pecan for me, vanilla for Luna, and black walnut for Gwen, all our favorites! The milk was whole milk and tasted very good. I tried a computer on a desk in the living room. It worked as I expected, but it was more fun to just talk to that cube in my pocket. We watched several Disney movies together. Then went to bed. Our second day in paradise didn¡¯t go so well. Our turkey and collards didn¡¯t taste as good. Kind of bland, even after I added more spice. When I tasted the pepper, even it wasn¡¯t very peppery. I didn¡¯t have as much energy and watched Gwen and Luna circle the block three times. They picked some fruit. Apples were mushy, peaches looked great but they weren¡¯t sweet, none of the fruits or vegetables tasted good. I went out in the garden, and every leaf had yellow and brown on it. Something was wrong with every food we asked the computer to make. Even water had a metallic taste. Luna refused to drink any. ¡°Mama,¡± Gwen said, after we forced down some food, ¡°maybe I shouldn¡¯t have said anything to Dromie. He¡¯s getting¡¯ his revenge on us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true! Dromie¡¯s comin¡¯ back, an¡¯ he¡¯ll make everything good again! Y¡¯all see!¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. His hologram didn¡¯t come up when I asked for it, to please Luna. She spent most of the day outside calling ¡®im. By sunset, it was cold. We hadn¡¯t stayed outside last night. I walked out in the front yard. There was a featureless moon that lit up the yard just a bit. No stars. That¡¯s plumb weird. What happened to those 3 stars I saw last night? I got worried about that garden. There was just enough light for me to pull a few leaves of collards and several from other plants. Usually I was pretty good at figuring out what plants needed. I brought my handful of leaves in. Laid ¡®em out on the table. They oozed brown stuff. Tried to pick one up again and it fell apart! Like tryin¡¯ to grab gelatin! Never saw that problem! ¡°Ew! Computer, run hygiene!¡± Luna said it. No white light came. We asked for a towel. Nothing. Paper towels. Nothing! Gwen came back from the bathroom. ¡°I can¡¯t run water for Luna to take a bath! It¡¯s gray slime!¡± I got scared and went in the kitchen. Took a can of green beans out of the cabinet. The can opener in the drawer worked, thank goodness. I got a fork and tasted. ¡°Green beans taste all right.¡± I sipped the water in the can. Couldn¡¯t heat up anything, but we could open cans. There was barbecue and baked beans. And plenty of Yoo-Hoos and box drinks, including milk. Every cabinet had a variety. What if Dromie gets himself killed and he can¡¯t come back? After we ate, we just left the dishes on the table. Can¡¯t wash any with gray slime. Didn¡¯t wanna touch dat! Luna went to sleep in her pink princess bed with the canopy. Plenty of blankets. Our closets were full of clothes. Gwen and I went through the entire, huge house. Our leftovers in the fridge melted into gray slime. That startled us. I¡¯d put a half can of barbecue in it. That was now gray slime. Things in the freezer, though, seemed okay. For now. I felt nervous as I went to bed. The third day, Luna dressed and went outside after breakfast of cake and ice cream. Gwen and I decided to go ahead and eat that stuff up, in case it went inedible. We just didn¡¯t open the refrigerator. We could watch movies and TV, but no YouTube, Facebook, or news. ¡°Computer, I want to know what¡¯s goin¡¯ on at home. Can¡¯t you tell me something?¡± Gwen sobbed. ¡°I do not have contact with a Hub. Our server needs maintenance.¡± Gwen blinked her green eyes at it. ¡°Can you teach us how to do that?¡± ¡°No. Learning is required, from a Hub.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a Hub?¡± ¡°Servers in the Alliance and Unified connect to Hubs. I cannot connect. Treaties are required. Contact with an Alliance world or a Unified world is required, but Dromie is forbidden.¡± ¡°But we didn¡¯t do anything! Are we forbidden, too?¡± ¡°Yes. You are with Dromie.¡± Gwen got mad. ¡°I¡¯m not wid¡¯ him, he left! Can you get in touch wid¡¯ ¡®im, to get him to take us someplace with contact?¡± ¡°Dromie is in exile. I have no way to contact him without a Hub.¡± Everything we asked just went in circles like that! Gwen didn¡¯t ask if anything was wrong with the computer. I think both of us were just too scared to ask about it. We had Luna¡¯s calendar we made when Dromie decorated her room. I got one of her markers off the coffee table and marked the 19th off in orange. And, the 20th. ¡°At least we know what day it is, until the end of 2022.¡± Then I marked the 21st. Today. As I came back from her door, I looked at the dining room table. Dust from the leaves rose, just from my walk. Then it was gone. Dishes had dust. I waved my hand over it. Like a strong breeze came to blow every speck away. Dust rose and vanished. Clean dishes sat there! Gwen ran in the hall bathroom. Came back quiet. ¡°The tub was full of dust. I waved my arm, one wave, and it went away!¡± She sat down at the table. ¡°My tummy don¡¯t feel good.¡± Days passed. On Monday the 24th, the sky wasn¡¯t blue any more, but kind of brown. So was the rock and dust. All our plants died until it looked like the Atlanta we left, with stick trees and bare bushes. And, cold. We got out sweaters. Luna didn¡¯t run and play. ¡°I think I¡¯m sick, Mama. Gonna stay in my pj¡¯s.¡± ¡°You can do dat, Honey. Lay on th¡¯ sofa an¡¯ watch something.¡± I didn¡¯t want to sit outside. All these changes scared me. We ate a whole big bag of barbecue potato chips. All of us had upset tummies. Days passed where we ate crackers or potato chips and lived off juice. On the 31st I put a shaky mark through the day. Gwen slept on Luna¡¯s bed because she got really thin. We couldn¡¯t get her to eat anything much. She had the last of the crackers. The last box. Gwen and I tried to make ourselves eat, but we got low on cans. In the bathroom mirror, I almost didn¡¯t recognize m¡¯self. I¡¯d been overweight. In two weeks, I was skinny as the picture Mama had of herself the day she came from a refugee camp in Somalia to one in Kenya. That was 1991. One country to another, but a lady taught her computer skills and she got a job in London. They took pictures of them at that first camp to identify ¡®em in case they died. Mama kept it as a reminder of how bad things can get. ¡°Computer, if someone comes, will they find our journal entries, to know what happened to us?¡± ¡°I keep all recordings of your family. Without maintenance, they may not be readable, but I marked them with the highest priority and recorded many backups.¡± My voice broke. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m gon¡¯ out to the garden to pray, Gwen.¡± ¡°Okay, Mama. I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t want to leave Luna, and I can¡¯t lift her today.¡± Sounded like she¡¯d been cryin¡¯, too.¡± On the last step, my foot went sideways and I fell in that dust. Scared me, but didn¡¯t feel like anything broke. Slowly, I used the concrete slab on the side to pull up. Decided if I went in the garden, Gwen could hear me, so I walked a ways out of the yard. Wanted a little private time with my Lord. Alone Time Finally, I came to a part more sand than rocks. Looked back and it was maybe, 5 blocks. My knees shook. Got on ¡®em. That¡¯s my last down, today. I won¡¯t be gettin¡¯ up without help. Maybe we¡¯re all dying, today, anyway. Better to be out here by my lonesome. I sobbed. Hoped it¡¯s too far for Gwen to hear. ¡°Lord, what a way to die, out here all alone!¡± I told Him all my fears, about my sins, and how I wished I¡¯d done better by my daughter. After I talked for a while, I just laid in the dust and no strength to cry. But, I heard crying. Didn¡¯t sound like Gwen. ¡°Luna? Luna, Honey, izat you?¡± I looked up. The sun was setting in that brown sky. Brown, drab sand¡ªbut I saw a bit of green! Was she wearing green today? ¡°Luna, I¡¯m comin¡¯. Granny¡¯s comin¡¯, Honey!¡± I got on my hands and knees and crawled towards that bit of green. Not gonna let my poor granddaughter die out there! Sand went forever, but I got close enough and there¡¯s a hand. Green skin! Three fingers! ¡°Oh, Dromie! You came back!¡± The closer I got, the stronger I felt! He reached, and I held his cold hand against my cheek. ¡°Poor thing, you¡¯re froze!¡± He hugged me. ¡°Oh, Granny, we won. I got hurt. I can¡¯t fix things. Forgive me? You think Lord¡¯ll forgive me?¡± ¡°Honey, the Lord always forgives people! I think He¡¯ll forgive you. Luna missed you so much! She won¡¯t even get out of bed, she¡¯s so depressed! Won¡¯t you go t¡¯ her? She¡¯s in her room.¡± ¡°Mama don¡¯t like me, Granny. She told me to stay away. But I missed you and I came back. There¡¯s nothing left to heal you, Granny. Nobody can heal me, anyway. I¡¯m the last.¡± He panted. I looked at our little house with its black, wrought iron fence. Realized, I can¡¯t get myself up, and I can¡¯t lift even little Dromie. All I wanted was to take him in to see Luna before we die. But, as I looked, a streak of white came across and left someone in bright blue clothes. With white robes. Like that healer-- They ran over here! Red curls flew behind her. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Molly, and I¡¯m a healer! What¡¯re y¡¯all doing out here? It¡¯s cold!¡± She waved and we had a warm, white blanket. ¡°I¡¯m Aine and this is Dromie. He went to fight Rentap-whatshisface! He¡¯s hurt! Ya know how to heal him?¡± The blanket glowed enough to show her green eyes and a frown. ¡°I know you! You saved me so I could heal Ry¡¯nao! I tried to get Wslarc not to send all of you out here by yourself, but he said I could visit, so I¡¯m here! Eat some of this, and I¡¯ll heal you, Aine.¡± She waved up a whole platter of pastries like we ate on that ship! I said a quick blessing thanking the Lord for bringin¡¯ Dromie and this Molly to us! Then I ate and she hummed and I wasn¡¯t skinny any more! White light took us to Luna¡¯s bed. Gwen shocked me by talking to Dromie. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dromie! I shouldn¡¯t have said anything! Please fix the food so Luna can eat!¡± She sobbed. Dromie¡¯s blue eyes got big and teary. ¡°I wanted to keep things going, but it was harder than I thought, to fight Rentappenen! He hurt me so I couldn¡¯t keep the server running! I¡¯m sorry, Mama! I wanted to help Luna!¡± The poor little thing cried. Molly waved another humongous platter on the bed. Held a pastry under Luna¡¯s nose. Gwen sobbed. ¡°Honey, you gotta eat! Doesn¡¯t this smell good? Wake up, Luna!¡± I touched her arm and it was cold. Stiff. Molly put pastries under her green shirt, Dromie¡¯s color. Didn¡¯t say a word, but she sang. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Sunshine and butterflies Free wings under blue skies Listen to my heart rise It sings for you. I sing for the rainbows I sing for the mornings After closing my eyes Darkness hid your light. Darkness brings sorrows But see these bright skies? After the rain will come rainbows Sing with me now. Luna looked up, but she didn¡¯t sing. ¡°Dromie! Oh, we have good food! Here!¡± She grabbed a pastry off that platter and fed him. He took a bite, a very gentle bite. Then, she bit into it. Molly kept singing that song. Gwen and her ate, and both of ¡®em gained weight. When Molly finished, those pastries on Luna¡¯s chest were gone! Eating seemed to help Dromie. Between the three of ¡®em, they ate all of those pastries. Then, Molly waved. Gwen and I had soft baby carriers, hers with Luna and mine with Dromie. ¡°I¡¯m taking y¡¯all to MarKu! I can¡¯t leave any of you here! I¡¯ll ask Emperor Ry¡¯nao to pardon you, my friend!¡± Dromie hugged her. ¡°You¡¯d do that for me? But it won¡¯t work, Molly. Wslarc is a greater Councillor than Ry¡¯nao.¡± Her green eyes filled. ¡°I have to try! As I understand it, all of us Councillors are equal rank. Let¡¯s go. Hold onto me! All they can say¡ª¡± White light came and we zoomed up in the sky! At first I was scared enough t¡¯ beg the Lord for forgiveness of all my sins, oh, my! I clung to Molly¡¯s skinny arm and Gwen¡¯s! But I got used to it when it went on for hours! Molly held the top of this portal-thing and we couldn¡¯t talk ¡®cause it was loud! Finally, we got to a big, orange planet. It had oceans, and continents like Earth had, then we got close and saw farms. Most of it was farms. Cities were little groups of pyramids in circles, each a little rainbow. As we got closer, I got scared and prayed again, but we just zoomed over the land until we came down¡ªgently¡ªon orange sand in front of a deep blue building made of a jewel. The door had horses with rings in their mouths on it. All of us laid on the orange sand. It was soft like cornstarch. Molly hummed and my arms weren¡¯t sore or tired. But, the very orange fella standing over us didn¡¯t look happy. ¡°Molly, you can nae bring these people here! Will you threaten all of Alb?¡± She got up and gave a very fancy bow with one leg behind ¡®er like a ballet dancer! ¡°King Goes, forgive me, but see my memories! This fella saved me so I could save Ry¡¯nao!¡± He listened, but looked at Dromie like he¡¯as a snake ready to strike! People gathered around him in fancy sashes across their chests, too. The man had eyes as orange-brown as a parrot¡¯s. Dark curls. More pins on his sash than people around him had. ¡°Molly, I can nae help you with this situation, as much as I would like, for kings of Zheiea have no say in Council affairs. Ry¡¯nao comes, with his healer, Ket.¡± He looked up. A white portal left a man with skin red like a fire engine! Only four fingers. His feet had four toes. Even his eyes were deep red. He leaned on a white fella with black eyes. Never saw that color! Like the colored part was all black like his pupils! ¡°Molly, these people cannot stay.¡± ¡°¡¯Ao, please! They nearly starved because Dromie couldn¡¯t keep them alive¡ª¡± ¡°He is a danger to my Thirteen Galaxies and cannot remain in Alb!¡± ¡°He saved my life so I could save you and the Thirteen!¡± She bowed really low to him and stayed that way. Didn¡¯t move, just sobbed. Dromie got up. I let him out of the carrier she made for him. He fell at the red fella¡¯s feet. Shoved his hands into the sand and touched his four-toed feet. The fella looked shocked! ¡°You cannot stay here. Even if you die here, your body cannot¡ª¡± His chest heaved as he looked up. Deep blue portals rained down from the green sky. Sky can be green? Fluffy clouds drifted and I counted five moons. When the blue lights faded, there were more people like Dromie than I could count! Gwen screamed and pulled Luna under her! I just sat in the sand and enjoyed the flowers all around us. We¡¯ll have to go back, and I¡¯ll never see one again! Dromies People One of the little people walked in front of the red man. Screeched in that horrible language. Every one of them laid, face-down in the sand like Dromie! Then, he laid himself out like that. ¡°Emperor Ry¡¯nao, we are the last of our people. Rentappenen controlled us! Enslaved us! None of us thought we were strong. I am our leader. I judged our strength to be inadequate. ¡°Yes, we helped Rentappenen, and the Lerk, and the Laruu, and the Jain. And, the Imwa. We are older than all the galaxies of the Padrisa. ¡°But, this one, who calls himself Dromie, came to me. He found me in Rentappenen¡¯s home where I was his servant. He told me that we had to believe we could win. I gathered what few of our people could live, and you see them here. ¡°We rose up and defeated Rentappenen, and brought back all the galaxies. You blame Dromie, but he never destroyed a galaxy. He lied about it so Rentappenen would not kill him. We are good at lies, but I want you to know, we lied so Rentappenen would not know how powerful we are. So civilization would not fall. I let Dromie kill us, all of us, and Rentappenen could not reclone us. He punished Dromie. I beg for his life, for he is my son. ¡°I ask that you punish me and not my people. I am the one who decided we all must die, that Rentappenen did not have unlimited power. My son had just enough strength to kill us, and stay alive. He is the weakest of us, and I am the one who discarded him, and yet he lived. ¡°Now is the time of truth. There is no reason to hide. We are the hope of your Thirteen, for a battle is now in progress that is not fought with Cubes or other methods you may know. The Padrisa is at stake now. ¡°But, you wish to exile my son. Our lives are measured in terms of length I cannot name in your language. If you exile us, we will merely wait until your civilization ends and a new one comes. My opinion is that it is unfair to judge and mete punishment to one person for the acts of a people. What you decide must be the fate of all of us, and my gesture to you is to make all of us mortal. ¡°If you truly wish to end us, I will not stop you, as my gesture of goodwill. But I ask that you consider the needs of the Padrisa over the needs of the Thirteen. We are badly needed in this battle that will never involve you. ¡°My words will never be enough. If I wanted to destroy your Thirteen I would have let Rentappenen have you. I nearly did because I made a bad decision. My son convinced me that the Thirteen is good. ¡°However, levels above this one sent us here as punishment. Friends of Rentappenen on the 6th sent us here to help him win. ¡°So, by the rules of levels, and the rules of Five in the Test Of Levels, you are the one to give final judgment. ¡°All who knew us are dead. We could not bring them back. We did not destroy them. Rentappenen did. ¡°This is for you. It is our most powerful weapon.¡± This man left a green cube in the sand. ¡°With this, think to end us and we are gone, permanently. But with us ends the Padrisa, and the hope of your Thirteen. If the Padrisa falls, you are next.¡± He put his face in the sand and wept. Another being came. This one was purple and his face changed constantly, though he was so bright to look at, the faces weren¡¯t clear. ¡°Ry¡¯nao, what he says is true! They are tied to the Padrisa, even though they are not part of it now. The cube he made will only work if you control it.¡± ¡°I fear to touch it! The Padrisa?¡± His skin wasn¡¯t red any more. Pink. ¡°Do you think it is safe to let them live? They were once on a level 300 times as big as The Padrisa. It is destroyed, and we know nothing of the conflict or how it happened.¡± Molly shook all over, still in that bow to Ry¡¯nao. ¡°If you kill them, no one will know. You said if we know history, we can avoid repeating it.¡± ¡°Molly, there are some weapons no civilization should know. This,¡± he looked down at the green cube at his feet, ¡°is one.¡± He shook harder than she did. An old fella. Even his gray curls jiggled. Sweat dripped off his hair and his skin and made dark spots on the orange sand. ¡°I do not know enough to decide this. I am not sure our Council should make such a decision. If your people affect the Padrisa, I think the Council Of Padrisa should decide.¡± Dromie¡¯s daddy quivered. ¡°We were made to be weapons against the Padrisa. The Council that sent us destroyed itself, and all the levels to the Padrisa. They felt we were too dangerous to stay there, so they sent us to the 6th. The 6th sent us here. No one wants us. No one loved us before this family loved my son. He told me he loves me. But he tells me this woman, who does not know us, loves us. She loves the Thirteen. This reminded me, I loved the Padrisa. So I did not kill it. Dromie taught me love again. He said some things are worth dying for. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°So I ask you, Ry¡¯nao, is it better that we die? I do not know if we can help the Padrisa win. You fear, and Wslarc fears, that we are a worse danger than this war. I can see it and you cannot. If I show you, this will kill you and you cannot decide our fate.¡± ¡°Can you show Dromie? Dromie showed me that he could help me, and he didn¡¯t hurt me.¡± Molly stared at Ry¡¯nao. ¡°Molly, I fear to have any contact with his mind, with any of their minds. They are so powerful in their telepathy, I cannot explain why all of you did not die, instantly!¡± He sat in the sand. His healer sat by him but not touching him. Molly sat by him, careful not to touch that green cube. He was very careful not to touch it when he sat down. ¡°Should I take it back? You fear it.¡± ¡°Yes, take it.¡± Dromie¡¯s daddy put his hand over it. When he dropped the hand, the cube wasn¡¯t in it. ¡°May I ask what happened in the Padrisa Council?¡± ¡°They do not speak in words as your Council. They gathered a thousand diplomats to speak to me. I tried to speak but I did not know they could be hurt. After 3000 they did not try again. They left. Rentappenen took us by force. Took my son, by force. Your language is difficult.¡± ¡°Daddy, you hurt them. Your mind was too strong. Mine is not. I can talk to them now. If I don¡¯t die. No one taught any of us that we should talk weak. Our makers taught us be strong so we destroy. Now we know it is wrong to destroy. We think now.¡± ¡°Yes, we were weapons. Now we think. Now we know life is important. The Padrisa did not know this. We know something the Padrisa did not know. Or did we? Maybe we did not listen, because to listen, we have to be weak in our minds. If we are strong, people can¡¯t live to speak.¡± Ry¡¯nao looked at Wslarc. ¡°Do people of the 6th have stronger telepathy than we know?¡± ¡°Yes! They have to use species with stronger telepathy to communicate. But, if I understand him correctly, they were weapons and became sentient.¡± ¡°Or, we are not understanding them correctly.¡± ¡°I see your point. If we do not have contact with them, we cannot know their intentions. But I feel they are too dangerous for this contact!¡± Ry¡¯nao frowned. ¡°If we felt that way on the Council, no one would ever have spoken with Zbbat or Esteerrians. Or, people of Ctral.¡± Wslarc gave a tired sigh. ¡°It is your Thirteen. We do not have anyone who can speak with The Padrisa.¡± Ry¡¯nao smiled. ¡°Now, we do. I think these people deserve a chance to live among us. I can find willing volunteers to speak with them and teach them how thin their telepathic contact must be. When we train them, we can send one representative to the Padrisa and they can say what they intended to say, or what they intend to say, now.¡± ¡°I can cite many civilizations that fell because someone like you wanted to try speaking with them. Or speaking through a species with more powerful telepathy.¡± Wslarc shook his head. ¡°But, my friend, if no one tries, miscommunication can make a species seem criminal when they are not.¡± ¡°I say again, it is your Thirteen at risk.¡± ¡°And, I will say, I do not wish to risk the Padrisa. If your people are willing to be careful, we will try to avoid mistakes. Will you live on the world Pirad chose, until we have the opportunity to build trust?¡± Ry¡¯nao spoke to Dromie¡¯s Daddy. ¡°I will be happy to live with my son. My people, will you go with him to his world? I will go with you.¡± ¡°You will, Daddy?¡± Dromie giggled. Luna hugged him. ¡°Yay! We¡¯ll all be together!¡± Gwen frowned. ¡°Can we talk about dis? I want to live in that Black city on MarKu! I¡¯m not wid¡¯ him! An¡¯ I don¡¯ want my Mama wid¡¯ him!¡± Wslarc put a hand on her brown curls. ¡°I expected him to increase your telepathy, but it is weak. You are safe to be around Earthans. The child, also.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, Mama!¡± She grabbed my arm. ¡°No, you go ahead.¡± ¡°But, Granny, you an¡¯ Dromie have to come!¡± Gwen pulled Luna away. I hugged Dromie. ¡°I¡¯ll go back.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious, Mama!¡± Gwen stood up and held screaming Luna! ¡°Weren¡¯t you listening at all, Gwen? This is bigger than our family! It¡¯s intergalactic peace! I¡¯m old. Let me go with ¡®em. If they can learn to all talk to me, they can talk to the Padrisa, can¡¯t they?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll die up there! We nearly did!¡± ¡°Honey, I¡¯m old. You expect to lose your parents. You¡¯ll be okay without me. It¡¯s for 13 galaxies. I¡¯m the one who asked Dromie to save us, an¡¯ he did!¡± Going-Away Party Dromie got up and bowed to that orange man. ¡°King Goes, may I be a citizen of your kingdom, before we leave?¡± He shook all over. His father bowed, too. ¡°I would like to ask for all of us, before we go. Your kingdom hosted us.¡± Goes bowed. ¡°Eae. You are all now citizens of MarKu. I am very sorry you cannot stay, but I will send a diplomat to be stationed diplomat of your world.¡± A young man came and bowed to King Goes. He had brown skin, like me! ¡°I am happy to go with them, my liege! I am Lunares of Eae Funasah, and have nae family here.¡± Like me, he had kinky, soft black hair. Waved for my hair to be in big curls. Since Dromie healed me, it was black, not gray, but I still looked old in my face. I earned those lines. Might as well enjoy a little tech before I go back there. Hoped we could bring food! Goes hugged the man. ¡°Eae Funasah! You were away, when Eriganh came?¡± ¡°Eae, Liege, on a mission to Zhea~. Nae knows me, here.¡± Poor fella looked sad. ¡°Will you be well, with nae kinsman near you? I wish to send a healer with you.¡± ¡°I will go with him.¡± A young orange man in white robes bowed, and Goes hugged him, too. ¡°My family died on Pera, and I wish nae to stay here. Perhaps Father Of All brought me to Para today, because I visited Pera Prov and had much sorrow, nae to find a single relative. I am Songamar.¡± Lunares hugged him. ¡°If you lived on Pera, perhaps you teach me how to live in a barren place. This lady thinks of her world, and her daughter dreads for her mea to go there!¡± Dromie¡¯s Daddy took their hands. ¡°We can make this world look like what you need. Now that we are citizens of MarKu, perhaps we can be a colony of it.¡± Scared people were all far away from us. Even Gwen took Luna off the huge commons between all the jewel-like buildings. Goes ran to a lady with a giant platter of pastries and ran it back to us. ¡°I will declare a festival in your honor today. We prepare a ship with more pastries and candies, and Earthan foods. Also, a server installation. You shall have a Hub. Many volunteered to supply Lady Aine.¡± A pretty amber ship, a saucer about the size of a van but round, landed on the Commons and people ran to it. Four people in blue uniforms walked to it and stood there. Goes smiled. His brown curls waved in the flower-scented breeze. People kept bringing plants in clear globes to these men and they waved, and they vanished. Too many? ¡°Lady, the plants are for your colony. There are many kinds for beauty, and food cultivation. You will have farms and a server for your needs, and to provide communication with your family.¡± I smiled. We won¡¯t be isolated, this time! Gave Dromie a hug. He laid his head on my shoulder with a sigh. ¡°Daddy, will you port us? I¡¯m too tired.¡± ¡°Anything for you, son!¡± I blinked, and we all stood in our yard. That ship, and the four fellas, appeared in the street! They startled! The purple fella with the sash laughed. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re here! Let me introduce my DS team! I am Fison Pinna, Diplomat Of Ka, Thorde, but you can call me Fis and this is Fis¡¯ Team. Uh, I¡¯m Thordes, and we¡¯re the purple people in the Alliance. My world, Thorde, has tens of thousands of colonies. This is my Diplomat-In-Aid, Renapon, and he helps me explain things on missions. Any of us are glad to answer questions for you. Renapon was a black Zheien who had blue-black skin and a short black afro. Bowed. ¡°Berto asked us to come because you were thinking of your mother and she looks like me.¡± I nodded and hugged him. If I said anything, I¡¯d cry! The next fella had fire-engine red skin and four fingers and toes. He did a kind of tap dance with fast rhythms and landed in a bow from the waist, looking at me with his brown eyes. ¡°I am Wanminae, Hub Engineer of V¡¯chsan, and I will be overseeing the hub installation. What shall we call your new Hub? We are in the Outer Siva, in the farthest star from it. Thorde is our nearest trading partner, but we are very remote.¡± He waved up a star map. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not an astronomer. That doesn¡¯t look like the star chart I used to find Andromeda.¡± I sighed. My telescope and my star chart book were in Bubba¡¯s apartment. ¡°You mean, this?¡± He waved and put it in my hands, open to the page with Andromeda Galaxy, nearest neighbor to the Milky Way Galaxy, ours. ¡°We are still in the Milky Way, but in the part closest to Andromeda. Earth is here on the Orion Arm, and so is Alb. We are here. Thorde, here.¡± Each star he touched now had a faint red circle, as if the book publisher chose to include them. All the stars had blue circles for the Alliance and orange ones for the Unified. Dromie¡¯s Daddy carried him to a group of the green fellas looking through my telescope. ¡°That¡¯s Andromeda, what I¡¯m named for! But, I think Aine should have our Hub named for her. What do you all think?¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. They started a chorus of that screeching, but Dromie waved his arms in the air! ¡°Granny doesn¡¯t like that. We have to learn to speak softly, so she¡¯ll like us.¡± ¡°I like all of you, anyway!¡± I didn¡¯t talk loud, but they all stopped. Smiled at me with that foolish grin like Dromie has. I smiled back. The last member of the DS team bowed to me. He had three fingers on each hand. ¡°I am Lineopin, Biome Tech Of Ishah. When we go to a world that doesn¡¯t allow tech, I carry the biomes for Wanmin. Since our work is automated, I¡¯ll have a lot of free time. I just learned healing for Earthans, so if you need some, I¡¯m happy to help.¡± ¡°I feel all right, but thanks!¡± Bless his heart. He didn¡¯t smile as much as the other fellas. I shook his hand. One of the green fellas came over. ¡°I can break something, if you want to have work¡ª¡± ¡°Na, please, you must na do this!¡± His blue eyes went dark! ¡°I won¡¯t do anything. Just trying to be helpful. You sounded like you want to be useful. No one thinks I¡¯m useful.¡± He gave a big, dramatic sigh like Luna would. I picked him up and hugged him. ¡°Luna¡¯s not useful like an adult would be, but I love her anyway! You¡¯re funny, like she is!¡± ¡°I am?¡± He giggled. ¡°I need a name. We all do, for our Unified records!¡± Wanmin smiled. ¡°Well, we need to get to w¡ªit¡¯s installed? But I didn¡¯t run any checks¡ªI¡¯m running them all, right now!¡± A complicated display came up. His red skin paled to white! ¡°It¡¯s installed, and connected! I¡¯m sorry, Fis! Aine Server is now registered with the Alliance and the Unified! Can we do this, without a treaty?¡± Now Fis looked frantic. ¡°Neither government will accept it, and the Alliance already registered 3,643 complaints with your government, ah¡ªwhat shall I call you?¡± The fella holding Dromie set him down in the gray sand. Waved on a set of beetle green robes with gold trim and a crown. ¡°I will call myself, Andy, King Of Eda. I hereby name our world Eda, so it has the other part of Andromeda¡¯s name.¡± All the green folks cheered! If half of ¡®em were female, I couldn¡¯t tell. They were all bald like Dromie, with the sharp ears, but each pair of ears were different. Some were sharp and long, like Dromie¡¯s. His daddy¡¯s were angled more like cat ears. His nose wasn¡¯t as hooked. Fis waved up a long document and modified certain words. ¡°I am writing the treaty framework in Elshar. Is this acceptable?¡± ¡°Yes. We don¡¯t have a written language. It¡¯s mostly telepathic. But I understand all the languages of the Thirteen, and those of the Padrisa. Ry¡¯nao fears that I misunderstand a lot. There is a difference between knowing words and sounds and knowing meanings. King Goes is good with meanings. I would like to learn from him, so I asked for citizenship. I would like our colony to be a MarKuan colony, and we will all be loyal to Goes, King Of MarKu, and to Ry¡¯nao, Emperor Of the Thirteen. May we ask for clones of them, willing to teach us?¡± Fis looked very uncomfortable. ¡°I can ask¡ªthey agreed? Berto just asked me to ask you if you would all agree for clones of you to live here. I said yes! One of my cloned brothers agreed to move here, just now. All of yours will be offered a choice if you agree. ¡°Ren, what do you say?¡± He frowned. ¡°If one of my brothers wishes to come, I agree! What an opportunity, to have contact with such an advanced species!¡± ¡°Good, Rennie agreed to come here, and he will bring several friends he met in MarKu. Do they need skills? One is a cloned brother of an injured man, but he wants to come anyway. He doesn¡¯t have his host¡¯s diplomatic skills.¡± Fis looked at Andy The King. Andy smiled. ¡°I will welcome anyone who wants to come to our colony! We can practice speaking.¡± Fis still looked worried. ¡°Wanmin?¡± ¡°If any of my brothers think they¡¯ll be happy here, I¡¯ll agree. Inhamar tried several tutors, even a Zheien tutor, but he doesn¡¯t think he can learn anything! Can I send him a holo?¡± Wanmin paused with one four-fingered hand in the air. Fis took a step and planted his purple hand on Wanmin¡¯s forehead. ¡°Talk to him. My friend¡¯s enjoying that festival in Fig and can bring his mind to you.¡± Wanmin paled, but laughed! ¡°Oh, my brother wants to come here! He¡¯s one of Rennie¡¯s friends, and he says if someone as impaired as Kopar can come here, he can come. Kopar weaves colorful tapestries, and he¡¯s teaching Inha. I¡¯ll miss him.¡± The happy smile dropped. Andy put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°I will need a diplomat from your place. I need ¡®em from everywhere!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a diplomat. I¡¯m a biome engineer¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make you a diplomat!¡± He laughed and waved a diplomat¡¯s sash on his uniform! The one pin on it was a green copy of his face! Fis struggled not to smirk! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the Alliance and Unified require a diplomat to be educated in an Education Service school.¡± ¡°Wanmin, you studied at Sigan Mas!¡± ¡°I failed my diplomatic challenge! That¡¯s why I changed my major to Biomes!¡± He paled slightly gray from bright white! Lineopin gasped and set him in the dust! ¡°Wanmin, don¡¯t think about it! Be calm.¡± The tri-fingered man hummed and lines vanished from Wanmin¡¯s face. He turned dark pink. ¡°Teach me healing?¡± King Andy held up his hand. With a look of sheer terror, Lineopin held Wanmin¡¯s head against his chest and scooted back! ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt your feelings, but you¡¯re telepathy¡¯s very strong! I feel it! If you try to touch my friend¡¯s mind, you¡¯ll injure him! I have to be extremely careful when I offer healing.¡± His eyes went black. ¡°Lin, he¡¯s the ruler of this planet. We can¡¯t offend him or he can take us to be his slave for half our lives!¡± Andy鈥檚 New Government Andy smiled. ¡°I can? Then, they¡¯ll stay and be our friends!¡± All the green people cheered! ¡°No!¡± I frowned at him. ¡°It¡¯s wrong, to make people slaves! When Mama left Somalia, people were takin¡¯ prisoners, and they worked like slaves!¡± Dromie pulled at his daddy¡¯s green robe. ¡°I was a slave, Daddy! I didn¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Okay. Fis, will you put a provision in our treaty, that I will never take slaves in my colony?¡± ¡°Molly takes slaves, but she gives ¡®em healing and sets ¡®em free! We should do that!¡± Dromie grinned. His daddy smiled, big. ¡°Can we have a Rainbow Unwell Colony? Molly can run it. Some of us can learn healing!¡± Fis still looked worried. ¡°I will ask.¡± Lunares came near. ¡°Have you progs to make a Zheien city, since this colony will be Zheien? We need a place to sit and discuss. King Andy, did you choose your council, or will you organize a different government?¡± ¡°Our government was large and complicated. I want, now that we are small, to try the Zheien way. My people, will you appoint nine to represent all of us? Do all of you agree?¡± Everyone nodded, that I saw. More came in white streaks of light. ¡°There are 21 vigintillion of us. I am in contact with every mind, and we all agree. We will have a council of 9 members. Those 9 will govern a council of 9 apiece, and each of those, a council, until all of us are represented. Dromie, will you lead it for me?¡± ¡°Daddy, you threw me away.¡± He looked down. ¡°Then I came back and killed you. I don¡¯t think I was a very good son.¡± One three-toed foot scraped at the gray dust. Andy ran over there and hugged him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I threw you away! I see differently now. All of our people that I exiled, I brought them back. Will you lead my council?¡± ¡°I killed you so I could be king! I¡¯m sorry, Daddy. Now I don¡¯t want to be king any more.¡± ¡°You made me live again. Now I know lives are important. You taught us all that slavery is bad. Once, I killed everyone, then I learned to take slaves, and now I know that freeing slaves is good! You taught me good things. All our people learned, because of you. Now, all the people we destroyed and all that Rentappenen destroyed are restored. You kept backups.¡± Dromie hugged his daddy. ¡°I kept ¡®em because I didn¡¯t want Rentappenen to have ¡®em. But, Granny taught me people, all people, are important. They¡¯re not just something to keep because I was mad at him. I was mad at everybody because Rentappenen made me a slave. Granny taught me that some people are worth fighting for. When I started waking people up, I listened to them. People like Rentappenen are one of a lot. I didn¡¯t wake up anyone like him.¡± They stared at each other and Andy nodded. ¡°You woke a traitor.¡± He frowned at one of the men, who planted himself in the dust at his feet, face down! ¡°You sent us to help Rentappenen, stripped of our abilities!¡± ¡°Pardons! Apologies! The Council Of Padrisa sent me to stop you. If I had not, you destroyed us. I sent you to Rentappenen because you are all weapons! I expected that you would destroy his people as you tried to destroy us!¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Andy slapped his forehead. Pulled this man to his feet. ¡°Then, I will apologize to you. Yes, we were sent to the Padrisa, to destroy it. I didn¡¯t want to do that. Your diplomats were nice to me, even though they feared me. We only wanted a place to live. They expected us to destroy them. One of the diplomats invited us to his world. But, if we tried to speak, people died. I stopped speaking. They kept coming to us and sitting by us. ¡°You must understand, we were different before that! I had Dromie and threw him away, because he was weak. One of the women, she took him. ¡°Dromie showed me that she fed him and kept him alive. He fought people. She still offered him food, so he stopped fighting. ¡°When I saw him playing with her children, I decided that our mission was wrong. I tried to tell them. They sent 3000 diplomats and all of them died. Then you came and simply showed me that we must leave. You showed me Rentappenen. I assumed I could talk to him. ¡°So we went to Rentappenen. I now know we should have killed him, and we were stronger then, but I talked to him. He ordered us to prove loyalty. I believed his lies about how strong his forces were. Now I know he lied to us! ¡°But, I thought, since the Padrisa doesn¡¯t want us, Rentappenen does, so I did as he asked. Dromie was right to kill me and Rentappenen killed the rest of us. Dromie disagreed that galaxies should die so we might live. Rentappenen punished my son for 3 centuries as his slave. ¡°Dromie witnessed how slaves suffer. They killed him many times but he brought himself back. ¡°Wslarc told him not to bring our people back, but without us, we could not defeat Rentappenen. We lied to the Council for him. Forced the Laruu to take a form that they could understand. Created a mess. ¡°Now we are sorry, all of us. Dromie taught us to have love for people. We began as weapons, things made to destroy. People that made us gave us sentience so we could kill better. You might say we evolved. Show yourself. I will not harm you.¡± Andy put him on his feet. He turned into a tall man with black fur and pointy ears, like a cat. ¡°I am Tiron, a Laruu, but I traveled to the Padrisa Council, to warn them about Rentappenen. I was a diplomat, so my people decided I would be the one to do this. They wanted me to solve a problem. You. They told me they would listen if I could convince you to fight Rentappenen, because he was a threat to them. This shocked me! Surely he had help from above the Padrisa, to threaten them! I think he was not merely a bored Ctraln, for their Council to know of him! We knew of him because our people rose. Each level they rose to had problems with him and they sent an observer to tell us. I knew of many other threats we could not help, so I thought, here is our chance to do something substantial. ¡°But our attempts at communication failed! Except for my last effort. I recloned myself as one of you. I am like Dromie, but worse, barely able to function as an Edan, as they now call themselves. It took 3 centuries to teach him Elshar, so we could communicate. ¡°Yet, Aine, you taught him Earthan in days! More than that, you helped him to care about other beings. This race was 300 levels above the Padrisa, created by another race as a weapon to destroy it. It was also 300 times the size of the Padrisa, what you know as the Virgo Supercluster. They brought people of their level back. Except for the race that created them. I think Rentappenen was one of them. It is fortunate that you found him.¡± All this just blew my mind! ¡°But, he found me! I just love little lost things. Mama told me she got lost as a girl. She must¡¯ve been Luna¡¯s age. Wandered out into a battle, at home in Somalia. A bullet hit her arm, and she cried. That battle stopped. Her parents died there. But the soldier that shot her, he felt bad and stopped the men with him. The men on the other side stopped. Because he stopped, they got a medic out there who saved her life. They put all the people who got shot, on both sides, on a truck and took them to a hospital hundreds of miles away in Kenya. It was too late for her parents, but not for the people from her village that got hurt. Some of them recovered enough to care for her in that refugee camp. ¡°I never forgot Mama¡¯s story. So, I guess this is Mama¡¯s legacy, that her story made me overlook Dromie¡¯s appearance, and just think of him as a lost little boy. I love him ¡®cause I lost a son at four because he got lost an¡¯ a car hit him.¡± During an argument with my sorry husband, who became my sorry ex. I was pregnant with Gwen. When I told Mama, she got so upset, she had a stroke and died, too. Dromie looked sad. ¡°Daddy, can you help?¡± Family Returns They stopped talking about that treaty, and I felt bad. But, Andy smiled. ¡°A king is father to his people. Here is your son.¡± I blinked, and a city appeared around us with orange sand and flowers like on MarKu. In the flowers, rippin¡¯ ¡®em up, was my son Bashiir. It¡¯s a Somali name meaning ¡®he who brings good news¡¯. When he saw me, he ran to me and I dropped onto my knees. ¡°Granny? Oh, Granny!¡± ¡°I¡¯m your Mama!¡± I hugged him and cried! ¡°I¡¯m you Granny! Who is this that you call Granny?¡± Andy smiled, and my hands became smooth. Mama grabbed Bashiir and screamed! ¡°It¡¯s witchcraft! She¡¯s a witch!¡± Bashiir clung to me! ¡°Mama! Tell Granny you¡¯re not a witch!¡± Then, she noticed Dromie¡¯s people! ¡°Aaaaahhh! Goblins! It¡¯s¡ªwhere is this?¡± Mama always looked old. Her hair turned white the day she got shot as a child. But, Andy took her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m King Andy, and I¡¯m a good king. You¡¯d say I am reformed. Our people are your people now.¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯ wanna live with goblins!¡± It took a while, but Dromie showed her how he found our family. A holo came up of Gwen and Luna, who never knew Mama. ¡°This is Granny?¡± Dromie laughed and grabbed my arm. ¡°This is Granny! That¡¯s Granny¡¯s Mama!¡± ¡°Ha! Granny¡¯s a relative term! Oh, I¡¯m happy to be able to see you, Granny! I guess Dromie made a holo, didn¡¯t he?¡± Gwen¡¯s green eyes had a wistful look to them. ¡°A holo?¡± Now I wondered if they were! Dromie laughed. ¡°Our people can bring back the dead! We brought back galaxies that were destroyed. Even Pirad¡¯s people can¡¯t do that. Pinda¡¯s people can bring back one from bones. Our people can bring them back from particles smaller than your atoms.¡± Mama shook all over. I pulled her into my arms with Bashiir, and we all talked at once. We¡¯ll be talking for years! Andy carried Dromie with him and 8 other Edans and they walked into the green building, which had goblin faces with rings in their mouths in a gold door. The diplomats went with ¡®em. We showed Mama our house and there was another bedroom on the ground floor for her. Turkey dinner laid out on the table with foods I hadn¡¯t seen since I was little. Somalian foods Mama fixed on special occasions. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Mama fixed all the plates and Gwen and Luna were here, too! ¡°I missed you, Mama! That Black city shore is nice, an¡¯ dey named it Jackson. But we¡¯ll live here now. I guess I lived alone dis long, so I can stand it. I¡ª¡± A quiet knock made us look towards the open front door. ¡°Hello. I am Songamar, Healer Of Pera. I know you would probably wish for my friend, Lunares, or even Diplomat-In-Aid Renapon, but I wish to see Bisharo and Bashiir when you finish eating.¡± Gwen brought him in and made him sit by her. ¡°I guess I might enjoy a little male company right about now.¡± He giggled and waved up a pastry. Mama said a blessing thanking the Lord for our new home, and new friends. I waved for a nice cloth napkin in warm brown, and to my relief, it worked. Maybe exile won¡¯t be so bad, with my family here, and friends. After a wonderful dinner that tasted great, we walked around. Dromie¡¯s people kept introducing themselves and asking about our customs. Mama was a walking encyclopedia of Somali and English customs. Gwen knew Southern US customs. Luna and Bashiir ran and played, with several Edan friends. Our neighborhood included Elizabeth Street, Euclid Avenue, and several others, with a Krispy Kreme and a Mary Mac¡¯s, but Edan employees learning things. We ported to London, a city with streets from North London. Edan struggled to make tea in a cafe¡¯ and we laughed! They did, too. Mama showed them things because she worked in a cafe¡¯ in London¡ªthis one. And, she made samosas for all of us to try. Small triangles of pastry stuffed with potatoes, peas, ginger and chili powder, with or without meat, and fried. Mama made delicious ones! They were now in our server menus to enjoy her recipe. She loved them extra spicy, and I had forgotten how good they tasted. Gwen and Luna also enjoyed them. I showed Mama my telescope and we looked at Andromeda and planets as they appeared from Earth. She was delighted I remembered her stories about the stars, stories her village shared in Mogadishu when they moved there. The villages Mama grew up in appeared on the map, and Mogadishu. Dromie made a house for her in one and brought her family. Plants I¡¯d only seen in pictures of Somalia appeared in her yard, and other yards, with round green huts. Insects flew about! And birds! Other animals grazed. Cattle in pens. Goats. Chickens! Her sister startled. ¡°Oi! Where is this?! I was in London!¡± She had a husband and four children with her! And two brothers and their families! We started over with the explanations, but Mama shocked me. ¡°Listen to me! You can all have houses! How long you been waiting for whatever housing? I bet you still share a room, after years!¡± No one argued after that! Everyone got their own house, and many of them had houses in that village, and a house on Elizabeth Street! None of the Edans complained about moving to different ones, so our new relatives could have their homes near us. Gwen laughed. How long had it been since my green-eyed girl laughed a hearty laugh like that? ¡°Who needs that Black city in MarKu? We have our family, and our roots, Somalia, London and Atlanta, all here!¡± ¡°Family! Yay!¡± Luna, Bashiir, and Dromie laughed and danced around. Dromie expanded my living room to hold them all, and a bunch of friendly neighbors who shared samosas and sambusas. My family¡¯s really here! And the computer translated when they spoke Somali so I could understand all their varied accents. Edans all spoke it fluently! All the children joined in their dance, and I just enjoyed the happy faces. Finally, a safe place for us all, with gardens and farms, and quiet streets, and family I only knew from my mama¡¯s stories, here to share it all with me.