Still no title!
Playing with the idea of "The Rose in the Desert", very 1980's I know...
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Dinner was another sombre affair. Sammi was still very animated, but it was becoming silly and more than a little frantic. She had a crowd of younger children who wanted to play games with her, or to listen to the story of the temple again, and she would humour them for a while, and then lean on Utaba, who was sat next to her, sighing and touching his arm in a way that was deeply inappropriate. The only thing that kept Warda from sighing and rolling her eyes was the Utaba wasn’t playing along. If anything he looked quite bored, which was something.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">The moon was waning, and now she was just passed the last quarter. As she rose into the sky, the young women and the boys who had just started hunting went to bed, because they were at the wrong age to feel changes outside their own bodies, and were tired. The fire was stoked and water pipes lit and much tea drunk as the younger children began to fall asleep where they were sat. They had sat up as long as possible, because they knew the grown-ups had something very secret to discuss and they didn’t want to miss it. But they dropped off one by one and were carried away by their mothers. The curious returned to the fireside, those who had other things on their minds did not. There weren’t many more than those who had found the temple and the tribe leaders left by the time Deemalasri turned to Sammi and said;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“Right, girl. You’ve tormented your escorts long enough. These people here have as much a right to what is in your head as any; and more, because they are not trying to hold it over you or anyone else. Time to hear what you’ve seen, and decide what must be done.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">For a while, Sammi looked as though she was thinking of how to begin. She took several breaths in, which she held, and then exhaled again. She balled her hands into fists, and then ... she started to weep.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“I don’t know what I saw. There was hardly anything. Nothing like my father was hoping for. It’s no good! Going back isn’t going to do any good!”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">There was silence for a while, and then Warda said, “Do you feel better now?”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Sammi looked up with tear-tracks running down her face. “What?” she said, very quietly.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“Well,” said Warda, “it’s clear you’ve needed to say that ever since we left the temple. Why you didn’t say it before is anyone’s guess, but now you’ve said it, I hope you feel better. But even if you only saw the smallest thing, keeping to yourself won’t do any good either.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Sammi looked for a moment as though she would argue, but the faces of Deemalasri and the chief were set in parental freezes of agreement. She looked around the circle at all the other adults, who were either expectant or disgruntled, or in one case badly hiding disappointment. Finally she looked at Utaba, who shifted his weight a little before saying, “she’s right, you know.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Warda tried desperately to hide how happy this made her, while Sammi didn’t hide at all her own disappointment at not getting an outpouring of sympathy. She sat up straight, nearly regaining the expression of self-importance and competence that Warda knew to be her natural state, and she spoke steadily, to keep herself calm.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“I saw a great blackness. It seemed to go on forever except I knew that nothing goes on forever, so I looked. In one place was a ewer, being filled very slowly with dripping water. I was following a path of feathers, which was hard because a lot of them were black. There were some gold ones, this is how I found my way, really. But they both lead to the same place. The Depths of Forever.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">The silence which followed was profound. No one dared ask, no one seemed to breathe. Warda felt quite hot suddenly, and wanted to shake lose her blanket, but she didn’t dare disturb the waiting quiet. Risking furtive glances into other faces, she noticed she wasn’t the only one looking uncomfortable; both the family heads had set their grim expressions, but keeping them that way was taking a lot of effort. Utaba, too, had pulled his scarf as high and as low as her could. His eyes filled most of the thin slit of face that could be seen.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“The ewer was placed on the walls of the Depths, but I didn’t see who by. And then someone said it was up to me. Well, they didn’t say it, but I knew that it was. And that was it. I have to follow a trail of feathers to sit with a jug of water in a temple where, if they see me, they’ll arrest me, or worse!”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">A lot of sideways glances were exchanged, but no one said anything for a long time.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“It’s back to the city then,” said Warda, in what she hoped was a bright and hopeful tone.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“Yes,” said Deemalasri, “the temple is involved. Sammi, this is going to be easier than you think, but you won’t believe it until the time is right ...” as she trailed off, she looked at Warda. Yes, Warda read, the ewer is you, but unless you can prove it, it’s safer not to say.
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;
mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Warda looked at Sammi, hoping to see a little hope in her flushed face. Instead, she found betrayal and hurt.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“That’s it, is it?” she said, “Fine. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Dinner was another sombre affair. Sammi was still very animated, but it was becoming silly and more than a little frantic. She had a crowd of younger children who wanted to play games with her, or to listen to the story of the temple again, and she would humour them for a while, and then lean on Utaba, who was sat next to her, sighing and touching his arm in a way that was deeply inappropriate. The only thing that kept Warda from sighing and rolling her eyes was the Utaba wasn’t playing along. If anything he looked quite bored, which was something.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">The moon was waning, and now she was just passed the last quarter. As she rose into the sky, the young women and the boys who had just started hunting went to bed, because they were at the wrong age to feel changes outside their own bodies, and were tired. The fire was stoked and water pipes lit and much tea drunk as the younger children began to fall asleep where they were sat. They had sat up as long as possible, because they knew the grown-ups had something very secret to discuss and they didn’t want to miss it. But they dropped off one by one and were carried away by their mothers. The curious returned to the fireside, those who had other things on their minds did not. There weren’t many more than those who had found the temple and the tribe leaders left by the time Deemalasri turned to Sammi and said;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“Right, girl. You’ve tormented your escorts long enough. These people here have as much a right to what is in your head as any; and more, because they are not trying to hold it over you or anyone else. Time to hear what you’ve seen, and decide what must be done.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">For a while, Sammi looked as though she was thinking of how to begin. She took several breaths in, which she held, and then exhaled again. She balled her hands into fists, and then ... she started to weep.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“I don’t know what I saw. There was hardly anything. Nothing like my father was hoping for. It’s no good! Going back isn’t going to do any good!”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">There was silence for a while, and then Warda said, “Do you feel better now?”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Sammi looked up with tear-tracks running down her face. “What?” she said, very quietly.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“Well,” said Warda, “it’s clear you’ve needed to say that ever since we left the temple. Why you didn’t say it before is anyone’s guess, but now you’ve said it, I hope you feel better. But even if you only saw the smallest thing, keeping to yourself won’t do any good either.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Sammi looked for a moment as though she would argue, but the faces of Deemalasri and the chief were set in parental freezes of agreement. She looked around the circle at all the other adults, who were either expectant or disgruntled, or in one case badly hiding disappointment. Finally she looked at Utaba, who shifted his weight a little before saying, “she’s right, you know.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Warda tried desperately to hide how happy this made her, while Sammi didn’t hide at all her own disappointment at not getting an outpouring of sympathy. She sat up straight, nearly regaining the expression of self-importance and competence that Warda knew to be her natural state, and she spoke steadily, to keep herself calm.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“I saw a great blackness. It seemed to go on forever except I knew that nothing goes on forever, so I looked. In one place was a ewer, being filled very slowly with dripping water. I was following a path of feathers, which was hard because a lot of them were black. There were some gold ones, this is how I found my way, really. But they both lead to the same place. The Depths of Forever.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">The silence which followed was profound. No one dared ask, no one seemed to breathe. Warda felt quite hot suddenly, and wanted to shake lose her blanket, but she didn’t dare disturb the waiting quiet. Risking furtive glances into other faces, she noticed she wasn’t the only one looking uncomfortable; both the family heads had set their grim expressions, but keeping them that way was taking a lot of effort. Utaba, too, had pulled his scarf as high and as low as her could. His eyes filled most of the thin slit of face that could be seen.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“The ewer was placed on the walls of the Depths, but I didn’t see who by. And then someone said it was up to me. Well, they didn’t say it, but I knew that it was. And that was it. I have to follow a trail of feathers to sit with a jug of water in a temple where, if they see me, they’ll arrest me, or worse!”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">A lot of sideways glances were exchanged, but no one said anything for a long time.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“It’s back to the city then,” said Warda, in what she hoped was a bright and hopeful tone.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“Yes,” said Deemalasri, “the temple is involved. Sammi, this is going to be easier than you think, but you won’t believe it until the time is right ...” as she trailed off, she looked at Warda. Yes, Warda read, the ewer is you, but unless you can prove it, it’s safer not to say.
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;
mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">Warda looked at Sammi, hoping to see a little hope in her flushed face. Instead, she found betrayal and hurt.
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">“That’s it, is it?” she said, “Fine. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">