Politely he answered, “It is beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as the land where I visit the gorillas.”
“You must take me with sometime. I am interested in how you can live with animals.”
“It is far more interesting to ask how it is they can bear to have me live with them.”
He nodded. “That is a good question.” The whole family roared with laughter at his answer.
“Just for that I’ll take you to see the fairies tomorrow.”
“The tiny dot in that circle is your world Sebura. Freddie, rotate the galaxy so that we see it as it is from Earth. Do you see the stars you know? The world you live on, to you it is enormous - to us also. When you look at how small it is in space and how many other suns and planets there are, not only does it make our world look small, it makes us feel tiny, like little ants. That is wrong Sebura, we are only as small or big as our minds and hearts make us. If you can look at our galaxy and recognise planets in all parts of it where you love and are loved by their people, doesn’t that make your spirit a giant? Compare that to the feelings of power being a leader of a small country or world. The more hearts you can find yourself in, the bigger you are.”
Cherine touched his hand. “Samantha is jumping too far ahead. First learn to find yourself within your own heart. Do you know how to do that?”
“No.”
“By looking into the eyes of those who love you. You saw how you were in the heart of Efineh, find some more hearts to touch.”
“Sebura, Cherine is right but, however many hearts you touch, they will mean nothing if your heart is not touched by them. Think of your friends and start with them, for they are already partly in your heart.” Samantha sensed his need. “Spend the night walking around Freddie or go sleep in your rooms, for tomorrow we return home. You will have only been away from there for one hour. Have you thought of what you wish to do when we return?”
“There is no place for me Samantha. I cannot return to my town and what is there for me within your land?”
“We’ll ask the elders to confirm that you are free to travel wherever you wish. Choose two of your men that you like best and can talk to, and spend some time away from towns. Sleep under the skies, hunt for your food and take the time to take another look at your past. Sebura, the qualities children hate about their parents, those are the qualities they adopt for themselves, as if it will protect them from the past. Say goodbye to your father and look for ways to become the opposite of what he was. Is your mother still alive?”
“Yes.”
“When you are ready, talk to her. I think you will find it was not that she did not love you, just that she feared your father. Try to put yourself in her place and imagine how helpless she must have felt. What bitter memories she must have! To know that she is ageing, her life almost gone, all wasted thanks to spending it with the wrong man. I don’t know, maybe she did love him, the human heart is strange. Whatever the truth is, find it and understand the past so that you can understand yourself.”
“I hear your words, but they do not mean anything. They are not for a man like me. I stand here in this world of demons where you see beauty and all I can think of is what powers it would give me to use it for my own.”
Samantha took one of those decisions of hers that frighten people. “Is that all? Fine, Freddie is yours for five days. Speak out what you wish Freddie to do and he will obey. Keep in mind that with the power you also have the responsibility. See to it that Freddie stays a healthy place to live in - or else what power would you have if you are dead?”
“I am yours to command Sebura. What are your wishes?”
He stared at Robert who smiled and nodded. Cherine and the family just stared at him with serious eyes. For the first time ever Sebura felt totally lost. “You cannot mean it!”
Freddie showed the view of the planet, sun and spaceships on all the screens as we arrived. Robert sheathed him and we all jumped down to the capital city. I cannot even begin to describe what walking on a world of aliens, dozens of species walking by, is doing to his mind. Sam laughed and reminded him of what tales he would have to tell his people. Reminding him that he is the first of them to travel in Freddie and go to alien worlds helped boost his ego - plus it made him more observant again.
Robert was told they are short of certain metals, such as copper, nickel, manganese and, mainly, silver, so he left to mine some from a dead reality while we enjoyed the hospitality of the Meéjeira. When they heard of where Sebura comes from, they pleaded with him to tell the story of how Sam came to their world and the effect she had on them. When he agreed they filled a stadium and placed him on a stage. We felt how terrified he was of speaking to such a large and strange audience, so Candy went to stand beside him. She got him started, adding music to his words to dramatise the pictures he was trying to paint verbally. He soon was carried away by his feelings and even acted out some of the scenes.
As he talked, he began to change. His emoting could be felt by all and Sam sat with her hair hiding her face. For as Sebura spoke of what Sam said and did, he began to understand and he was filled with awe of her and humbled by his machinations. He did not continue with the trip he and Sam took, he ended with his attempt to use Efineh by taking her sexually. Candy stopped humming as he stood silently, his mind roiling in emotions he could not control.
“I do not understand!” he cried out. “After all that I did, why has Samantha treated me as her favourite? Why reward me by bringing me to Freddie and here to you?”
The leader of the Meéjeira joined him. “They have not told you? When Robert found us, as souls in space, we attacked him. We tried to kill Cherine. He rewarded us by re-creating our planet and giving us bodies for us to live again. After years they returned and found out that we were still sick with hate. Four of his wives and daughters demanded that those who hate use stones to kill them. Robert left us, sick with his pain and anger, but he did not stop the girls from sacrificing their lives for us. We too have often cried out as you did, why? All we can say is, that is how Robert is. That is how his family are, every single one of them. If they have to, even to save one of you, they would sacrifice themselves.”
“You see? They call it the game of love. There is only one way we can repay them Sebura - with love. Nothing else is important to them.”
He knelt as he called out “Samantha!” in a voice filled with pain. She jumped and knelt by him to hold him against her as his body was wracked by his sobs.
When we left, Freddie did not return to his reality. We waited for nearly two weeks while he walked by himself. He would sit for hours without seeing as his mind took him back into the past. There were times he would lie on the ground curled up. We could feel when he exploded with anger. We could feel when it was as if he were filled with tears. And then, best of all, we could feel how he slowly changed.
The truth is, Sebura will not become a Cherinian for a long, long time. He can be at best, an Ipohin someday. He is still self-centered to a large degree, still selfish and yearning for power and the respect of others. But at least he now believes in something bigger than himself. As he grows to love, he will have attained all we could have hoped for him at this time.
The elders were curious. They’d heard that Sam with Sebura had disappeared for about an hour and everyone remarked on the changes in him. They did not ask and Sam did not volunteer any information. All she did was ask that they repeal his exile and they did so. He collected two men and rode off.
“Have you sent him to deal with a problem?”
She smiled. “You could say so. I’ve asked him to spend a year thinking and talking with his friends.”
“Do you truly believe he can change?”
“To answer that to your satisfaction I would have to give you personal information about him. I will not betray a confidence, so you’ll have to accept my word that he already has changed dramatically. I suspect that when he returns you might want to vote him back onto your council.”
Ashema shook his head. “If that happens you will have convinced us again that you are indeed a demon.” The others wondered why Sam was not offended, when she laughed.
It took a while but slowly everybody returned to their routines, with Efineh now handling most of what Sam used to deal with. Despite Efineh having enough duties to keep her busy twenty eight hours a day, she made certain she was present when Sam sat to talk with the local people. At first Irfan tried to help Efineh, but she knew he did not enjoy those kinds of responsibilities and she insisted he sit with Sam when she gives her lessons. At first he only listened, asking Sam whatever questions he had once they were back at home. She encouraged him to talk and ask his questions during class. When he did she would sometimes ask one of the students to answer. Slowly Irfan became part of the process of education on Cherinian values and though he had his own ideas which sometimes seemed to conflict with hers, Sam encouraged him to speak out. She realised that Irfan has a more down to earth approach that not only appealed to the students, but his ideas were expressed in ways they found easier to understand.
Irfan is one of the few people we know who were dramatically altered by becoming a Cherinian. Perhaps the best word to describe him (among Cherinians) is to say he is quiet. I do not mean he rarely talks (which is also true) but that his mind is quiet. Before he became a Cherinian, his thoughts were usually calm, but underneath it all was a chaotic sense of urgency he could not rid himself of. He could sense that there was much for him to learn but little time. When he became a Cherinian, he meditated and accepted that now he had the time to learn slowly and evolve at the pace that suits his soul. After a few months in the classrooms, which were usually outdoors, he discovered another important fact. That by teaching, he was learning far more than he did by only studying the writings and words of those more advanced than him.
“I have a problem and I must look to your experience and wisdom to help me find a solution. I have become a victim of my own success.” She smiled. “The success is by no means mine alone, most of the men and women in my town have helped make it happen. Word has gone out and people by the hundreds are arriving every month. I thought that by opening centres elsewhere those who were interested would go to the centre closest to them. I am told they do not because they hear of marvels that have happened here, so they want to say they came to this town to learn. We need to find a way to convince people to go to the other centres or else we will be overrun here. Can you think of a way?”
At first the elders were proud that everyone wanted to come to their land and told her they were all welcome. When Sam pointed out how many people already were here and how many they could be within a year, they began to see her problem.
They talked, argued details, discarded ideas and were guided by Sam so gently that they never sensed it. They arrived at a distressing solution that upset their people. Sam stayed away from their next all day meeting as the elders tried to convince the people that their decision was the wisest and she rejoined them the following day.
It was decided that Sam would build a similar home at each of the centres (with a centre to be opened outside the main Feshidi town called Isesa and another one at the Lake Orati). Efineh and Irfan would stay at the first centre to run it. Samuel and family would run the Isesa centre and Haven with Aganthi would run the smaller one of ‘The People’. That still left the second centre in the land of the Orati plus one to be opened for the mountain Orati (Oraxi). Once Sam had volunteers to run them all, she would travel, staying a week at each one and two weeks at her present centre.
Sam had realised that if she’d made the suggestion, the Orati would have felt hurt. By them choosing it as the only option available and by presenting to them the concept (once they’d suggested it) that the opening of new centres in other lands would be seen by all as an expansion thanks to the Orati, they remained proud and pleased. It was also pointed out to them that they would also remain her first and most important centre, as would be reflected by her spending an extra week there.
Samuel with his family, all the girls with Efineh and Irfan jumped to Freddie. Since they’d advised Robert they would be coming, Maria prepared a feast of all their favourite foods and after eating we had a party on the ship.
“I’m not enjoying myself as much this time.”
Robert smiled. “It’s natural, your first visit there you spent your time conniving and manipulating everyone. You’ve reached a new level now, where most of it is routine.”
“Sometimes I don’t understand why I love you.”
“Do you understand why I love you?” She was sitting on his lap so she placed her ear to his chest. She opened a button and inserted her hand, her fingers feeling his skin.
“Mmm, what were we talking about?” He laughed and squeezed her to him.
After breakfast she brought us up to date. “I need volunteers. If you are willing, I’d suggest Claudia with one of you, her choice, for the Lake Orati. The second centre in the land of the Orati I suggest…Rosie and Tina. For the Oraxi, who would enjoy living high in the mountains? Hmm, how about Diana and the twins. Let’s see whether they find any seashells up there. I have one left, a very important one. I want Robbie to create a dome for us to have a centre under the Atlantic Ocean. That one can be run by Cassie and Jade.”
It was agreed that the new teachers would start attending class immediately so that they could develop a feel for the work they would be undertaking. Sam suggested that anyone else who wants to attend class is welcome as she would be opening new centres very soon. Robert asked her how many at the end of the day and she estimated another twenty at least. He put on a glum face and waited for one of us to ask him what was wrong, so Tseri asked.
“None of you seem to remember why Samantha came to this reality originally. She’s been planning her revenge all these years. She intends leaving me here without any of my loves. She’ll soon have you all working down there and my bed will be empty. Do you know what the irony of it is? I helped her make a success of it!”
That took care of the serious mood everyone was in as we all combined our efforts at teasing him. We were just getting back our breath when Cassie exclaimed. “You’re wrong Robert! That could not have been her plan. She would never trust Jade and I to run a centre!”
He wiped his face with his hand. “That is cruel Samantha! You plan on leaving me alone with the imps, totally at their mercy? How could you?”
There was great excitement among the Orati as most of the girls started attending the classes. Those who did not attend, I think their names should be recorded. Cherine, Tseri, Meli, Wendy, Candy and Jade. Jade was heavily into experimenting with a new way of creating certain effects and did not want to interrupt her work for returning to later. We all agreed that she should stay.
Cassie may be fun to be around, but during the lessons we felt how absorbed she became. When days passed without her playing a prank or teasing us, we became worried. The only one not worried was her mother Dommi. She reassured us that once this is over, Cassie will revert to her usual impish self. I think Cassie was more surprised than us when Claudia chose her to be her partner at her centre.
The Orati announced they’ve prepared their first food train for the Oraxi. Sam could have offered to have them jumped within a day’s journey, but she kept quiet. At first we thought it was mean of her, but when we felt the men who were undertaking the trip, we understood she had been wise. The Lake Orati did ask us to carry tons of food from their town plus their horses and men so that they could all travel together. A number of riders who’d been on the first trip went with as they knew their way and were prepared for the lake crossing. Sam was worried about the tribes on the other side. If they attacked, the riders would have to fight and kill them. Some sort of permanent solution had to be found, but she has a couple of months. She told them one of us will be jumping to them every third day to take care of injuries. Sam asked Vincent to keep an eye on them.
Has it been noticed that I never mentioned the effect on Vincent the surreal trip with Sam and Sebura had on him? The blame does not lie with yours truly. Ever since then he has kept to himself and we do not think it would be right to pester him for his comments. Sam says she was not aware of him for the entire duration of that experience.
The Orati women found the courage to tell Efineh that they miss the Sam that was. She has kept her distance, not wanting to interfere in the way Efineh runs the centre, but they have misunderstood and think Sam is tired of them. Efineh tried explaining, gave up and passed the problem on to Sam. I thought her comments were quite astute.
“I’m not that girl anymore Efineh, too much has happened to us since then.”
“To them you were only gone one day! It’s not fair.”
It is now nearly three months since we arrived. Ashema still enjoys visiting secretly at night to talk with Sam and any of us that are present. He has become fond of a glass or two of red wine, though he still enjoys his beer with a meal. Sam was obviously not relaxed this evening and Ashema sensed it.
“You have a problem?”
“Soon I will be busy creating the new centres. We’ve identified the sites and have permission from the local people. Once they are built, I will not have one home, I’ll be travelling from the one to the other. Ashema, the work is a joy, but the best part of it was the relationships I built with everyone. I miss that. I miss the women getting angry with me because I worked too hard, did not sleep or eat enough. It showed me that they cared, that I, Samantha the person, mattered to them. Now I am just Samantha the good demon.”
“When I was first elected an elder, I took joy in working with my people to see that the decisions of the elders were carried out correctly. There was this closeness you speak of with those who helped me. With time, as I grew to trust them, I took part less and less. Now, they are faces I know. I use my experience to judge them and get rid of those I do not have confidence in. As you say, they only know me as an elder now.”
She was silent for a time. “When I worked with those who called themselves ‘The People’, I felt I was one of them. When I came here and we grew close by working together and sharing stories and gossip, I came to feel like an Orati. Now I spend my time watching my people. Only you my friend help to remind me of those days.”
He sighed. “Do you know what you need?”
“To stop complaining like a child?”
He smiled and shook his head. “You need a Sebura to challenge you.”
She laughed. “Have you had word of where he is?”
“He passed from our lands about twenty days ago. He was seen travelling towards the ani… towards the villages of the Lake Orati people.”
“That is a surprise! I wonder why he has gone there.”
“Perhaps he hopes they will elect him as elder?” He broke into laughter at her expression.
Later she asked Aganthi, “I wonder why the people at that centre haven’t said anything about him being there.”
Within two days she was curious enough to check out for herself. She saw to the early morning work, returned to her bedroom and left her body, willing herself to her hut by the river. From there she could easily search for him. She saw the huts were still well maintained and decided to check how the farming was coming along. She was shocked to find Sebura and his two friends working in the fields. She watched him for a while, curious about his emoting. To her it felt as if he were meditating. She felt his friends and returned to her body. She jumped to her tree on the roof and sat there deep in thought for a long time.
“Just the two of us?”
She smiled. “It would be nice to have the little Efineh of the past with. Just the two of us Samuel. Did you want to bring someone with?”
“I thought it might be a nice change for Thina.”
“Sure, bring her along. I’d like to be with her for a while.”
Sam had looked forward to a long ride and nights around a fire, but it would have upset the Orati if just the three of them rode out without an escort of riders. She could not allow any riders if she was going to meet Sebura. They looked at the map and decided to jump north of the town, ride up to the river, evading any riders patrolling the border, they would then ride east alongside the river until it curved slightly south, cross the river and enter the country of ‘the people’.
The ground sank before them so that they could see the dark green belt of the river half a days ride before them. They sat on their horses, chewing dried meat without talking, for the silence only punctuated by the sounds of birds and insects was part of the beauty of the land. Thina was lost in her thoughts and did not notice when the other two put away their flasks and prepared to ride. Samuel’s hand softly touched hers as it rested on the pommel. “What are your thoughts my little princess?”
“I’m glad I came, I don’t belong in a city.” She felt his thoughts caressing hers. “I don’t mean I want to leave Athens, it’s just that my first real memories are of jungles and deserts.” She sighed and turned her eyes to gaze into his. “Sometimes I miss those days when I really was a princess and you taught me how to love. It was such a discovery!”
His eyes were warm and tender. “The learning belonged to both of us, loving you is what gave me a soul.”
They both suddenly remembered where they were and looking, saw that Sam was about three hundred metres ahead of them. Thina smiled. “She must have jumped.” Neither of them felt any need to catch up with Sam and rode side by side, sharing their minds and hearts.
Sam saw to her right a thorn tree among some dusty boulders and deviated. As the horse plodded closer to the boulders that reached the height of her face, she saw a gecko standing on extended front legs staring at her. As long as she did not move it was not bothered by the horse and they came very close to it before it darted down a crack. As she rode around one of the boulders and saw the flat space under the tree she noticed the blackened rocks and realised it was a regular overnight spot for riders. She shaded her eyes and looked around. She could not sense any riders so she dismounted and began to collect twigs for a fire.
When Samuel and Thina rode up they were about to greet her when they saw that where she sat cross-legged, a snake was flicking its tongue, head raised as it stared at her. They waited silently until the snake lowered its head and slithered into the rocks. Sam looked up at them.
“This is a good spot, we have been welcomed by a gecko and a black mamba.”
“You don’t want to spend the night by the river? It looks so beautiful there.”
She smiled at her. “Thina, if you enjoy insects we can move there.”
They left their things by the boulders and took the horses for the green grass and water to the river bank. The cool shade was welcome and Sam left them to enjoy some privacy and to search for some herbs to add to their stew. She saw through the foliage a deserted village on the other side, the huts mostly burnt. As she stared she sensed someone watching her. She spoke in Feshidi, keeping her voice low. “I am a friend, do not fear me.”
“I am Samantha, friend of your people. Who burnt your village?”
A wizened old man stepped out from behind foliage. “Feshidi soldiers.”
“What of the families? Are they safe?”
“Most are dead. Only the Fanged one knows if they are safe.”
She took a guess. “Are you a priest?”
She sat with the old man for over an hour, learning of his village and what life was like for them. He spoke of their own soldiers killing and raping, then always burning the villages to make it look as if the barbarians from across the river were responsible. Samuel and Thina stayed hidden behind bushes listening as they talked. She told him of the changes in their government and promised him that there would never be soldiers to fear again. He clicked in approval, as if believing her, but she could sense he did not. She gave him some dried meat (she jumped it to her) and he sucked on it, his hardened gums chewing, slowly softening the meat and releasing the flavour.
As much as it distressed her, she knew she could not do much to help him at that moment. She contacted Haven and after she had dropped by the thorn tree some provisions she convinced the old man to go there with her. He was overcome by the gift of food.
“Return to this tree once every five days,” she showed him five fingers, “and you will find more food waiting for you. It is a gift for those who wait in hiding. Are any ill?” From his confused answer she understood that some were and convinced him to bring them to her. As he brought them to her she felt like weeping as she felt the hunger in their bellies, the fear in their minds and the pain of illness and wounds. She called to Vincent with instructions.
The villagers nearly ran away, despite her reassurances, when riders appeared in the distance. As they drew closer they went into a panic when they realised the men were Feshidi. She convinced them to stay when she pointed out that they do not hold any weapons.
“Kinestasi, I wish to send to your mind what I feel, will you welcome me?”
He nodded. “Yes.” She sent to him what she had felt from the refugees.
“These are your people from a village on the other side of the river. They are not the only ones, they speak of other villages suffering because of your soldiers. If you are willing, I will send Haven to you to lead your men to where these soldiers who prey on your people hide. They must be stopped. Tell me, what will you do for them?” She pointed at the few women and children who huddled in fear.
“If you can help, we will bring them food and men to help rebuild their homes by morning.”
“Have women with for they will fear your men. They need to learn of the changes in your country and that they are free to come to you to ask for help when they need it. Vincent will help.”
By the time Kinestasi and his officers were ready to leave, the refugees had been healed and had eaten their first proper meal in weeks. They were helped back across the river where Samuel had already repaired a few huts for shelter.
When they were all gone, Sam reloaded the horses. “Let’s ride.”
“In the dark?”
“I cannot sleep here Samuel.” Thina saw it had to be Samuel and stood back while he went to her and placed his arms around her.
“Do not fill your heart with tears mother, you have brought hope to them.”
By the next afternoon they were riding south-east, looking for a place to cross the river. As it had rained recently the river did not look safe for crossing and it looked like they’d have to jump their horses across. Samuel suggested they find a place to make camp and jump across the next morning. Sam nodded so he rode off ahead of them.
“Sometimes it feels strange to me.”
Sam looked over at Thina. “Still?”
She nodded. “It’s mostly just the idea of who we were and how we fell in love.”
“When we returned and I was Samantha again, I felt privileged that I’d won your heart. Now I accept that it was Samuel, not me. Still, I’ll always be grateful that I was a part of it for a while.”
“It still puzzles me, why are Samuel and I so different from Robert and you?”
“I think Meli tailored you to be different. From there the two of you grew in different directions from us.”
“You know, I’m not really the princess the Thina with Erin is. It’s funny the way she is more of a protector than he is.”
“For all of us, you are both our princesses. Especially so for your Samuel.”
She was silent for a while but Sam felt she needed something so she kept her thoughts concentrated on her to encourage her. “Can Meli change what she did to me? I don’t like feeling like the memories of the nanny are true.”
“God! That was stupid of us! We must jump to Freddie tonight, there’s no need for Samuel to find us a camping spot.”
The idea of changing her ‘memories’, her past, so soon, made Thina nervous. “Can we leave it for later?”
As they drank their morning tea with honey, Samantha glanced at Thina as she sat between Samuel’s legs. “Would the two of you like to ride on your own for a while?”
“What are you planning?”
“I’m going in as a Feshidi. I want to listen to Sebura without him knowing I’m around. As a Feshidi soldier who is sick of killing, would he understand how I feel or would he look down on me as weak?”
“I don’t think it is right to do that.” Thina said.
“She has a point Samantha. If you trick him into opening up and then he finds out, it might have the opposite effect.”
“He thinks I’m spying on him anyway, this is not much worse.”
“It could be. What if he becomes friends with you? He will feel you acted dishonourably - so would I.” Both Sams decided she was right. Samantha filled her cup again and stirred in honey as she thought.
“I guess I’ll have to tell him who I am. My presence is bound to provoke many controversial conversations.”
Samantha pretended to scowl fiercely at her. “When we return I’m going to see to it that you are voted onto the Cherinian council.”
Tatio rode directly to the farms without any riders stopping him. They saw him, kept an eye on him, but did not demand his reasons for being there. Though he was a big man, about six foot three, almost heavyset in appearance, from the way he alighted from his horse they realised he is still agile.
“Greetings, I am Tatio, a Feshidi. Am I welcome?”
“All who come in peace are welcome.” One of the men answered.
“I heard of a place where men plant and grow their food instead of hunting. My eyes have seen it now. May I learn?”
One of them laughed and held out his spade. “If your back is strong enough.”
For two days Tatio worked, getting into the rhythm so that he soon was able to keep up with the men. He did not speak nor take part in their conversations, accepting his wooden platter of food when the others ate with a nod. Finally their curiosity overcame the teachings of Samantha.
“What is a Feshidi doing so far from home?”
He nodded, gesturing towards the two Orati riders. “What are Orati riders doing so far from home? Perhaps we asked the same questions?” The men murmured between themselves, but did not press him for more details.
The men only worked in the fields for about four hours a day, the rest of it going hunting, attending talks at the centre or just sitting around drinking and talking. Sebura, Siletu and Zigasse either hunted or sat by themselves. Zigasse came to stand over Tatio as he washed his wooden dish by the river.
“What question do you speak of?”
Tatio looked for Sebura and pointed at him. “I’ll answer him if he asks.” Zigasse looked angry for a moment, laughed and returned to pass on the message. Sebura stayed where he was.
After eating that evening, everyone sat by the fire drinking, telling stories and jokes. Tatio sat alone by the river bank staring at the stars.
“Why do you wish to speak to me?”
“Sit by me Sebura.”
He was silent for a moment. “Samantha?”
“Shh, sit down.” Tatio grinned. “Do I look like a Samantha?”
“Why are you here?”
“I wanted to hear and see what effect I’ve had. I have seen changes that please me, but I wish to learn more.”
Sebura warned her, “They will ask questions. They have tried to be polite, but they are still men who watch for their women and children.”
“You may tell them I will talk tomorrow. I will have a story to tell, I wonder how they will react to it.”
