VI.

They discussed the matter one evening, hunched in a circle over their late meal prepared by Jezura, whose cooking, in Hem’s guarded opinion was unpalatable. Mechanically he dipped the corner of his flatbread into the bland and lumpy paste, brought it to his lips, and swallowed. He noticed that Oriah talked much and ate little, but his own reticent disposition made it difficult for Hem to refuse second and third helpings without causing offense. It seemed that each time he mopped up the last morsel with his flatbread Jezura was beside him, ladling out another portion.

“What a change to cook for a man with a real appetite!” Jezura reached for the pot. “Pshah! Rushe-kih, you’d better get all the rest you can!”

Hem grunted, unable to mask his exasperation.

Suppressing a grin, Oriah intercepted the ladle, “Ah, but Jezura dear, perhaps it’s an empty plate he’s wanting. A man’s belly can only hold so much!” He turned to Hem, “Jezura mentioned that you took a stault in to the village today to ask around about the child,” he said.

Hem sat back, relieved at the change of topic. “Yes. I rode in this morning. I visited the ancients, ours and yours, and told them of the outbreak. They send us their well-wishings. I also appeared at the Court of the Elders to inquire about missing children.”

There was pause before Rushe-kih asked from her pallete, “And--?”

“There are no village children unaccounted for.”

“We could take her in, of course,” Jezura offered slowly, “Ahr-tyr has asked if the little girl can move in and be her sister.” Sitting at her mother’s side, Ahr-tyr smiled.

Hem disapproved, “We cannot make any plans for the girl. She must belong to somebody! Children don’t appear out of nowhere, least of all in a bed of vamfloria. We must locate her parents and return her.”

“But what if they died in the vamfloria?” Oriah speculated, “Perhaps she belonged to a rimer, and the weed consumed them.”

“Possible,” Hem agreed, “But we’d have found some trace of them, surely. Besides, rimer’s children don’t run around wearing rubies.”

It was true. As unexplainable as was the girl’s appearance, her attire only left her rescuers more baffled: an ankle-length linen undergarment, shredded and bloody, and around her neck an amulet on a leather thong. Jezura had discovered the hidden ruby when fingering the delicate carvings on the wooden cover. Passing the stone from one to the next, they gazed at each other, astonished.

When the stone fell into Hem’s hands he stood and said simply, “She is somebody.” He left the room and returned empty-handed. When he’d gone to the village later, Hem had taken the tunic, hoping it would provide a clue to her identity. He’d left the jewel behind. He thought it best to keep that a secret, in case a fortune hunter might claim the girl out of greed.

“There’s no need for discussion,” Rushe-kih interrupted, “When the girl comes to she’ll tell us where she’s from.” That seemed reasonable, and the group agreed.

But later that night as Hem stretched carefully beside his wife on the pallet they shared, Rushe-kih contemplated, “Hem, don’t you think this child could be the one Olee-fuku promised me at that choosing ceremony? He said I’d be a mother, and I’ve always believed.”

“Rushe-kih, children don’t appear from nowhere,” Hem maintained, “She must belong to someone.”

“I feel it so strongly, Hem. She was meant to be here. I knew it as soon as Oriah said there was a child in the weed.” Rushe-kih assured herself. “There was a spirit with me, whispering what I must do. It told me what I had to do to save her. You know I would never have done that on my own.”

“I know you are not an impulsive woman, Rushe-kih,” Hem spoke. “It is not like you to act so rashly. I believe you must have had a spirit.”

“Oh Hem!” Rushe-kih breathed, comforted by Hem’s belief in her. “The girl was given to us from the earth. She is the Zicahla. Mender of our world,” Rushe-kih shuddered. “But I do not know what that means.”

“We’ll see,” Hem was cautious, “We’ll see when she awakens. But I must warn you do not get attached. It could end up being a great disappointment in the end.”