SULLHA
The dining hall was quieter than usual because the early breakfast rush had ended, and the second shift had not yet started filtering in.
Tomek was taking his time, dragging out the meal because he didn't want to go to class, but soon they would have to make room for the incoming crowd, and he needed to finish the sandwich Sullha had made for him.
They sat at the end of one of the long communal tables, near the open side of the structure where a light breeze came through.
The flatbread that she was eating with a smear of bean paste was good, but she was full already and wanted to be done.
"Are you going to eat the egg?" Tomek pointed at it.
"Do you want it?"
"Only if you don't."
She transferred the egg to his plate.
"You're not hungry because you ate your banana first. You're doing it all wrong. You eat the boring thing first, then the next boring thing, then the tasty thing. Banana is a tasty thing, so you eat it last." He smacked his lips. "The taste stays in your mouth."
Sullha laughed. "Can't argue with that, but you need to finish your sandwich and the egg now."
"I will." He swung his legs under the table. "My mouth is small. I can only take small bites."
"Sound logic." She smiled.
Tomek was a source of endless entertainment, but even his lecture about the proper eating sequence couldn't quiet the unease in her stomach.
Yaaf had not come yesterday.
She'd sat on the bench in the playground long past the time she should have taken Tomek back to their room to prepare him for his nightly shower.
Every slight change in the breeze had her turning around with excitement in her chest, expecting to see Yaaf materialize out of thin air behind her or beside her. When it was nearly dark, Tomek had come over, tugged on her hand, and said that it was time to go.
She was worried.
There could be a dozen rational explanations for why Yaaf hadn't come, but what made taking a deep breath impossible was the fear that the assassination plot had been discovered.
If something had gone wrong, she would have no way of knowing. There was no message that could reach her in theenclosure, and she couldn't ask anyone to check on him. She would just sit on her bench day after day until she was forced to accept that he wasn't coming back.
Sullha shook her head, dispelling the self-induced panic attack. She had to think positively, to believe that everything was okay.
Now she sounded like the Sacred Mothers.
"Mama."
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Why are you sad?"
"I'm not sad. I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Stuff." She mussed his hair and smiled. "Boring grown-up things."
"Okay," he said, returning to swinging his legs back and forth under the table and nibbling on his sandwich.
"Finish it already so you can eat your banana," she said. "You'll be late for class."
