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“Kiristen and Troy and Avery are upstairs with Merostena, looking over old photo-videos of Kiristen. It is boring, so I decided to come looking for you, and then Kirimara said she wanted to say hello to Melinda, so I brought her with me.”
By now, Kirimara has reached us, grinning broadly. In looks, she favors her mother more than Kiristen, but she has the sicortar’s dark, expressive eyes. I stand and greet her the traditional way with a hand to the chest. We both step back and bow. “It’s good to see you again, Kirimara.”
“The honor is mine.”
“Come and sit by us, Mara,” says Kirimor to his eldest daughter. She lowers herself gracefully to sit to her father’s right, resting her chin on his shoulder. “How was college today?” he asks her.
“It was a day, just like any other,” she replies.
“No day is just like the other. What new thing did you learn today?”
She ponders the question. “I learned—that I should ask fewer questions in my chemical analysis class.”
“And why is that? Questions are good.”
“Yes,” chimes in Kiritela. “I like asking questions.”
Her father draws her in for a hug and kisses her cheek fondly. “So do I, little star.”
“Only if the teacher is able to answer them,” her sister replies. “I believe my endless questioning has become a source of irritation for him. He may start punishing me with lower grades.”
“He would not dare! If anyone at college gives you trouble, you promised to tell me.”
“And I will, but there is no trouble as yet. I only think it might be the more politic thing to be a little less inquisitive in his class.”
“That is a valuable thing to be aware of,” I interject. “No teacher likes to be shown up as lacking in knowledge. It’s wise to respect the ego of others, especially if they are supposed to be in a superior position to you. Besides, if he can’t answer your questions, then there’s probably not much left he can teach you.”
Kirimara beams at me. “That is exactly what I thought.”
“What is it you study at college?”
“Natural science with a focus on the synthesis of medical plants.”
“That sounds like an interesting course of study. Are you enjoying it?”
“Mostly yes, but this chemical analysis class, not so much.”
“Kirimara is top of her class in nearly every subject,” boasts her father proudly. “One day, she is going to be an excellent scientist.”
“Do you plan to work in the pharmaceutical industry when you finish college?” I wonder.
“I am hoping to help develop new drugs to treat some common heart conditions.” She hesitates. “Grandmother was taken from us too soon because of her heart. I am hoping to honor her life by finding more remedies for the condition that took her from us.”
Kirimor strokes his daughter’s hair, kissing her on the forehead. “Ma would have been proud.”
“When did you lose her, if I may ask?”
Kirimor answers me with a sad smile, a suspicious looking glint in his eyes. “Three sun rotations ago. My mother had been a strong, sturdy woman, never ill a day in her life. Then, her heart gave up on her without a warning. It was a great shock to us.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
He inclines his head.
Kiritela, with the innocence of youth, breaks the somber mood with a cry for attention. “Pa, can we go down to the beach with Melinda? I want to show her how to collect plo shells. She says she does not have anything like them at home.”
He looks at me consideringly. “Is that so? Well then you definitely must show her how to find plo shells. We will all go down and have a swim in the sea together.”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I haven’t brought my swimsuit. Perhaps another time, Kiritela.”
