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her knowing it he had sensed that she believed his death was necessary.
    As she came to her own hut, she heard a small, childish voice, then an answering croon from Daiya. She hurried inside.
    Reiho had laid out a meal of protein cakes and other skydweller foods; a vegetable soup was bubbling in a pot over the fire. Daiya sat on the floor, playing with a small, black-haired child.
    "Chal," Anra said aloud.
    "Aah!" the little boy answered, looking up at her with almond-shaped eyes that resembled Reiho's. His thoughts, in spite of his implant, were confused babblings; he was too young to know how to direct them.
    "Say 'Anra,' " Daiya said aloud.
    "Ana!"
    Anra sat down as Daiya carried the toddler to the table. Reiho began to ladle out soup. Chal gurgled as Anra read her aunt's thoughts. Leito, who had cared for Chal ever since he had been brought to the village, had left him there that afternoon.
    "You're visiting again," Anra said to the boy.
    Daiya shook her head. —No, he's staying this time— Reiho set bowls on the table; Daiya began to feed the child with a wooden spoon.
    —But why?— Anra asked, though she was already sensing the answer.
    —Leito is old. She knows her time may come soon, and she felt that Chal should be with us. She'll still see him every day, but if he gets used to living here, he won't feel her loss as much when she's gone—
    —But Leito's not ill—
    —She's very old. She has to think of dial's welfare. Deene and Vasen would have taken him, but they're caring for one child already, and they no longer have the strength to care for two—
    Anra gazed at the boy sadly; so Leito was already preparing for death. She patted the child on the head, trying to cheer him with warm thoughts, but he was sensing her sorrow as well, and began to whimper. "I'll have a foster brother, then," she said aloud.
    Daiya smiled. "I've seen your thoughts during these past days," she murmured. "You felt that we especially needed you now, and perhaps we did. But mourning has to end. You have your own life to consider. You've lived for fifteen cycles of the seasons. In the old times, at your age, we were ready to leave our parents' huts then, to choose a partner or to live with friends until a partner was found. You're free to do that, if you wish."
    "She's still young," Reiho objected.
    "On your world, not ours. She's a young woman now."
    "I was afraid to ask," Anra said. "I thought it might be too soon after ..." She shielded her thoughts, not wanting Chal to cry again, and noticed that Daiya and Reiho were shielding theirs as well. The boy hummed to himself, no longer sensing their unhappiness, then swallowed another spoonful of soup.
    "You'll still be in the village," Daiya said. "We'll be here if you need us."
    Anra sipped some soup, then nibbled at a protein cake. Cerwen had come here often when she was younger; he had sat next to her at this table. Everything in the hut reminded her of him; she looked up, almost expecting to see him in the doorway.
    Daiya touched her thoughts gently. "When I was younger," she said aloud, "I often went into the desert beyond the mountains to clear my mind, to hear my own thoughts apart from the murmurings of others. Maybe you should do the same, Anra. You might need such a period of solitude now."
    Anra looked up. "Do you think so?"
    "It might help. You could carry your grief with you and leave it behind when you return, heal yourself."
    "I could go with you," Reiho said.
    Anra shook her head. "You should stay with Daiya and Chal." She rose. "I'll have to make other journeys someday, so maybe this one will prepare me. I'd better get ready."
    "But it's almost night."
    "I should go now. If I wait, I might be afraid to go." She had only gone as far as the foothills before, and always with friends. Crossing the room, she took a water jug from one shelf, opened it, and began to fill a skin. Reiho came to her side and put some supplies into a pack, then handed it to her; she added two