Reunion

 

Erthen babbled and squirmed in Fallon's lap, anxious to join Alpen's digging in the sand. Hoping that the sounds would not attract the guard's attention, Fallon let the boy duck under his arm to keep him quiet. Alpen's murmur of approval got Fallon's attention and he looked over his shoulder to the ground next to him. Erthen clawed the sand with his foot to loosen it and Alpen scooped the sand away. Erthen let out a muffled laugh at this game. The guard was too preoccupied with the crowd of prisoners. When he did glance toward the corner where they sat, Fallon twisted his body slightly to hide Erthen's activities.

There it was again! "Leave me alone," in the Jade language.

Fallon leaned toward Alithea. "I hear someone from our tribe. Male, I think. It's so hard with all this noise. Can you stand up and look around without looking suspicious?"

Alithea looked at him with surprise, puzzlement and perhaps a bit of disgust. She looked down at Alamea still in her lap, then handed the babe to Bebe and stood up. A few seconds later, she tapped Fallon on the side of his head. "It's Drindl!"

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Even from the side and a distance, she recognized the distinctive tuft of blond air on Drindl's left ear. He had the vitality of his age, but the carry of his shoulders drooped. How could she get his attention in this crowd? Fearing the sadism of the nearby guard, she dared not draw attention to herself or the group. She looked down at Erthen clutched to Fallon's chest. The boy's face was turned away from her as he helped Alpen dig the hole that lay between Fallon and Alpen.

She slid down the wall until she was again sitting next to Fallon. "Erthen, it's Drindl!" she said in a quiet voice. Erthen looked to her voice, then twisted to look behind him. He glanced again at his mother then turned back to the task of digging the small hole.

"What are you doing?" Fallon asked her.

"How do we get Drindl's attention without attracting attention?"

"Are you sure it's Drindl?"

"That blond ear tuft. It's him."

Fallon nodded, then looked around. "Anything in the playpen? Something small? We could get his attention."

Alithea's eyes lit up. "The acorns!" she whispered. "To help the babes with their teething." She choked and glanced down at the dead bodies in Bebe's lap. Reaching into the playpen to get one of the acorns, she glanced at Bebe, who still held an unmoving gaze. Had she retreated into some safe space inside her heart and mind?

She turned and showed the acorn to Fallon. He felt the shape of it with his fingers. "It might work but it will curve."

"Can you try?"

Fallon gave her a look. "I'm hiding Erthen." He nodded to the boy under his left arm.

"Drindl is family. We need to be together. Especially after…"

Fallon held out his free hand to her in a gesture of comfort. "Keep an eye on this rascal." He glanced up at the guard busily herding prisoners into small groups. He disengaged from Erthen and edged up the wall from his sitting position. Alithea leaned forward to partially block a view of Erthen's activity and the hole he and Alpen were digging.

Fallon could not stand up to his full seven-foot height, fearing it would attract unwanted attention. When he saw Drindl, his heart leapt, and he crooked his arm. He remembered his teacher's words, "throw the rock with your eye, not with your arm." He didn't understand, not at first, but with hundreds of throws he found the path from his mind to the target.

Again, he felt the surface of the acorn, planning the curve it would take in the air. He focused on a spot just to the right of Drindl's head, then the short half throw and his outstretched finger pointed to the spot in the air. The acorn didn't curve as much as Fallon predicted, but it caught Drindl just below his ear to the rear of his head and he turned toward Fallon.

Unsure if Drindl could see him over the crowd, Fallon stood up to his full height, then quickly withdrew. He smiled when he saw the look of recognition on Drindl's face.