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And at those words, the air in the roo, the noxious odor of his breath in ic … incident

My father Dead

Again The second tirieve him, miss him, feel abandoned by him Feel the emptiness in the world left by him

It’s suddenly hard to breathe

Sissy’s hand slides into mine; the soft touch is familiar I now realize it was her hand that held hts and days, a cool salve onskin It was she who nursed me back to health

"What is it? What about him?" I say

A floorboard in the hallway creaks; the elder suddenly reappears in the doorway "Now!" he barks Sissy stands to leave, but I grip her hand I need to know

She pauses, seeing rabs the da my brow one last tiainsthi cabin"

What?

"I’m really sorry," she whispers

A loud creak as the elder startstoward us "Let’s talk later," Sissy says quickly, squeezing my hand as she leaves Their footsteps thu silence

Suicide doesn’t make sense My father valued life He instilled inthe hellish existence we lived in the metropolis, he refused the easier path that death offered; instead, he daily fought to survive yet another day Living was doght to stay alive in that wretched metropolis for so many years, ould he so soon coirls’ voices suddenly ahts

The wind chi

Tell us all, tell us one

Time to eat, a supper sublime

Their voices warble in a seamless blend I pull the curtains back froht there In ts of ten,ht froaze up at me on the second floor with earnest sainst the wall Their voices continue to sweep in; I want to close the s The darkness in ht sunshine outside, the ss later, I hobble outside Sunlight tingleswith the cool ivesoff to the side, arms crossed over her chest I’d assu once I came out, but they continue even after I beckon them to stop Their round, cherubic faces blush with embarrassment whenever our eyesat me Their eyes wide, their mouths opened, they look to be in a perpetual stance of astonishment

The doctor sniffs "It’s all about beauty and peace and harmony here That’s the essence of the Mission"

After the last song, the choir disbands around us A girl approaches me "Please, we’d like you to join us for supper"

"Yeah, I think I got that," I reply, trying to sound good-natured and appreciative Her cheeks blooirls escort Sissy and ht crescentwith exuberance, their white teeth glowing under the sunlight As we make our way toward the main square, their bodies waddle and sway, most curiously

"That’s how they walk," Sissy says next to me "I asked them about it, but they brushed it off Like they do with allto do with their feet They’re puny"

She’s right Their shoes, poking froirls line the street, many of them chubby-cheeked and potbellied And then it hits me that what I had earlier taken for flabbiness is actually so attention, every which way I look, girls in various stages of pregnancy are waddling about with roly-poly bellies It’s got to be at least one in every three All of thelea sideways at hts "Where’s the gang?"

"Probably at the dining hall already They’ve been eating nonstop since we got here They have the bulging bellies to prove it"