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The other sisters were pleased; they never had visitors, or at least very rarely, and these were always religious-priests, other sisters But a little girl: this was so new The minute Sister Arnette had clian to talk How did Sister Lacey know the girl’s mother? How old was Amy? What did she like to do? To eat? To watch? To wear? They were so excited they scarcely noticed how seldo at all; Lacey did the talking For dinner, As-these were her favorites-with potato chips, and chocolate-chip ice crea and crafts, and liked to watch movies with princesses in the like that at the store She would need clothes; her irl’s suitcase, she was so frazzled by her own irl’s grandmother was diabetic, with heart trouble), and when she’d said she would go hoe The lies poured forth so gracefully upon ears so willing to believe that, within the hour, all the sisters seehtly different version of the saly Wiggly for the ha and movies and toys; in the kitchen, Sister Tracy set about planning the eveningthat not only could they expect the proo with the ice cream, a three-tier chocolate cake (They always looked forward to Fridays, Sister Tracy’s night to cook Her parents owned a restaurant in Chicago; before she’d entered the Sisters, she had trained at Cordon Bleu) Even Sister Arnette see with Amy and the other sisters in the den to watch The Princess Bride while dinner was prepared

Through it all, Sister Lacey set her reed onderful, ended, and Sister Louise and Sister Claire took Aht at Wal books, crayons and paste and construction paper, a Barbie Pet Shop Kit that had taken Sister Louise fifteen e with all of its little parts, the cos and the tiny dishes and the rest-Lacey climbed the stairs In the silence of her roo for the voice that would sweep through her, filling her with the knowledge of His will; but as she lifted herof a question with no certain answer This, she kneas another way God could speak to a person His as elusive , and it would be nice if, from time to time, He chose to s worked Though most of the sisters prayed in the little chapel behind the kitchen, and Lacey did this too, she reserved herprayers for this ti at her desk or on the corner of her narrow bed She’d put her hands in her lap, close her eyes, and send her ined it as a kite on a string, lifting higher as she let the line out-and wait to see what happened Now, sitting on the bed, she sent the kite as high as she dared, the i smaller in her hand, the kite itself just a speck of color far above her head, but all she felt was the wind of heaven pushing upon it, a force of great power against a thing so s roora all year, and Sister Lacey took Aht o’clock; usually all the sisters were in bed by nine, to rise at five fordevotions, and it seeirl of A her hair with raspberry shales, then colossy, its rich black hue deepening with each pull of the co downstairs to the laundry By the time she returned Aht that afternoon at Walmart They were pink, with a pattern of stars andfaces, and made of a material that rustled and shone like silk When Lacey entered the roo at the sleeves with a bewildered expression; they were too long, flopping clownishly over her hands and feet Lacey rolled them up; while she watched, Amy brushed her teeth and put her toothbrush back in its case and then turned from the mirror to face her

"Do I sleep in here?"

So irl’s voice that Lacey wasn’t sure she’d heard the question correctly She searched the little girl’s face The question, strange as it was, made sense to her

"Why would you sleep in the bathroom, Amy?"

She looked at the floor "Mama says I have to be quiet"

Lacey didn’t knohat to make of this "No, of course not You’ll sleep in your rooht next to mine, I’ll show you"

The room was clean and spare, bare-walled with just a bed and a bureau and a s on the floor to war to ht that, tomorrow, she would ask Sister Arnette if she could buy a s to put by the bed, so Amy’s feet wouldn’t have to touch the cold floorboards in the e of the h the floor she could hear the faint rumble of the television downstairs, and the tick of pipes expanding behind the walls, and outside, the wind fingering the March leaves of the oaks andtraffic on Poplar Avenue The zoo o blocks behind the convent, at the far end of the park; on suhts when the ere open, they could so in their cages This was a strange and wonderful thing for Lacey to hear, so many thousands of miles from home, but when she had visited the zoo she’d discovered it was an awful place, like a jail; the pens were ses behind walls of Plexiglas, the elephants and giraffes wore chains on their legs All the animals looked depressed Most could barely be bothered to move at all, and the people who came to see them were loud and boorish and let their children throw popcorn through the bars to make the animals notice them It was more than Lacey could bear, and she had left quickly, close to tears It broke her heart to see God’s creatures treated so cruelly, with such coldhearted indifference, for no purpose

But now, sitting on the edge of the bed, she thought that itAmy would like Perhaps she’d never been to a zoo at all As long as there was nothing Lacey could do to ease the ani piled on top of the first, to bring a little girl who had so little happiness in her life to see the about this, when she asked about the rug

"There now," she said, and adjusted A very still, almost as if she were afraid to move "All safe and sound And I’ To fun, you’ll see The two of us"

"Can you leave the light on?"

Lacey told her she would Then she leaned over and kissed her on the forehead The air around her smelled like jam, from the shampoo

"I like your sisters," A that had happened, she had so "Yes Well It’s difficult to explain You see, we’re not actual sisters, not how you mean We do not have the same parents But we are sisters nonetheless"

"But how can you be?"

"Oh, there are other ways to be sisters We are sisters in spirit We are sisters in the eyes of God" She jostled Amy’s hand "Even Sister Arnette"

Amy frowned "She’s cranky"

"So she is But it’s just her way And she’s glad you’re here Everyone is I don’t think we even realized how , until you caain and rose "Now, enough talk You need your sleep"

"I promise I’ll be quiet"

At the doorway, Lacey stopped "You do not have to be," she said