Lilac Child Chapter 6

As Zini entered the carpet shop, she gave as cheery a hello as she could muster, despite knowing the shopkeeper would ignore her. He grunted but didn’t look up from his work repairing a carpet. Zini hurried into Mother Olo’s private quarters to find her sitting by the back door, a basket on her lap while the children played in the yard.

Batu sat at her feet, clapping as the children skipped around a chalk outline in the dust. They laughed as they picked up stones and set them down before running around to the starting line. “You’re back,” Mother Olo said as she cracked the shell of a nut and let it fall back into the basket. Zini stood at the corner of the table, unable to decide if she should sit down or leave. The sound of the children playing normally brought her comfort, but the shrill laughter and the clattering stones jarred her ears. Setting the basket aside, Mother Olo got up with a creak and tapped Batu’s shoulder. “Go to the Notal’s and see if the post is in. Take Tally with you. If she doesn’t want to play, then she can help you.” “But who will clap for the fish?” Batu asked. A young girl poked her head around the door where she’d been sitting quietly and gave Zini a covert wave.

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