His breath fell out hard. "So if you weren't allowed to have friends, then who were Meri and Callah?"

I licked my lips to keep them from getting dry. "They were my friends," I admitted. "We shared a room, but we were friends too. True friends, Zasen." And I looked up at him again. "And I didn't get to see Meri after that day. Gideon locked her in their rooms. It's been months and months, but I haven't even seen her. I don't know if her bruises healed or she just got more!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Then he paused. "Ayla, how old are you?"

"Twenty," I told him. "That's why I had to marry Mr. Saunders, but hopefully if he's married to me, then he won't be available to marry Callah. He's killed so many wives, and I don't want him to do that to her." I turned to look at the sky again. "But when they forced me out, they called me Ayla Ross again, not Mrs. Saunders. Not even Ayla Saunders. They called me Ayla Ross, so he might make Callah marry him anyway."

Before me, the sky was turning darker. The light was dimming enough that my eyes didn't protest, and the colors were even more vivid. Near the horizon, the sky was red, but above us, it was a deep, rich blue. In between were shades of pink and orange. Purple, even!

It was so beautiful. All of this was beautiful, but talking about Meri and Callah made me feel guilty for being able to see it when they couldn't. It made me feel bad for being able to read, not being punished, and all the other amazing things here. Most of all, it made me feel like it made me the one responsible for making a place for them, which was what I hoped I was doing.

"Zasen?" I finally asked. "If they get thrown out, will they come here too?"

"I don't know, Ayla," he said. "I honestly don't know, but I hope they would."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Me too."

Thirty-ThreeAyla

The next day, things went about the same. I woke up to Kanik making breakfast. Rymar came in dressed for his job, ate while standing, and then left. Not long after, my lessons started. In the evening, Zasen returned home, took a bath and put on clean clothes, then invited me to sit outside.

"Sunset?" I asked, putting my new book aside.

It was one about a boy named Peter who refused to grow up. Kanik didn't have an English version of it, so if I wanted to follow the story, I sometimes had to sound out the words. That made reading much slower, but I found I liked the challenge.

Zasen saw the cover and smiled. "That's a good one, and yes, to see the sunset." He chuckled. "And to talk in Vestrian again. More this time."

"Practice," I said, turning for the door.

But Zasen headed for the kitchen. "Go ahead. I'm going to get us drinks. Kanik?"

"Nope, I need a long bath," Kanik told him. "It's too hot out there for me. You two have fun."

So I walked outside, closing the door behind me. Alone, I took the chance to look around. Every day, it felt like the light got easier to deal with. Not easy, but easier. My eyes had at least stopped watering, but was that because I only came out for the sunset?

Yet the pinks this time lit up the houses around us in a way that was beautiful. Smiling at it, I moved over to the same chair I'd used the day before and sat. To my left was the entrance to the town. They sometimes called it a gate, but there was no barrier across it. However, walls ran right up to the road there. The same wall also went behind Zasen's house and deep into the forest. I wondered if it went all the way around town.

To my right, there was nothing but houses. I could see another street. It went off towards the sunset, but was a few houses up. Even further, there was a cross street. I was pretty sure this was where we'd entered town that first day, but I'd been so blinded by the bright light, I wasn't positive.

Then I saw the most amazing thing ever. Swirling around in front of a larger house across the street was a little boy - but this one was teal. Or maybe he was turquoise? His color was a bit darker than Rymar's lines, but still incredibly bright, and it covered him all over. He also had a tail.

But the child was adorable! He had some toy in his hands. I couldn't make it out, but the thing had his complete attention. While I was watching - and smiling at his childish joy - the door opened and Zasen stepped out. He glanced at me, paused with two glasses in his hands, and then followed my gaze to the boy.

"Tamin!" he yelled. The child immediately stopped, jerking his toy down, and looked our way.

"Oh, don't ruin his fun," I said.

But the moment the boy's eyes identified where the voice had come from, he brightened again. "Zasen!" the kid screamed before barreling our way.

With a chuckle under his breath, Zasen passed me one of the drinks, set his own on the small table between us, and then sat. His rump was barely in the chair before the child ran up the stairs and onto the porch without shame, holding his toy out before him.

"Auntie Brielle made me a bird!" the kid bragged in Vestrian. Then he lifted it to show how the wood-and-paper wings moved like flapping. "It flies!"

"It does fly," Zasen agreed. "But why are you outside after sunset?"

The boy thrust out his lower lip and looked over to me as if seeking support. Then his eyes widened and he stepped back. His toy moved before him and the kid stepped back even more.

"A Mole!" he screamed.

Zasen lunged forward and caught the kid by the arm. "Not a Mole, just orin," he corrected. "She is my friend."

With Zasen holding his arm, the child couldn't run away, but he was clearly terrified. "No."

"Yes," Zasen said. "Her name is Ayla. Can you tell her hello, Tamin?"

The boy shook his head. "No!"

"Hello, Tamin," I said in the best Vestrian I could manage.

That made his toy drop a little as his arms almost relaxed. Then he looked up at Zasen. "She's not a Mole?"

"No," Zasen promised. "She's just orin. This one is too gold to be a real Mole. See her hair?"

Tamin looked at me again with suspicion on his face. "Are you a Mole?" he demanded.

"I am not a Mole," I assured him.

And that seemed to make everything okay. The boy immediately lifted his toy again and held it out to me. "Did you see my bird?"

"It's an amazing bird," I promised, glancing at Zasen to make sure I got all those words right.

He nodded in encouragement. "Ayla is learning how to speak Vestrian," Zasen bragged. "Can you understand what she says?"

"Uh-huh!" Tamin nodded his head as big as he could.

"Good," Zasen praised. "Now go home and go inside. Your mother is probably looking for you."

"She's feeding the baby," the kid grumbled.

"Which means you need to make sure she knows where you are." Zasen pointed back at the child's house. "And if you're good, then you can come back over to talk to Ayla again tomorrow."

That made the boy perk up. "Really?"

"I promise," I said, leaning forward so he could see me. "You can bring another toy to show me."

"Okay!" Tamin grinned, then waved. "Bye!"

And with that, he spun and raced across the street, running just as fast as his short little legs would carry him. Pressing a hand over my lips, I giggled.