"Okay."

Then Karen has nothing else in particular to ask of any of these kids. They have one more day together. She's going to keep worrying about Maitimo but she's not going to do it out loud.

He stays up all night embroidering flowers on his sheet. By morning his hands are healed.

Zana sleeps like a minimally responsible person again because embroidering flowers is not really the most exciting thing she has ever witnessed. The results are pretty, though.

"How'd you learn to do that?"

"My father taught me."

"Huh. I've never met my dad."

"That's very sad."

Flop. "I dunno. Means I don't miss him."

"Don't you?"

"Nah. I feel like it'd be hard to miss somebody you don't know at all. I miss my mom, though."

"Where's she?"

"I dunno! She's dead, so I guess that leaves two options."

"Once we find your Valar they'll get her back."

"That'd be cool."

"Wanna go to the library again and help me learn more words?"

"Yeah!"

They can just do that all day, then.

There are a lot of words.

There are! Zana tries to help and also reads more about gods, because this is a topic of interest for her now. She can't check any books out because she's leaving tomorrow, though.

That night she packs up all her things. ALL of them. All of the important things, anyway, because she is pretty sure there is at least some chance that she will never get to come back and will have to have her pokemon cards and her books of of insects and plants and stars and dinosaurs with her so that she will have them if she has to run away to live in a boxcar in the woods.

"I'm glad you can do that if you want to."

"Oh I dunno if I can. But it's good to have plans in case things are terrible."

"Well I bet you can."

"I could run out of food and starve and die. But I guess if I feel like I'm about to starve and die I can go back to town and tell somebody who grandma and grandpa are. ...I guess I could also be eaten by bears."

"Bears won't usually eat you. Some dinosaurs will so I would not live near dinosaurs I guess."

"All of our dinosaurs are dead! Usually I think that's sad but I guess it's good for if you want to live in the woods."

"That is a bit sad but I am happy for you anyway."