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It suddenly smiled again. The smile transformed Netty’s loneliness for a brief moment. She didn’t know where it came from or what it was but she already loved it.
    That settled the matter. She felt desperately lonely and this poor creature needed her. It was probably a baby. She needed a baby. So it was settled. She would call it Baby. In the back of her head she heard the echo, “Bay-bee,” a whisper of golden colors, like an aura. Netty shook her head, cursing her sleepiness.
    She hurriedly spooned up some vegetable broth from her cooking kettle over the fire, swallowing quickly. She placed a bowl of water at the side of the straw mat for Baby and took herself off to bed after first banking the fire and making sure the door to the cabin was firmly shut. Tomorrow would bring plenty of chores to catch up on.
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    Baby lay quietly on the straw mat. He found himself quite comfortable. The tall Sister’s behavior had been non-threatening. He wondered what he was to do with the bowl she left next to the mat. Was it for him? He sat up, spilling the liquid inside on the floor. He realized how unsteady he still was. Ignoring the spilt liquid he put the bowl on his head, hooking it over his crown of antlers.
    He decided to stay and observe the Sister and see where this relationship would go. He had no idea as to his offspring’s whereabouts. The urgency of his mission began to slowly fade. Perhaps if he had been a Sister, his recovery since landing would have been different. But he was here now and he knew he needed the tall Sister’s hand on him again until he found a new energy source. As he recovered, he would hear her in his mind more fully. Fleetingly, he wondered how much longer he would live until his expiration.
    Looking around the small room, he wondered where Sister disappeared to. Spotting the door to Netty’s bedroom, he hopped up off the straw mat, and worked at the door handle with his long thin fingers. His feet made soft plunks as he wobbled his way over to the jumbled platform she rested on. Placing one foot on the bed frame, he swiveled his entire body to a perpendicular level as his hands griped the covers, placing his other foot higher on the frame until he swiveled to the top of the bed. Carefully burrowing under the blanket into the curve of Netty’s belly, he promptly went to sleep.
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    Netty woke, feeling the best she had since, well, since she was a young girl, working on the farm with her mama and papa. The memory warmed her and she stretched heartily.
    “Oh.” Shocked to feel something hard and cold in bed with her, she reached under her covers, pulling out the bowl she left at Baby’s bedside. Ripping off the covers, she discovered Baby curled up and looking up at her wide eyed. Baby’s eyelashes were now quite pronounced with thick shimmering golden hairs. Golden fur sprouted all over her head tapering to uniform fuzz, covering her entire body. Her leathery extremities were now soft and supple having filled out. Even her concave abdomen plumped up, giving her a little tummy. As Netty watched, Baby solemnly picked up the bowl and placed it back on her head atop her crown of antlers. Then Baby smiled. Netty, sat stunned. Charmed and enchanted, she gathered Baby into her arms as tears rolled down her cheeks. Baby’s long fingers traced the path of a tear, the bowl falling off her head. A flash of rainbow light and a pressure in her head shattered the moment. The pressure lessened, leaving a golden aura and a whispered word, seemingly from inside her head.
    “Sister?” Netty, confused, whipped her head around, finally resting her eyes on Baby. It cannot be. Was she going mad?
    They sat, just staring at one another. Netty finally reached out to stroke Baby again, with wonder and amazement. She sensed the pressure in her mind recede, leaving a softer presence. Timidly, she tried to relax her mind. As Baby continued to stare intently, she felt a whisper.
    “I am Brother . ” Brother? Baby