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me to marry him.” I am slightly annoyed by her excitement.
    “I am just so happy that you are actually spending time with such a nice boy. Your father and I think the world of him.” Her tone changes and she becomes more serious. “You know that your father and I have turned down more than a few suitors for you. Some of them you have no knowledge of, because I simply could not bear telling you that such rascals thought they deserved you. Honestly, it would have been a waste of breath. But, Eramane, you must know that Lebis is different from most of the other suitors around here. He is a charming young man, and he is taken by you. A man like that will honor you; he will protect you; he will die for you. Do you understand, child?”
    She is right. Lebis is unlike other suitors that have asked for my hand. And now that I think about it, he has put off every girl that has made an advance for his affections. He was waiting for me.
    “I know, Mother. He is a special fellow.”
    “And he is handsome,” she adds.
    “Yes, and he is handsome,” I agree, and for the first time I see that my mother was not meddling at all; she was cleverly bringing together two people who were fated for each other, two people who could sustain a happy and loving life together. We are interrupted by my father. He enters and walks over to the wash basin, dipping his hands into the water.
    “Just as I expected, Samiah’s horse was standing next to the porch, reins hanging straight down to the ground.” His subtle chuckle cannot hide the fact that he is tired and mildly annoyed that he was wakened in the middle of the night to stable a horse.

    It is almost twilight, and I have just said my good-byes to my parents. “Be safe today, Eramane,” my father says from atop the carriage.
    “I will, Father.”
    “Flush and dress your wound each day. You do not want infection to set in,” my mother orders. And with a snap of the reins, the horses lunge and the carriage pulls away. I go back inside and curl up in my father’s chair, and sleep comes for me again. I welcome it and hope that I can rest until midmorning without being disturbed.
     

CHAPTER THREE
    Afternoon with Lebis
    THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! A frantic banging on the front door wakes me. Not yet moving from the chair, I look outside and see that not much time has passed since I went to sleep. The banging comes again. This time the door is answered. Oriana is already here, filling the wash basins and preparing a morning meal for Samiah and myself.
    “Hello, m’lady. May I help you?” I hear her ask.
    “Is my husband here?” It is Mira and she sounds worried.
    “Mira!” I shout so that she can hear me. Oriana steps back and invites Mira in; she leads Mira to me.
    “Eramane, is Samiah here? I left the mountaintop early last night; he stayed back. When I woke this morning, I could not find him. I came here first.”
    “No need to worry; he is here. He came here last night, singing about you; then he knocked over a vase, and it shattered on the floor.” I look at my wrapped foot, and Mira follows my gaze.
    “You cut yourself,” she gasps. “Let me look at it.”
    “It is fine,” I say. “I have to clean it again before we leave for your place.”
    “Well, Samiah will probably sleep for a while longer. Let me clean it for you, and then we can go pick some of those beautiful redtails. They will look lovely on my table.” Mira insists and Oriana fetches a wash basin and a cloth.
    Mira carefully unwraps my bandaged foot, making sure that she does not pull too fast. There is a little blood, but much less than we both expected. “Your mother did a wonderful job stitching this, Eramane.” Mira’s expression turns from being impressed to puzzlement. “For this wound to have needed stitches, it is healing remarkably fast,” she says, motioning for me to examine it myself. I bring my foot up so that I can get a better look, and just as Mira said, it is healing quickly.