Read Zahrah the Windseeker for Free Online

glanced at himself in the mirror behind him to make sure he looked good. Then he said, "Just a minute. I'm cleaning my room. Almost done. Gimme two minutes."
    "OK."
    When I saw him turn around and walk to his closet to hang up his clothes, I set my computer on the floor and went to my dresser. I opened the pink slender bottle of rose oil, squirted some onto my palm, and massaged it into my hair.
    "You won't believe where I went today," I said proudly. My door was closed and my parents were talking, so I wasn't worried about them hearing.
    "Where?"
    "The Dark Market!"
    There was silence, and then I heard scrambling as Dari ran back to his computer and sat on his bed. The picture shook as he put it on his lap.
    "What? You're kidding! Forget your hair! Get over here and talk!"
    I laughed, running back to my computer and setting it on my lap. I turned my music down a bit and maximized Dari's face to the size of my entire screen.
    "Dari, it
is
a magical place," I whispered, looking out the window at the blowing trees. I had been terrified when I was there, but after I got home and was able to sit and think about it, I realized that the Dark Market was wonderful. There was strange magic and even stranger people. And because I wasn't supposed to be there, well, underneath the guilt, I was excited.
    "See? How many times have I told you," Dari said, grinning widely.
    "I know. But I was so scared."
    "Of course you were scared, " Dari said. "It's a scary place! Why'd you go, anyway?"
    I laughed and shook my head. "I needed oil for my hair, and the oil lady was stationed there today."
    "How far in did you go?"
    "Far, kind of. I dunno. What's far?"
    Dari paused to think. "Did you see the man selling mirrors that show jinn if you look into them?"
    My eyebrows rose.
    "No! Thank goodness."
    "I didn't think so. It would have been the first thing you told me about. He's near the middle," Dari said. "He likes to trick people into looking at his mirrors by telling them they have something on their face."
    "Oh how cruel!"
    "Did you see the lady selling the bush hoppers?"
    "Yes," I said grinning. "She was next to the oil lady today."
    "Wow, you went much farther than I did my first time!"
    "I thought about buying one of them. I've never seen them before."
    "Don't bother," Dari said. "Bush hoppers are neat, but they're just like grasshoppers; the first chance they get they escape. And since those things can jump over two thousand feet in the air, you won't be able to recapture them."
    "Wow!" I said, fascinated. "I wish I had bought one anyway."
    "You can buy one the next time we go," he said.
    I grinned but didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go there again.
    "So what else did you see?"
    "There was a fish who spat water at me and sang like a rainbow spirit," I said, leaning back. "The man selling it laughed so hard, he almost fell out of his seat. And I saw where they sell the personal peppers, and ... oh! How could I forget, there was a woman with many baboons! She was beautiful but not in the usual way."
    "I've seen her," said Dari.
    I frowned and bit my lip. "You have? Are you sure?"
    Dari nodded. "She has really short hair, and some marking just below her neck."
    "Yeah, that's her," I said. "I stopped and asked her if she knew where the oil lady was, and then she talked to me a bit ... did you know she is dada?"
    Saying the word made me think about my ability to float. I hadn't thought about it since I'd gone into the Dark Market. All the strangeness there made my own strangeness seem normal, almost forgettable. But now it bothered me again.
    "Really? No, that can't be right, she doesn't—"
    I said, "She cut hers."
    "No," Dari said.
    "Yes."
    Dari ran his hand over his rough hair.
    "Her hair is shorter than
mine,
" said Dan.
    "Yeah."
    "That's sad," he said. He paused and then shrugged. "Maybe she just wanted to be normal. No. She still stood out, from what I remember."
    We both sat there for a moment, quiet.
    "Dari?" I