"May be I was just as young as you are when I had my daughters." Oja leaned back, resting her head to the rock surface behind. "Zoramaic way teaches us to grow roots in a place, disagrees the traditional Sinuqian way of wandering and raiding tribes. That's savagery in Zoramaic dictionary."

"Yeah, that's what we were scared of, before visiting." Arya nodded arranging samples inside her bag.

"But back then, the desert had been unkind to us. Acid rains, draughts so worse that we barely got a drop of water to drink. The prize killings were rampant, so we retreated, searched and kept searching and praying for a home."

Arya frowned, what did all of this had to do with Rina and Fiana?

"One day we found an Oasis in the middle of nowhere. The water so blue, so pure and fresh there wasn't even a single living thing that touched it."

The realisation struck Arya, she almost got what she wanted but nevertheless listened to Oja intently.

"We thanked God, prayed a little and started preparing to 'grow roots' around the pond. We thought it was a spring fed water body, an aquifer. We thought we were saved by Sinukhi yet again."

Rina was asleep on her tattered cot, resting her head on Fiana's lap. Oja glanced over to them and continued with her revisitation of memories.

"Years passed. We were content, even with the harsh reality and scarcity of food...that was until our girls started to act weird. Most of them were stunted, lacked the intelligence of their counterparts and started to change into this."

"I'm so sorry." Arya said, clumsily pressing on Oja's hand. The only proper human interaction that Arya had to go through every day was with Benji, and it didn't involve any of what she was doing right now. Consoling someone for their misery? Of course She hated it.

"Where are other girls of your tribe?" Benji asked.

"Closed doors. Finding this canyon has been helpful in more than one way. We could execute the Zoramaic way properly here."

"How many?" Arya fathomed the size of new research she needed to carry out, that was going to take a fortune to convince Silas and his crew. "And I don't quite understand how Fiana seems to be not affected?"

"Twenty three girls, born during those couple of years we stayed near the Oasis have met the same fate. We are with the remainder of eighteen currently. Rest of them are one with the Sinukhi."

"And Fiana?"

"Fiana is a hard egg, has always been. Her vision is affected, she struggled forming sentences. But she is as sharp as an eagle, you see? So she joined the guardsmen of the tribe."

"I see." Arya processed the information, she agreed with Oja, Fiana was special. She was strong and obviously smart, although Arya wondered how her vision was affected as she was sharp with her senses. "Do you mind if I take samples of Fiana too?"

"Sure." Oja nodded, she strained to sit straight and sat cross legged, "but Fiana's going to go with you two to the underground city to make sure the girls get the treatment you promised. And I am not willing to send any of my tribe's other children for formal educational program. It's way too risky."

Arya pursed her lip, how was she going to explain Oja that the promise she had made to her needed convincing Silas first. "But, I am not sure of the time the process might take."

"That's all right. I understand, Fiana will make sure it is on time." Oja showed her palm in disagreement.

"But..."

"I'll prepare for you guys to leave by tomorrow, is that okay?"

"Okay." Benji and Arya disagreeingly agreed with a slow prolonged chorus.

"Right. Syf, lead us back. Fiana, let your sister sleep. We will visit her for supper."

______________________________________

"There's so much for to learn from these people, take for an example, that garden is absolutely amazing." Benji held his hands on hips, while Arya stuffed her things inside her backpack.

AVAH whirred around, casually involving in the conversation between them. "I'm in complete agreement with Dr Benji, the hydroponic system is primitive yet 82% successful. They could not grow millets and nuts because the nutrition provided by the silt and the freshwater is inadequate."

"Exactly. I can only imagine what secrets these tribals hide within them, simply to think about it is...is..." Benji was at loss of words.

"I don't understand why such an advanced civilization failed to treat a deadly disease that their young girls contacted, huh?" Arya sarcastically folded her hands with a poker face. "Honestly, I do feel sorry for them, but I am not yet ready to leave. The job I came here for is still undone."

"Ari. We are somewhat successful, we are providing them what they need. I understand your disappointment with not recruiting enough kids for education program. Come on, it is what it is. Cheer up."

"I am not talking about APE." Arya blatantly said, zipping her bag up in a swift motion.

"Then what is it about?" Benji frowned, pausing from packing his bag.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Benji helped her pick up the bag from the ground and placed it over the cot. "You are such a bad liar."

Arya dodged his eyes as she opened the door of the dome and scurried away as Benji rushed behind her.

Benji saw her making a beeline to the garden. "Arya! Wait up."

Eventually, Benji caught up with her and yanked her arm only to catch hold of her thermal suit. "Arya!"

"What is it?!" Arya turned around and yelled, her voice trembling.

"Now you tell me, what is it, okay?" Benji held her by both arms and spoke to her as drops of tears rolled over her cheeks, her form curling into his embrace.

"It's... it's..."

"It's alright, we'll talk later if you are not ready yet. Calm down." Benji caressed the back of her head softly as he took her into his arms reflexively.

"Okay." Arya sniffled against Benji's suit. "Thank you."

"Let's go inside."

"No!" Arya withdrew wiping her snot away, "I want to go to the garden. I need some fresh air."

"Yeah of course. Let's do that right away. After you, your highness." Benji motioned his hand towards the path ahead comically, which earned him a fist to his chest from Arya.

"Stop it!"

Within a few more steps they were breathing fresh air inside the Hydroponic garden. It felt like a swig of unknown concoction that elevated their mood, pushing down all the worries away for a while.

"I sometimes wonder how the world was before the beginning of the end." Arya mused. Both of them were sat across the garden hall, maintaining a good distance away from the poisonous Tezun flowers owing to Oja's warning.

"I dream about it sometimes too." Benji agreed with an exasperated breath.

"Me too." Out came another voice from behind.

"Are you always spying on us or what?" Benji shook his head after he saw Fiana come over and sit beside Arya.

"Responsibility. Mine." Fiana gave a serious nod, pointing her crossbow towards the wheels of hydroponic system.

Arya and Benji exchanged a look of understanding. Oja had pointed out how Fiana was affected and had difficulty in forming sentences, that explained her silent scowls and intense looks.

Arya squirmed before she made up her mind to elicit as much information as possible from this girl. "So, how do you manage to spy on us when you can't even see?"

"Instincts." Fiana tapped on her ears, her earl grey, clouding eyes fixated somewhere on the wheel of microgreens ahead. "Hear. Smell. Touch. Feel. Exp... Expir..."

"Experience?" Arya completed her as Fiana stuttered at the last word.

Fiana nodded silently. After a pause, she continued, "Pastor. Good person. Made me."

"Pastor taught you?" Benji scratched his head looking at Fiana.

Fiana shook her head, "made me. Guard. Mother, doubt me."

"Ah...I see." Benji bowed his head in realisation. "Pastor trusted you to become a guardsman. Yeah, I get it. Your mother is quite hard to handle at times... Most times."

Fiana shot a similar scowl, even before Arya elbowed Beni to shut up.

"I'm sorry. I never said that." Benji comically zipped his mouth shut and thew away an imaginary key.

Fiana, after regaining her composure, pointed towards her eyes. "Blur. Eyes."

"You mean, you can still figure out through blurry vision?" Arya wished she had her tab to take notes.

"Yes. Light good...eyes good."

Arya sprung up from her place, Patting down the soil on her shorts and stood up, back-walked for a few steps and held her fingers out, "how much is this?"

Fiana still saw somewhere around her, but struggled to make out the count of fingers. She finally gave up the struggle and shook her head as a 'no'.

Arya sat back at her place, with a thoughtful face. "It's okay. Probably you are too good at your crossbow at least. Look at me, good for nothing, even with everything intact."

"No." Fiana said, "good person. Both. Help. Thank."

"Why thank you, for saying that. You are welcome." Arya said with a smile.

"Okey dokey. It's supper time, I'm craving that snake stew from yesterday. How about we go back?" Benji prepared to get up from the ground unfolding his legs.

"I'm looking forward to taking the silt tomorrow morning. Can't wait to work on it with Nano-clay project."

"Yep, me too. Can't wait to examine its contents under my superzooms." Benji stuffed his hands into the pockets of his thermal suit, as the cold wind whistled from in between the crevices of the garden cavern.

"Sister. Health. Can't wait." Fiana smiled.

Arya almost chuckled as she happened to see the girl pick up on their slang and upon that, a smile on her face for the first time, but it dawned on her how much was at stakes on this bargaining she had done. She felt sick to her stomach.

Instead of a map of something, she was going to bring home a vial of silt from nowhere, along with that a wild blind girl and a bunch of samples of human skin and hair.

Arya paused. Her limbs stood like a lifeless pair of rocks. Her brows furrowed in worry.

Benji rolled his eyes as he got a hold of the situation. He grabbed Arya's hand and pulled along as he left the place. "That's why. Stick to the plans, dear. Stick. To. The. Plans."

Wc-1775