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 Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:16 am
"'s anuther letter!" Nehanda skipped into the office, distracting Foenix from the article she was editing. "What's with all the mail lately? It's like people just discovered the mail system." With a sigh, Foenix saved her work and pushed away from the computer. "It's not that I don't like knowing how people are doing, but it's a little distracting." She took the letter and opened it, then brightened. "Oh, it's from Owyln's friend. Letter Foenix, I'm afraid I've been a hermit-crab for the past few days while setting up, so you are the first to welcome me. Thank you so very much, it's nice to know I have someone to talk to who is slightly more experienced than I am when it falls down to being a guardian. So you know the Amergins then? I met Owyln a few years ago at a summer business meeting, and of course I've met Molly and his northern star since then too. Your the guardian of Freya, right? Owyln mentioned her to me once before, as apparently Freya and Molly were good friends back in the day. Please excuse me if I'm wrong, but that's what I remember the polar bear telling me. My two jars are an Arctic fox and an Arctic owl, and they're still in two jars. Chao, the only other person I have yet to communicate with, said it would be a while before something happened so I'm just taking each day as it comes. It's exciting to think that one day he/she will be a child though, but there's still a long way to go before that happens. After all, I've only just finished setting up my home. I'm looking forward to meeting Nehanda. I've not actually met another Aerandir child yet - so I'm just as excited to meet her as you are to introduce her to me. A meeting would be great when you next come over to this Island, or if I land up on Cetalu. I've got a thousand and one questions that I'm sure will turn a blank when I meet you, but thank you all the same. Do you know if any outside stimuli will affect the jars when they're still as fluff and feather? I've been reading to my little one, and playing her/him music, but I'm just nervous that I've not been doing it enough. Thanks Foenix, Emiko. "Who's Emiko?" Nehanda wanted to know. "She's another new guardian on Ar'Idil. We have a mutual friend, so I wrote a letter to her a few days ago." With a shrug, Foenix put the letter aside. "I need to finish this, and then I'll send a response."
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:48 pm
Nehanda looked up from her herb garden distractedly. There was something . . . wrong . . .
Beneath her folded legs, she could feel the ground rumbling. Loose bits of earth and dirt danced along her tidy garden rows. The earth was . . . shaking? "Foenix?" Suddenly scared, the Aerandir girl jumped up and ran toward the house. This had never happened before!
"Nehanda!" The red-head rushed out onto the porch. "It's an earthquake! Get over here!" She started to run toward her charge. At that very moment, a particularly large rumble shook everything. The earth itself rose up like an enormous wave at breaking point. Foenix, unprepared for the movement of ground and shattering of her porch, tripped and sprawled head over heels off of the porch.
"Foenix!" Nehanda reached her guardian. The woman was unconscious! Very scared, she dropped to her knees to shake Foenix's shoulder. When she didn't respond, Nehanda screamed. "KYLARA!!!!!!!"
The Jivvin ran out of the house and stopped. To her credit, the sight of her guardian lying on the ground only fazed her for a moment. She quickly jumped over the ruined porch and rushed to the sides of her guardian and sister. "It's okay, Nehanda. It's an earthquake. They happen sometimes." Kneeling next to the other two, she quickly checked Foenix's pulse. It was good and steady . . . although there was a lump already rising on the woman's forehead. "I think she's okay. Stay with her, while I run inside and get your first-aid kit and a few other things. Then we're all heading over to the Centre."
Nehanda nodded, and ran a hand over Foenix's head while Kylara raced inside. The Jivvin was back in only a few moments, loaded down with three large bags. "Okay, I'm going to lift her up. I'll need you to carry your kit for me. Think you can handle it?"
The child nodded, and grabbed the bag as Kylara carefully lifted Foenix. Above-human strength was definitely good for some things . . . "Let's go."
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:29 am
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:31 am
I Feel my Heart Start to Trembling
Whenever You're Around
Yeah, silly lyrics to a silly song. So sue me. It's hard to find earthquake songs!The Holiday Event's Conclusion
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Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 4:30 pm
Foenix stepped carefully onto the porch, followed at a distance by Nehanda and Kylara. She checked each board before putting her full weight on it, and so slowly made it up to the front door. Poking her head in, she looked around. "Well, this is gonna take a while . . ."
Her two charges came up and joined her, and together they looked around at the damage done to their home. "It looks as though the structural damage to the downstairs is minimal, but I'm no builder. I'll check out the first floor, so you two should do the second. Be very, very careful inside."
She started in the kitchen, the room most likely to have sustaned the most damage, while Kylara and Nehanda began to check the stairs, to see whether or not it was safe to venture upstairs. The woman gave a sigh of relief to see that the stove and oven looked intact. She'd already had to replace that once, and boy, had it ben a pain. Other then that . . . volcano debris had shattered the windows, then gone on to knock large dents, and one hole, in the walls. The 'quake had caused everything on shelves to fall, so there was a huge amount of shattered crockery and foodstuffs on the floor.
Going back into the main room, Foenix placed her hands on her hips and looked around. There was more breakage here, and the couch would have to be replaced.
Having made it upstairs, Nehanda left Kylara in the first bedroom to go look in on the plants she'd kept indoors. These were the most delicate ones, those just seeded, or grafted, of just in more danger from the outside elements.
One look inside the room left the little girl gulping back the tears she thought she'd conquered. A large chuck of volcanic rock had torn through the roof, and the resulting fire had left her work tables in cinders. There was nothing left of the plants themselves.
Nehanda sighed and turned around. It would be more constructive if she helped Kylara check the bedrooms. But as she stepped toward the door, something bright and green caught her eye. It was a flower! And not just any flower; this was one of the rootlings she had taken from the flower she had grafted for Foenix.
"Kylara, look!" Carefully grabbing up the rootling in its little peat pot, the Aerandir child dashed out of the room. "Kylara, there's one left!" Exultantly, she showed the Jivvin her find, then climbed downstairs to Foenix. "Foenix, Foenix, look! They're not all dead!"
Foenix stopped huffing as she tried to push the charred couch out the front door. "Oh, sweeite, look at that! See, it's okay. It's going to be okay." She ran a finger softly over the single lush purple bloom that remained on the small plant. "This will be the first thing we plant outside. I promise."
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 6:55 am
Foenix finished hauling yet another huge bag of charred trash out of the house, and stood, wiping at the sweat dotting her brow. She, and the rest of her brood, had already been working for hours to clean out the wreakage of their home. It occured to to her -but only briefly- that they could always take a boat back over to the mainland. There, Foenix had another house, one much bigger, and nicely furnished, with many more amenities than were available here on this island.
As soon as the thought had come and gone, Foenix felt ashamed. What sort of coward turned tail and abandoned her friends after something like this? With a renewed determination, she turned and walked carefully back into the house, avoiding the floor planks that she by now knew were unsafe to walk on. It was time to tackle the library, and dealing with the burnt books was going to hurt her heart as much as clearing out the gardens was hurting Nehanda.
"And a happy Solstice to all," she muttered to herself.
Nehanda, in the mean while, was working outside in the remains of her gardens. Foenix had sent her outside, because she was just too small, and not strong enough, to deal with a lot of the debris inside the house. The Aerandir pushed aside the niggling sense of failure that fact had left her feeling.
Besides, the inside was more Foenix's area. The gardens were hers, and she was determined to fix them. Right now, she and Kylara were kneeling in the middle of the rows, working to pull up everything that was beyond help, while trying to uproot and replant anything left alive. It was fortunate that there had been a good store of pots and potting soil kept safe under the porch.
Kylara carefully patted soil over a small seedling of something green. She didn't know what it was -that was Nehanda's business- but she had thrilled to have found another surviving plant buried beneath the piles of shriveled shoots and leaves. Straightening on her knees, the Jivvin stretched her back and groaned. "This is hard work, Nehanda."
The child nodded and shrugged, but didn't bother to answer. She was too busy re-potting another find of her own. Once that was finished, she returned to tugging dead plantlife out of the ground. Each pull, every group of dead roots that came from the ground felt as though they came from her own flesh, but she refused to cry. There was too much work to be done.
Kylara watched the grim little girl at work, and shook her head sadly.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 8:46 pm
"Nehanda? Kylara?" Foenix stepped outside. "I think it's time to pack it in for the night. We shouldn't have to work like this on Christmas Eve. Nehanda looked over her shoulder. Foenix had told her about this whole Chrissymas thing, but she didn't really get it. But that was okay. Except . . . she hadn't really been able to get or make any presents, especially since the world had tried its best to explode and fall apart.Kylara climbed to her feet and shook out her skirts. "Doesn't really feel like much of a Christmas this year. We can't go visit our family, there's no good food, no presents . . ." She broke off, and reached out to lift Nehanda up off her knees, then propelled the child out of the gardens. "But I guess it's enough that the three of us are safe. Heck, we've at least got the intact shell of a house, which is more then I can say for some of the others around here.Foenix nodded. "Well, I did at least safe this. It's from Fae, and it was dropped off a few days before the 'quake." She held a gaily wrapped box out to Nehanda. Nehanda stared at the box. It was kind of heavy, and there were air holes? Carefully placing the package on the ground, she undid the bow and lifted the top.
When two soft paws latched onto the rim of the box, she gasped. The paws were quickly followed by a beak and furry ears. It was a gryphon?Foenix grinned, and came forward to pat the little creature. "I'm not really sure where these came from, but they're sort of a lesser Aerandir gryphon. They're not as smart as you, Nehanda, and they won't grow or evolve any more. But he's yours, to keep and love. The Aerandir child stared at the gryphon, then carefully offered a grubby hand. When ths was met with excited merps and a delicate nibble, she giggled and swooped down to hug her new pet. "I love him!"Kylara couldn't resist, and had to pet the little thing as well. "What are you going to name him? He's so cute!"Nehanda blanked. She looked down at the gryphon, at his cranberry-colored pelt with the pretty golden swirls. "His name's gonna be Cranberry. I can cal him Cran!"Foenix smiled. "Sounds good. Happy Christmas, sweetie."  ((Thanks so much, Fae!!!))
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 8:56 am
Quote: 12.26.05 Well, Christmas has been and gone. And what a time we've had . . . but not really a good one. A few days ago, there was an earthquake. I don't remember much of that, because I'm told I fell off the porch and knocked my head on something. Kylara got Nehanda and myself to the Centre, where everyone else had gathered. It turns out that there was a volcano erupting on the next island over. don't even remember the name of it, but wow. There was fire an crap raining down all over Cetalu. I'm just so impressed by how calm and quiet the kids were. They had to have been terrified. The only thing I'm really unhappy abuot is that once the quakes and eruption seemed to have ended, Pueblo and Nehanda decided to sneak out on their own to see what had become of Nehanda's gardens. Oh, I was so furious. I couldn't even walk straight, a nice present from my knock on the head, but Fae and I took off after them. Well, to make a long story short, neither girl got hurt, but the gardens are absolutely ruined. Nehanda is just heartbroken. I can't say that our house is in much better shape. The basic structure seems fine, but a lot of things were burnt or broken, and there's a big hole in the roof. It looks like this is the sort of damage that everyone suffered around the island. I haven't heard anything from Ar'Idil, but maybe we can get over there at some point, once things are a little more sane. Christmas itself was very low-key. I had intended to take 'Handa and Kylara over to the mainland, for a visit with the rest of my family. That obviously couldn't happen. But I cobbled together a decent meal, and we opened the few presents I hadn't yet mailed to the mainland. Fae sent us a lovely little Aerandir gryphon. Not another child, but a cute, fluffy little creature that Nehanda has really taken to. And that's a good thing, because I'm not sure she's going to be truly happy until her gardens have been restored. I'm afraid it's going to require Acia's help, to fix the bed soil again, and I have no idea where she is. I really hope she's alright. I suppose the important thing to remember from all of this is that the people, the "thing" that really matters, are all right. No one was badly injured (I don't really count my head bump as major), and the scary hours spent in the Cetalu Centre really drew us together as a group. It'll take time, but we can re-build.
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 8:02 am
12.28.05
Hi, Jornal.
I don't got a lot of time to rite now. I think Foenix wrote about the big volcano esploshon that happened, and when the ground was all angry. It was realy scary, but I liked being able to play with Peblo and Delta and the others.
The most bad thing that happened was that the fires and rocks and stuff from the esploshon killed my garden. They killed almost all the plants I had in the ground, and more rocks and fire broke the roof of our house and killed almost all the seedlings I had up in the work room.
That makes me realy sad. I cried for a long, long time about it. I liked my plants a lot. They were some of my bestest friends, and I'd grown em all from seedling or tiny seedlings. Peblo and Fae and Foenix and Kylara all say they'll help me replant things. That's realy nice of them, but I'm still pretty sad.
But we did get to have Crismas, and that was kinda fun. Foenix made us a good breakfas, even tho most of our food stuff was burned up or ruined. And there were presents. Fae and Peblo sent me a friend! He's cute. I named him Cran, like cranberys, and he follows me around. He's realy soft. Foenix says we sent presents to other people, but I don't think I know about all those. She didn't realy tell me bout them.
I got to get back to work now. Kylara and I found all the plants that didn't die, and we've planted them in pots. I'm taking realy good care of them, so they'll get better and I can put them back in the ground after Acia comes back and fixes the dirt again.
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Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2005 12:44 pm
"Kylara? Where are you! Get down here!" Foenix walked in through their slightly charred doorway holding two large-ish bottles. From there, she hurried into the kitchen and pulled several smaller packages out of a low cabinet. Nehanda ran along behind her.
Kylara made her way slowly down the stairs, a hammer stuck through the belt loop of the jeans she'd borrowed from Foenix. They were much more condusive to construction then the dresses she preferred to wear. "Mmm. What's up? Where did you two go off to?" She reached up to grab the candle she was using for light, and blew it out.
"I had some things I was keeping hidden over at the Centre, and Nehanda came along to help me with them." Foenix handed one of the large bottles over for Kylara's inspection.
The Jivvin raised an eyebrow. "Champagne? You must have hidden that pretty well, if no one else took it."
"Big refrigerators are good for something, at least. And I hid it really well over at the Centre. It's New Year's. Despite everything that's happened this past week, I think we deserve to celebrate."
Nehanda nodded solemnly. "We're gonna have a little party, Foenix says, 'cause this year's ending. And I get a sip of the bubbly stuff, but only a little sip, 'cause I's just a kid. Right?" She looked up at Foenix for confirmation.
Foenix colored a little at Kylara's look. "Oh, come on. It's not like I'm corrupting her for life by giving her a few sips of alcohol."
Kylara shrugged. "Far be it for me to argue. I remember that you used to give me champagne and wine in little dishes, back when I was a little kid." She began to poke around among the other packages. There were water crackers, fancy cheese, pate . . . "This is some pretty fancy stuff. And you kept it all hidden? Why didn't we use it at Christmas? The food you'd gotten for that dinner was pretty well ruined in the 'quakes."
Foenix turned away to gather the few glasses that hadn't been broken. "You know my feelings on Christmas. It's more a celebration of being together for me, and an excuse to give presents to each other. I don't believe in the underlying religious background. But I can certainly get behind the celebration of ending one year and beginning another. So I saved the good stuff for tonight."
Nehanda looked back and forth between the two adults. She didn't entirely understand what they were talking about. Foenix hadn't really told her much about any religious stuff for Christmas. All she really cared about right now was that they were gonna have a party.
"I think next year's gonna be even better then this one. 'Cause even though our house is broken and stuff, we'll make all better next year, and we'll fix stuff."
"You're absolutely right, Nehanda." Foenix hugged the child, then checked her watch. "Well, we still have a few hours before midnight, so why don't we open the first bottle? We can have some snacks, play board games, and ring in the New year as a family."
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 3:22 am
"Kylara, can you hand me another shingle?" Foenix tried unsuccessfully to wipe the sweat dripping from her face and reached down for the shingle handed up to her by the Jivvin. She nudged the piece of shaped wood into place, and hammered it secure with two nails. Boy, almost done here! I thought I'd never finish.She was currently trying to fix the enormous hole left in their roof, while Kylara was hauling the last of Nehanda's ruined work tables down the stairs and out into the front yard. By this point, thanks to the steady work they had put into the house, the walls and floor were once more secure. Only cosmetic work remained. Well, that and the roof, which Foenix was pretty clse to finishing. "Foenix, I finished piling stuff up in the front." Nehanda stood underneath, looking up at her guardian."That's terrific, sweetie. I'll take a look later, to make sure it's all good, flammeable stuff, and then we'll burn all that trash and get rid of it." Foenix had put the child in charge of hauling debris and garbage from in and around the house into a big pile. It was relatively easy, and it got her out of her depressingly empty gardens. Foenix hammered down one more shingle, then carefully wiggled over to her ladder. Once down on the ground -at least she wasn't afraid of heights!- she rooted around in her pockets. "Nehanda, can you do a really big favor for me? I need you to run this note over to the Centre for me. It's a list of the things we still need for the house, that I just can't make." Nehanda nodded solemnly. It was the first time Foenix had sent her off by herself on an errand. "I c'n do that. And I'll come straight back.""Great. We'll have lunch once you're home." Foenix sent the girl off toward the Centre with a pat on the back. Nehanda stops by the Centre
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:23 am
Quote: 1.07.06 It still feels a bit odd to write '06 instead of '05. But I have the same silly issue every year. In any case, things are slowly starting to return to normal around the island. Our house itself is liveable, if not exactly attractive. I need to replace the window panes, and give everything a new coat of paint. And that's stuff that needs to be shipped in from the mainland. Between the two of them, Kylara and Nehanda have managed to save a few of the plants not immediately destroyed in the quakes. I think that makes Nehanda a little less sad, but she won't return to her usual cheerful self until the gardens are fully restored. I just kicked her out of the house, with the instructions to "go have fun on the beach for one hour." Kylara's following to keep an eye on her. It's not healthy for a child to work all the time, the way Nehanda has been. She needs to go out and play for a little while. Frankincense [Boswellia Thurifera] is a stimulant, but seldom used now internally, though formerly was in great repute . Pliny mentions it as an antidote to hemlock. Avicenna (tenth century) recommends it for tumours, ulcers, vomiting, dysentery and fevers. In China it is used for leprosy.
Its principal use now is in the manufacture of incense and pastilles. It is also used in plasters and might be substituted for Balsam of Peru or Balsam or Tolu. The inhalation of steam laden with the volatile portion of the drug is said to relieve bronchitis and laryngitis.
The ceremonial incense of the Jews was compounded of four 'sweet scents,' of which pure Frankincense was one, pounded together in equal proportion. It is frequently mentioned in the Pentateuch. Pure Frankincense formed part of the meet offering and was also presented with the shew-bread every Sabbath day. With other spices, it was stored in a great chamber of the House of God at Jerusalem.
According to Herodotus, Frankincense to the amount of 1,000 talents weight was offered every year, during the feast of Bel, on the great altar of his temple in Babylon. The religious use of incense was as common in ancient Persia as in Babylon and Assyria. Herodotus states that the Arabs brought every year to Darius as tribute 1,000 talents of Frankincense, and the modern Parsis of Western India still preserve the ritual of incense.
Frankincense, though the most common, never became the only kind of incense offered to the gods among the Greeks. According to Pliny, it was not sacrificially employed in Trojan times. Among the Romans, the use of Frankincense (alluded to as mascula thura by Virgil in the Eclogues) was not confined to religious ceremonials. It was also used on state occasions, and in domestic life.
The kohl, or black powder with which the Egyptian women paint their eyelids, is made of charred Frankincense, or other odoriferous resin mixed with Frankincense. Frankincense is also melted to make a depilatory, and it is made into a paste with other ingredients to perfume the hands. A similar practice is described by Herodotus as having been practiced by the women of Scythia and is alluded to in Judith x. 3 and 4. In cold weather, the Egyptians warm their rooms with a brazier whereon incense is burnt, Frankincense, Benzoin and Aloe wood being chiefly used for the purpose.
The word 'incense,' meaning originally the aroma given off with the smoke of any odoriferous substance when burnt, has been gradually restricted almost exclusively to Frankincense, which has always been obtainable in Europe in greater quantity than any other of the aromatics imported from the East.
There is no fixed formula for the incense now used in the Christian churches of Europe, but it is recommended that Frankincense should enter as largely as possible into its composition. In Rome, Olibanum alone is employed: in the Russian church, Benzoin is chiefly employed.
The following is a formula for an incense used in the Roman Church: Olibanum, 10 OZ. Benzoin, 4 oz. Storax, 1 OZ. Break into small pieces and mix.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:21 pm
Foenix stood in the doorway and waved goodbye to the pleasant men walking back down the path. They'd showed up about an hour earlier, and had evidently come to inspect her house -and those of the islands' other inhabitants- for structual stability. They'd taken down notes of what needed fixing, and told her that they'd be flying in the window panes and paint she still needed.
Oh, wasn't that nice?
She looked down at Nehanda, who was standing beside her, one hand holding softly to the hem of her shirt. "It looks like the house will be all fixed up pretty soon, hun. Isn't that great?"
Nehanda shrugged, then nodded her head. "It'll be good to have stuff all fixed up." Her eyes wandered over to where her gardens had been located. The men hadn't said anything about plants, or fixing them. They'd only been interested in the building itself.
Foenix watched as the little girl sighed, and hid a small sigh of her own. Nehanda was trying so hard, but the damage done was just too great to be fixed alone. They needed help. And they really needed Acia's magical talents to restore the soil. But she felt so guilty about seeking the shy Aerandir out. There was so much to be done all over the island, and she still didn't even know if Acia had come through the eruption unharmed.
"Hey, Nehanda, what say you and I go for a walk later? I've been cooped up all day, and I could use some nice fresh air and sunlight."
Nehanda nodded again. "Yeah, I'd like a walk."
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:22 am
1.17.06
Hi, Jornal.
I don't realy have lots to rite about, cause stuff's been slow round the house. We've got it pretty well fixed up. A bunch of peeple came and looked around, and tapped on walls and poked at the roofs, and they sed we did a pretty good job of fixing stuff. They also told Feenix how they'd send the stuff we couldn't fix, like windows. I think that made Feenix pretty happy. It hasn't gotten here yet, but it's comin.
My gardens suck. And the whole volcano thing that happened sucks. And all my dead plants, and the dirt that isn't good any more sucks. It all realy sucks. An it sucks most cause I can't fix it!
Feenix dusn't like me saying stuff like that. SUCK is a bad word, kinda. But she dusn't have to know I'm riting it here, and it makes me feel a little better. It makes her look realy sad when I tell her I can't make my gardens better, so I don't wanna talk about it much. So I try and keep the plants I have left alive, and I just sit and wait.
Last week, I tried to plant some seedlings, but the dirt's too sandy, and stuff. They almost all died. There was one Hibiscus that I'd gotten offa Cetalu, so it's used to this dirt. An I think the banana tree mite live, but only maybe. I watered them all, and used the good fertalaser, but they still died. And I don't have enuff potting soil left to cover all the gardens with enough to make things grow.
So I havent done a lot of other things. I go on walks, and I read the books in Feenix's office, and I do the lessens Feenix gives me. But I don't realy have much garden left to work in.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 3:13 pm
"Foenix! Look!" Nehanda ran inside, a small pot held between her hands.
"What's up, hun?" Foenix poked her head out of her office with a relieved sigh. The prospectus she was looking over was truly awful, and it was difficult at times to come up with a professional method of telling an aspiring writer that he had no chance in the world of getting published. So the interruption was quite welcome.
"It's got a bud on it!" Nehanda held up the pot, and Foenix bent down to look more closely at the plant.
"Is this one of the ones you saved from the garden? Or did you plant it last week?"
The child bounced up and down, but carefully, so as not to disturb the tender new growth. "I planted it! I planted it, and it's still living! It's growing!"
Foenix nodded in satisfaction. "See there, sweetie? Your garden will be as good as new in a few months.
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