The Strange Round Bird: Or the Poet, the King, and the Mysterious Men in Black

Author

And so we begin the tale that will bend the mind and challenge the senses…

There were once five rather remarkable children who found themselves deep in a mystery they did not understand…

Wait. Noah rolled his eyes at himself. A mystery they did not understand? Obviously, we did not understand it. It was a mystery.

Five utterly remarkable children found themselves trapped in a mystery. And it made them all quite unhappy. In fact, a series of most unfortunate, yet extraordinary events were thrust…or descended… or…something…upon them. Their adventures, full of dread and fear, full of friendship and new discovery and invention, took them around the world, into dark corners of caves and bright sunlight of…

Of where? Noah Canto-Sagas leaned back into the pillow. How would our story continue?

Noah smiled to himself. Funny, really, that he could smile after all they had endured. But somehow, danger seemed farther away than it had in a long time. Noah was smiling because, whatever they had faced, whatever they might face, right now he was headed to see his mother. He had seen her perform as Aida only once before, when he was small. It was one of the greatest nights of his life. But to see her at the Kedivia Royal Opera House in Cairo, as Aida, on stage…that was a dream.

Noah jumped as a fist pounded against the outer door of his cabin.

There’s no one in here, he called out in a voice high and whiney.

Oh, yes there is, giggled Lucy. I know you’re in there because you’ve locked your door.

Noah rolled out of bed, grabbed a cloth from the washbowl, put it on his head like a babushka, and opened the door. Leaning over, he said in a gravelly and quivering voice, Well, Missy, you are sorely mistaken. There is no one in this room. I’m the washer woman and I’d be the first to know if a smelly, ginger-headed boy was—

Lucy, his seven-year-old compatriot with long plaits and freckled nose, grabbed the towel, laughing and shaking her head. There you are, Noah, she said, examining his face. Come and see something in the laboratory. She firmly took his hand and he obediently followed her.

It almost feels as if we’re on a train, Noah said aloud, looking out of the train car window. They were, in fact, in a train car.

Suddenly, feet were in the air and both children were falling into each other in a clump.

Not when it does that, Lucy said, her wrist flying to her mouth, where her lips found her bracelet. It was her habit to chew on the thing. Her eyes grew wide as she looked toward the window and smiled, dropping her hand by her side. And not when we look out there.

Lucy was right. A view from a train was one thing. The view from this window was something entirely different. The reason was obvious—they were flying in the air. Lucy and Noah marveled at the sight of the world, hundreds of feet below.

We’re in an airtrain, declared Lucy. It is as if a giant bird with a window belly swallowed us all up.

Well, Noah said, running fingers through his messy hair, I suppose that’s one way of putting it. It is rather wonderful soaring through the air in a train carried by an airship.

Pish posh, said Faye, who had come up next to them. Around her neck was a small box-camera. It was not like the common Brownie Camera that came out in 1900 and was in the hands of children everywhere. This camera had a button and a lever that made it unique. Airships are such a thing of the past. Aeroplanes are the future. Aeroplanes will soon be everywhere. Airships are old fashioned. Aeroplanes are a much more efficient mode of travel. But, try as she might, she could not keep her eyes from the view any more than Noah or Lucy could.

Well, this particular airship train—‘airtrain’—seems to be rather modern, if you ask me, said Noah.

Which I did not, said Faye, though she had the hint of a smile instead of a scowl.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Jasper, slightly breathless.

Did you think we’d fallen out? asked Noah.

Jasper’s cheeks grew red as he realized that was exactly what he had been thinking. Of course not. Don’t be silly. Faye was coming to get you and she didn’t come back.

Well, we were otherwise indisposed, said Noah, his nose in the air.

Where did you go? asked Jasper. We’ve been waiting. He looked at Lucy, then at Noah. I think this is it. I think we’ve done it.

Noah grabbed Jasper’s arm. Wait, have we really done it?

I think so, said Jasper, trying to temper his excitement. I…yes, I really believe we have.

Well, what are we waiting for? chided Noah, now excited himself. Chop chop! It’s our baby, Jas. We’re proud papas.

Jasper grinned and rushed along. Lucy had to run to keep up with Noah and her brother. Faye moved swiftly but maintained the grace her long legs provided and led the way back. Jasper squeezed past Noah and pulled open the door for Faye. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, Jasper knew, and he was pleased by Faye’s nod. Jasper winced as Noah pushed past Faye to be first through the door.

You’re such a gentleman, Noah said mockingly, patting Jasper on the head.

Faye rolled her eyes and couldn’t suppress a giggle. Noah was impossible, but he was a funny fellow. She could barely bring herself to admit that he had grown on her.

In the next room, a string was hung from one side to the other. Pieces of paper were clipped to the string and were gently waving as the airship tilted slightly to one side or another.

Are we surrendering? asked Noah, looking at the paper. I feel like I’m standing in a sea of white flags.

Very funny, clever boy, said Faye. They are drying.

Do I smell lemons? Noah sniffed the air near the paper.

It’s the citric acid, said Faye. We had to use a bit of lemon juice for the citric acid. We’ve treated the paper with potassium bromide and gelatin.

Lemon jelly. Delicious. Noah opened his mouth as if he was going to take a bite of the paper.

Lucy jumped up. No, Noah!

Noah raised his eyebrows. Does Lady Faye want the lemon jelly paper all for herself? Hmm…or, perhaps my powers of deduction are telling me that you are making photographic paper?

Yes, it’s true! shouted Lucy, jumping up and down.

Careful jumping, Lucy, said Wallace, adjusting his glasses. We are in an airship.

Now for the main attraction, said Noah, cracking his knuckles and looking slyly around the room.

Noah moved quickly to the other side of the table, across from Jasper. Jasper was focused on the metallic chess pieces set up on the board. He held a small metal box next to the chessboard. Noah picked up his own box, flipping open the front flap to reveal a multitude of turning gears and levers. With the metal flap open, they could hear the ticks and clicking noises. When Noah jiggled a few levers, several of the pieces on the chessboard seemed to shift to attention. Noah flipped the box closed. He nodded to Jasper. Jasper nodded back.

Make your move and prepare to lose graciously, my man, Jasper said, nodding to Noah.

"Lose? Moi?" Noah acted shocked and with a hrumph sat down in his chair. He leaned forward to peruse the board, then leaned back. Instead of moving pieces, he began moving the levers of his clicking box.

Untouched by human hands, the game pieces began their battle. With a single gesture, Jasper moved his queen’s pawn. It whirred around and then moved forward two spaces. Noah favored a spectacular first move. With an impressive display of finger wiggling, he moved his levers and suddenly his king’s knight reared up on its hind legs. On hidden springs and weighted magnets, the knight leapt over its pawn and trotted one step over and stopped.

Your move, young man, offered Noah.

Jasper was focused on the board, then his box. He moved some levers and suddenly, his knight reared up and jumped over the row of pawns, settling in front of his king’s pawn.

Oh, how lovely the horsey is, Jasper, cried Lucy. May I kiss him?

Not right now, Lucy, Jasper insisted. After I win the game, you can give him a big squinch.

Lucy squealed with pleasure as Noah’s knight got up on his haunches. However, it did not move. Wallace leaned over and dropped a magnet onto the board. Retrieving it, he accidentally knocked over Noah’s knight and the knight began to kick. Noah righted it, but not before getting kicked in the thumb by the tiny horse.

Noah ran his hand through his messy ginger mane and shook his painful thumb. Can’t say you’ve helped my game, Wallace.

Miss Brett leaned over. Do you need me to—

No, Miss Brett, I shall live. Onward, opponent, said Noah as he bowed his head to Jasper.

Back on track, Jasper made another move. Then Noah took one of Jasper’s pawns with his bishop. The bishop kicked the struggling little pawn, which rolled off the board into Jasper’s waiting hand. Move after move, all was going well until Noah’s box sparked. Suddenly, his bishop was trying to catch a fast-moving small mechanical knight, now with a magnetic sphere attached to its head. The knight went crashing into various chess pieces, wreaking unintended havoc on the board.

Goodness! cried Miss Brett.

Wallace leaned over again to see what was wrong. Without warning, the knight flew up and attached itself to Wallace’s breast pocket. Pulling the bucking knight away, Wallace tried immediately to disengage it from the powerful magnetic sphere he had buttoned into his pocket. Wallace tried to separate the knight from the magnet, the magnet from the knight, the knight from the other knight, and the knight from his glasses frame…all with no success. The ball was made of the strongest magnetic material Wallace could create. It refused to budge.

Noah grabbed the knight and Wallace held the magnet. They pulled and they crashed. Pieces on the board went sprawling. Some came to life—the pawns mostly scurried around aimlessly but the bishops began to nod and walk on the diagonal squares, bumping into and falling over one, then another, while continuing to nod. The knights went on a rampage and the queens began clearing the board of opposing forces.

Noah sighed. Then again, one might say nothing could help my game. Maybe the bomb was a good thing.

Lucy shook her head. Oh, no, a bomb is never a good thing.

Faye walked over holding her box-camera. She and Jasper had been experimenting with images that could be sent by radio wave. She looked at the chessboard mayhem with disdain. Ah, I see Noah’s been at the chessboard again.

Noah picked up a struggling knight. In his other hand, he picked up the buzzing gearbox. I’ll have you know that we were getting somewhere before Wallace decided to play the bowler and use our chessboard as a cricket pitch.

Wallace, finally getting the magnet detached from the chess piece and adjusting his glasses, apologized. I’m sorry, Noah. Jasper, I had no idea that—

Don’t worry, Wallace, insisted Jasper. Noah’s being silly. Things were going wrong before the magnet. We need to get the pieces to work properly. But look, no broken windows …

They all looked over at two cracked windows. Jasper blushed. Aside from the ones we broke last time.

Then came a loud click as Faye pushed the button on her camera. She quickly turned the crank that moved the roll of celluloid film into position inside the box of the camera. This activated the signal response of the internal radio transmitter and caused a light to flash atop a wire tower next to it on the table. As if in reply, a rather square boxlike machine made of metal and wood made noise like a telegraph machine.

I simply had to have this on film. I do love to document such success, Noah, said Faye, walking over to Jasper’s work area, where a small machine whirred. She quickly placed a piece of her special paper into a slot in the machine. Now, if only it could think for you, too.

Well, Lady Faye, I was hoping we could use our little automatons to replace your brain, which seems so utterly exhausted it no longer works. Noah bowed and took her hand as if to kiss it. Faye pulled her hand away and wiped it on her dress.

Miss Brett, quietly standing behind Lucy, tried to find her voice as she, once again, marveled at the amazing talents of her wards. I think those are marvelous, boys. I see what you’ve been working on so busily in your spare time. And Faye, the machine you and Jasper are working on, can it really send images over radio waves?

Faye gingerly pulled the paper out from the now silent machine. The picture was blurred, but the image of Noah’s face was evident and, more clearly, the window and sky behind him.

That is remarkable, said Miss Brett. Photographs are amazing on their own, but to be able to send them, without even a tube or a wire, from one place to another…It is pure magic, I think.

There isn’t enough light, said Faye, decidedly less impressed than Miss Brett. The strength of the transmitter is rather weak, too. We need to be quite close for it to work.

But we can have one and the other, argued Lucy. What if we don’t want to be anywhere fast or even anywhere?

What’s that? asked Noah, incredulous as he often was when Lucy declared something.

I think it’s lovely, said Lucy.

My face? asked Noah, with mock innocence.

The airship window, said Lucy, giggling.

Faye thought it was pretty lovely, too, teased Noah. She was like a puppy in a carriage window, tail wagging and tongue hanging out.

Faye’s cheeks grew hot. She could have throttled Noah, mostly because he was right and she could hardly contain her excitement. It had been amazing. They were on the train in Bologna, and then suddenly metal was clanging. Within minutes, they were clamped in and soaring in the air. Faye had always denounced airships as obsolete, but this was actually her first time riding in one.

Lucy said, twirling, I love it in here because it’s like we’re a flock of ravens.

What? said Noah, cupping his ear.

She means because we’re so high, Wallace said, his voice cracking. Like we’re flying, and we’re something of a flock.

And they were.

It’s incredible, Faye said, staring out.

They were high enough to make out the earth’s curvature along the edge of the great body of water and the endless sky. It didn’t take long to feel that nothing but water was on the planet. But within hours, they were back over land, then back over water, and then back over land again. By the fifth time, even Lucy was less enthusiastic at the sight of land.

Another airship! cried Wallace, his glasses slipping to the edge of his nose. Everyone else was sitting in the observation deck. They were in front, looking at a pod of whales far below.

At first, Wallace thought it was only a shadow, oddly shimmering against the sun, which made it hard to be sure what they were seeing.

Quick! shouted Miss Brett. We must tell one of the brothers in black.

Noah was the first one out of the room, down into the train car, and banging on the galley compartment door. At the sight through the big glass window, Noah gasped. It was too late. The ship was upon them.

What do we do? cried Wallace in a panic. He, Faye, and Jasper were still looking out of the observation deck window. Lucy was hiding under a chair.

Now the dark ship was right below them. They could see it clearly, as if they could step out of the window and stand on it, and then a cloud passed and it simply disappeared.

Where did it go? Noah asked, his face pressed against the glass.

It’s there! Jasper was pointing below, where the ship had been. In the rays of the sun, the ship came into view again. It hadn’t moved away; it had simply become invisible without light shining directly on it.

Suddenly, a grinding noise was heard. Faye leaned over and saw a metallic pipe aimed up towards their own airship. Was it going to puncture a hole?

They’ve caught us. Lucy was now crying. It’s probably Komar Romak. They’re going to shoot us down!

Miss Brett paled at the mention of the evil that seemed to follow them everywhere. Komar Romak had held her prisoner. Komar Romak had been hunting them down. Komar Romak was a killer.

It will be all right, Lucy. Jasper was sure it would be anything but all right. How could the brothers in black have let this happen?

A brother in a frilly apron opened the door. Almost over, he said, seemingly about to leave.

Almost over? shouted Faye. This is how you protect us? This is how you let us know we’re all going to die?

The frilly apron man just looked at her. He tilted his head. All he said was gas, and then he turned to leave.

Faye grabbed the door, now blushing. She wasn’t sure if gas referred to something someone did in the room, but just in case, she tried not to breathe through her nose.

Petrol, said the frilly apron man, and sun panel.

Faye was still confused.

Noah put a hand on Faye’s shoulder, deep breaths easing his tight chest. We’re refueling, he said. He was now blushing too.

The children went to the window as Jasper came back to join them.

I suppose you’ve all heard, he said. For once, we’re not under attack.

Wallace was the most embarrassed since it was he who had sounded the alarm. The children watched as the solar panels were adjusted and the petrol-carrying zeppelin pulled off into the clouds.

Why couldn’t we set ourselves down to refuel? asked Wallace.

Perhaps it’s safer this way, suggested Noah. We’re still able to move if needed.

In the distance, on the edge of the deep blue sea, they could again see land rising from the water.

Jasper was determined to see in the dark. After the false alarm over the petrol refilling, he began work on a project he had started back in London, after two schoolboys he had known tripped him and knocked him around. They regularly waited for him on his way home from his father’s laboratory and somehow always managed to catch him unaware in the dark. He had forgotten about the invention, but decided he might be able to modify it for use with their camera.

What are you doing with those lenses? Miss Brett asked.

Well, these are the components of my night-seeing glasses, explained Jasper. I’ve worked out how to intensify the image using glass. I’ve built a phosphorus screen to use between the front lens and the eye-piece. The phosphorus will amplify the electrons passing through the screen and allow the seer more light, or the impression of more light, as long as there is a charge to convert the small amounts of light into energy that will then be converted back to light once it passes through, or rather bounces off, the phosphorus screen.

Miss Brett smiled, having no idea what he meant. Lovely, Jasper, she said and decided to arrange for lunch.

Jasper picked up the camera again. Because Faye already had taken several photos of the Sphinx, he had to reload the celluloid roll of film before he could take any more. As they floated in over Giza, the Great Pyramids came into view just on the other side of the Sphinx.

Miss Brett pulled from her pocket a small and rather frayed book published by Thos. Cook & Company called The Nile: Notes for Travellers in Egypt by E.A. Wallis Budge. It was given to her by Mr. Bell, her mentor at teaching college. She had adored Mr. Bell and cherished the book. Mr. Bell had been such an odd little man. With his overly long cloak and flowing scarf and dark glasses, he looked like some kind of bat flying across campus. He was the one who had recommended Miss Brett for this teaching position. When she prepared to leave for the job, she packed books of poetry: Lewis Carroll, E. Nesbitt, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, and this, the book from Mr. Bell. Funny, she had had no idea it might come in handy.

Jasper leaned as close as he could against the window and pressed the button on the camera.

It looks just like the photographs from Daddy’s book. Lucy’s nose was pressed against the window.

It was a spectacular view.

Are we going to land in the desert? asked Wallace to no one in particular.

It doesn’t appear so, said Miss Brett. We’re veering away from the desert towards the city.

The ship landed in the shadow of the largest pyramid. Surprisingly, the Great Pyramids were actually right on the edge of the city and not in the middle of the desert. In all of the drawings and photographs the children and Miss Brett had ever seen, the pyramids looked like they were in the middle of the desert. But these majestic pyramids were right on the edge of the busy city, with crowded streets bursting with carriages, vegetable carts, donkeys, and horses pulling families and their wares. There were hundreds of people trading and selling and drinking tea.

It feels like we’re still in the air, Lucy giggled as she stepped out onto the sand, swaying from side to side like a drunken sailor.

Jasper almost tripped on his own feet as he stared up at the enormous pyramids. They were truly like mountains rising from the sand. Jasper felt like a tiny mouse. Each of the stone slabs that made up the pyramids would have been a challenge for him to climb.

Next to a very small opening in one pyramid stood two mysterious men in black. One wore a black scarf wrapped around his head, and a long black robe, a galabaya, traditional to the region. The other man wore a large silk hat and loose fitting black trousers.

Excuse me? Miss Brett touched the arm of the galabaya wearer. Are we supposed to be in there? She was worried about Faye, who struggled with claustrophobia, yet had been so brave during their last adventures in tight quarters. Miss Brett had read about the pyramid tunnels, some of them so small Lucy would be unable to stand up properly within. We’re not going inside the Pyramid, are we?

"La-a," said the robed man, holding up a hand.

What does that mean? asked Faye, who had been hoping for a definitive no.

It means ‘no,’ said Wallace. I asked.

Faye let out a deep breath. She would be fine.

"Yallah," said the robed man, beckoning them to come.

Jasper looked around. Where were all the tourists? According to Miss Brett’s book, the place was usually crawling with people who know how to beg in twenty languages. Here, only one seller, an old man with a large bushel on his back, crouched and slept against the base of the Pyramid. Of course, thought Jasper. It was barely dawn.

Look at the little Sphinx, said Noah. Somehow, it seems even smaller from down here.

That’s true, Wallace said. It really is all about perspective—the place from which you look at the thing.

I suppose that goes for much else, said Miss Brett. It depends on which side you look at it.

Once they reached the Sphinx, the sun felt hot on their necks. An ancient man stood in between the paws of the great statue. On his back was a basket that seemed to be twice his size.

Look! He has dried dates and he’s weighing them on his little scale, said Faye, aiming her camera at the ancient man. How lovely.

I want some, said Lucy, not sure what a date was.

No dates, said the robed man.

Lucy stuck out her lip in a pout. Within moments, Lucy was munching away on sweet dates. Faye shook her head. Lucy always got her way when she used that lip.

Come. The robed man led them through the front paws of the Sphinx.

"Passage, yallah," said the robed man. He slid between two slabs by the Sphinx’s right elbow.

Faye stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

Faye, I want you to take a few deep breaths, Miss Brett said gently, herself faltering at the narrow entrance. Breathe until your heart stops pounding.

Jasper came up beside them. Faye tried to take slow, deep breaths, but the breaths kept getting squeezed in her tight throat.

Look, sir, Jasper said to the robed man. Faye needs to go another way.

One way, said the robed man.

Well, please give her a minute then, Jasper said, worried that even a minute might not be enough.

Having made it through some tight spaces, Faye felt herself regaining control.

It’s all how you look at it, said Jasper, his hand caressing Faye’s arm. You can look at it from one side and the space seems small, or from the other side and the space seems long.

As if a lever had been pulled, Faye smiled. She took a deep breath and let it out without catching. Jasper was right. She, not her fear, would lead the way. With a nod, she moved towards the robed man and closed her eyes for a moment as she entered the very narrow, dark space.

Even Jasper felt the walls closing in, but Faye was doing fine. She was talking to herself, which seemed to help, and she also walked with her eyes closed. Jasper led her through, though that was a challenge. The tunnel was more of a mole hole. At times, they could not even stand, let alone see, as they seemed to descend into the bowels of the earth.

The tunnel eventually began to bring them up from below. At one point, when they could stand, they found stairs they were able to climb. As they turned a corner, light streamed in from the outside. Even the hot desert air outside had felt better than the still air of the tunnel inside.

Fresh out of the tunnel, they shielded their eyes from the sun. Among the flowers and trees was an enormous palace stretching high into the sky. Almost the color of the sand around it, the remarkable towers were rounded and elegant. The castle looked ancient, and vines covered the entire side facing the garden. Yet, along the sides and from what they could see of the roof, there were panels that seemed to both absorb and reflect the sunlight, adding to the impression of invisibility.

How could we have missed seeing that? Noah wondered aloud.

Are people living here or is it a ruin? Wallace said.

Look! cried Lucy, pointing up.

It’s Tesla’s tower, said Noah. It’s a Wardenclyffe Tower, only smaller and…leafy.

Nikola Tesla, the brilliant scientist and inventor, was a member of their parents’ group of scientists, colleagues, and childhood friends. The children had visited his tower in New York on their way to Solemano. This was a version of that invention. It had the capacity to transmit signals over great distances. It was a wireless transmitter unlike any on the planet, at least unlike anything besides Wardenclyffe. This one, however, seemed to be made of some reflective metal. It shimmered and, among the trees, seemed to be growing leaves. Against the sky, it was camouflaged like everything else.

As the children and Miss Brett reached the grand steps, they spotted several mysterious men in black robes. Some of these young-looking brothers were carrying baskets of fruit, some flowers. Some were balancing urns or buckets of water on thick sticks over their shoulders. One brother was pulling water from a well and filling urns for another brother to carry. All were busily at work. No one seemed to notice Miss Brett and her charges.

Hello? Miss Brett cleared her throat. Excuse me? She tried to get the attention of the water-pumping brother.

"Ahlan w’ sahlan, came a booming voice from the doorway. It was Dr. Banneker, who raised his arms. Welcome to Castle Suleiman."

Dr. Banneker…it is good to see you. Miss Brett was truly relieved to see him. She fanned her face, which had suddenly felt very hot. The weather was cool, but the sun must have been warmer than she had thought.

Father! cried Wallace, running up the stairs. He threw his arms around his father’s waist. Dr. Banneker returned the embrace and, through his brown cheeks, he too could feel a blush.

Is my father here? asked Noah, stepping closer to Wallace’s father.

And our parents? asked Faye, now rubbing the soft nose of a baby camel who was leaning its head on her shoulder.

Come in, all of you, said Dr. Banneker. I’m sure the journey was hot and tiring. We have refreshments inside. Lucy, please leave the camels outside.

Like the ancient Italian manor house in the village of Solemano, the inside did not match the ruins outside. The huge arches seemed to be hundreds of feet above. Lucy gaped at the beautiful carpets that were on both the floors and the walls, each one an intricate scene of gardens, musicians, and people reading books or playing instruments.

Faye was immediately drawn to the stunning woodwork that covered every window and many walls—beautiful carved beads connected by thin sticks made into patterns. The whole place smelled of aromatic sandalwood, and Faye guessed that was what had been used to make the carvings.

"It’s called mashrabaya," a voice said softly in her ear.

Baba! cried Faye as she threw her arms around her father’s neck.

My little marmelo, he said, laughing in her arms. It is so good to have you here. Come embrace your mother.

Faye turned to her mother, who was beaming at her. For the first time, Faye noticed creases around her mother’s eyes. She looked tired and Faye could see her mother’s eyes filling with tears.

Mother. Faye, holding her mother close, could feel the strength in her mother’s embrace. A lump grew in Faye’s throat. She had spent so much time feeling angry about her parents, especially her mother, for not standing up against the craziness. Her mother just followed whatever Faye’s father said.

But Faye could see the pain in her mother’s face. Gwendolyn Vigyanveta had innocently married into this strange mystery. Faye’s father had not. He had known the other parents since childhood—Isobel and Tobias Modest, Clarence Canto-Sagas, and Benjamin and Louisa Banneker, though the latter had died long ago. They all knew about the mysterious men in black. Faye’s mother was almost as innocent as Noah’s mother.

Mother, are you well? Faye looked at her mother closely.

Dr. Gwendolyn Vigyanveta wiped her eyes with the corner of her handkerchief. I…I’m so sorry, Faye, she said. I am so sorry… about everything. I know you have suffered. I—

Now, none of this, Faye’s father said. We are together. Gwendolyn, let us eat now.

Of course, Rajesh, you’re right. She smiled. We’re together.

Faye reached over and gave her mother a kiss and a hug.

Mes chers enfants! Dr. Isobel Modest was embracing both children at once. Her husband patted his son on his shoulder and then braced himself against the full weight of his tiny daughter jumping into his arms.

Meanwhile, Dr. Clarence Canto-Sagas accidentally stepped on Noah’s foot as he reached to hug him. The two bumped heads.

Where’s Mother? Noah asked his father as he managed to disentangle himself from his father’s waistcoat, which had somehow wrapped itself around Noah’s arm.

She is rehearsing at the opera house. Noah’s father beamed, somehow getting his wrist wrapped around a string now caught on Noah’s sleeve. She hasn’t let me come to hear anything. She wants the night to be a total surprise.

Noah pulled his arm back and found the string attached to a reticule, a small, elegant, beaded drawstring handbag that hung around his father’s wrist.

Ah, this, said his father. It’s…um, your mother’s. Dr. Canto-Sagas blushed, noticing the lady’s reticule that hung there. She asked me to keep it for her until after the performance.

I’ll go over with you, Father. I’d love to sneak a peek at Mother’s rehearsal, Noah suggested, but his father just laughed and put an awkward arm around his son’s shoulder.

They were all walking towards a pair of enormous doors that opened to a grand room at the end of the corridor. As they approached, they could smell roasts and exotic herbs. They saw the long table, resplendent with delicacies from end to end. The table was low and there were pillows around instead of chairs.

The children selected pillows and sat down. Immediately, young brothers in black robes came and began pouring mango juice and tea for everyone. The children selected from tamaya, which is Egyptian falafel, with cucumbers, tomatoes, white tangy cheese, and warm soft baladi bread that Noah began stuffing into his mouth by the handful.

"Mon dieu, they do not feed you?" asked Dr. Isobel Modest, looking at the tall lanky Noah who, by then, had food in both hands.

Mmmm, Noah reached for another tamaya. Just saving it for later in my bottomless pit.

Lucy loved the very sweet tea, which was served in tiny glasses trimmed in gold. She took little sips with her pinky finger sticking out.

Faye discovered aroz bi leban, which was rice pudding, which she knew as kheer in India. It was delicious, with sweet vanilla and cinnamon, though she loved it best with cardamom, the way the cooks used to make for her back in New Delhi.

Wallace found the creamy Umm Ali worth three helpings, and Jasper liked the sweet syrup-soaked basbousa and soft sweet kunafa. Lucy had two helpings for every one that Jasper placed on his plate.

Faye was pleased to find a cinnamon stick sitting on the saucer next to her teacup. She looked up at the brother in black to find that it was Mr. Frilly Apron, as Lucy named the fellow. Faye, much to her own surprise, was touched.

Thank you, she said, and she meant it.

Even the grunt, which was his reply, did not diminish the appreciation she felt for that small kindness. What’s wrong with me, she thought to herself. Am I getting soft? Then she looked at Jasper, who had noticed her smile. He was simply beaming at her and her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. She looked around. Was this the new way life would be?

They were all waiting to see a performance by the wonderful Ariana Canto-Sagas. Together. Faye looked over at Miss Brett, who was deep in conversation with Dr. Banneker. Miss Brett laughed at something Dr. Banneker said and then looked over at Faye. Faye smiled and Miss Brett blushed from ear to ear. Faye saw the blush, but was distracted when Jasper put a hand on Faye’s shoulder.

Suddenly,