She followed Zadie to the fountain, even though she didn’t know why it was supposed to be so great. The path was lined with giant trees bending to form an arch over a cobblestone path. Water splashed somewhere ahead of them, and the aroma of yeasty bread lured them forward, her growling stomach a reminder of missed meals. After all, she’d missed the birthday cake and ice cream Aunt Dora had promised. The minute she thought about her birthday dinner, she worried about Aunt Dora and her friends she probably would never see again.
“Hey, what’s wrong? I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings about the necklace. Are you crying?”
She swallowed hard and tried to sound cheerful. “No, that smell reminds me how hungry I am. What is it?”
“Wish berries. Come on, we’re almost there.” Zadie waited for her to catch up.
The minute the fountain came into view, she stopped, unable to say a word. It took her breath away. Geysers of frothy water shot skyward around a winged figure positioned on a pedestal in the center of the huge fountain. Jets of water arched toward the statue from the fountain’s bottom lip. Plump, fragrant, multicolored berries hung from shiny green foliage to make a thick perfectly-clipped hedge around the base of the fountain.
She stared up through the jets of water into the face of the statue. “It’s Asia.”
“How do you know that?”
“She brought me here.”
“Asia brought you here?” Zadie slapped her palm against her forehead. “She is our Guardian angel. Nobody, but nobody, has seen her. Well, maybe she comes here on Birth Day, but we don’t really know what happens on that day. She’s like a saint or something. Maybe you thought it was her.”
“No. It’s true. I skated out in the street after this puppy, and something slammed into me. I fainted. I do that sometimes. Anyway, everything went black. The next thing I knew, she was holding me, and we were flying. See her wings? They’re huge. Awesome.” She talked too fast, trying to explain. “You don’t believe me, but it’s true.” She really wanted Zadie to believe her.
“All right. Don’t worry about it. Don’t tell people about it. Others might think, well, they might think you’re odd.”
“Yeah, guess you’re right. Maybe I thought it was Asia. I guess angels are a lot alike.” She knew Zadie didn’t believe her. She wondered if anybody would.
“We’d better start back. The suns are about to set.”
They headed back to the compound, not talking, not facing each other.
“Is she really beautiful, like the statue?” Zadie broke the silence.
“Yeah. She’s really beautiful.” Halo walked on a few steps. “Did you know her eyes don’t match? One’s blue, like a turquoise, and the other one is purple, and there’s this shiny blue thing under one eye.” She told the whole story, watching Zadie’s reactions and hoping she really did believe her.
When she finished, Zadie said, “It’s dinnertime. Come on. I’ll show you the way to the dining room.”
“I need to change clothes, but since I don’t have any, I guess I’ll wash my hands.”
She followed Zadie toward the dining room in Star V. Zadie showed her how to reserve places at a table by pushing a small button in front of each seat. A light came on, and an automated voice asked for name of diner. They reserved seats for themselves plus three for the triplets then they picked up their trays and started down the cafeteria line.
“Wow, our school never had food this pretty.” She admired the array of food and selected a meal of pasta with sliced plum tomatoes sprinkled on top and a salad of orange and pineapple slices. The bread smelled exactly like the wish berries around the fountain.
Amber, Opal, and Star joined them at their table wearing the same colorful tees and headbands they’d had on in the park.
“Thank you…” Amber started the sentence.
“For saving us a seat,” Opal added.
“Did you see the fountain?” Star asked. They continued to talk, each adding a word or phrase to complete the sentence. She wondered if their brains were connected.
“What am I eating? I think it is pasta, but the red stuff doesn’t taste like tomatoes.”
“It’s wish berries,” Zadie told her.
“You mean like the ones around the fountain?”
“Yes, all our food is made from wish berries. Don’t you have them where you came from?” Zadie wanted to know.
“You mean you don’t have any hamburgers and pizza?”
“I don’t know what hamburgers and pizza are,” Amber said.
“We have breads and wish berry burgers,” Opal added.
“We only eat things made from wish berries,” Star told her.
“Yuck. The new girl wants to eat live things,” Annie announced in a voice loud enough to be heard around and behind them.
“That’s not what she said,” Zadie answered defensively. “Don’t listen to her, Halo.”
Quickly and uncomfortably, they finished the meal and returned to their rooms.
The edge of a crisp white envelope poked out from under the door to their room. The envelope was addressed to Halo. Inside, was a note.
I will pick you up at eight bells tomorrow morning.
Koze
“Zadie, who’s Koze?”
“He’s Angel Vesta’s assistant.”
“Is he nice?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never met him.”