Earthseed

river in their boats and fished near the settlement, trading their catch for a few supplies. Zoheret knew that they could have caught their own fish, but it was easier to let Ho do it. When he had first offered to trade with them, Lillka had agreed readily; it was hard to tell if she traded because she wanted the fish or because it was a way to buy Ho off. Ho’s group had to spend only a day fishing to acquire supplies worth several days’ work; Zoheret sometimes resented that. But she supposed that it was better than having to put up with him here.
    They had built their settlement along a bend in the river that ran into the lake. Their fields bordered the plain she had crossed during Competition; ditches dug from the river irrigated the fields. The storehouse was at the end of a wide space that had become their common meeting ground; the grass that had once grown there was being worn away, and now grew only in patches. Two rows of plain wood shacks with screened windows and sloping tile roofs stood on either side of a dirt road that led from the storehouse and meeting ground; gardens were between each shack and its neighbor. Zoheret walked toward her own house, which she shared with Lillka, Kagami, and Annie; it stood at the end of one row, overlooking the river.
    The yard between Zoheret’s home and the house next to it bloomed with colorful blossoms. Kagami and Bonnie, who lived next door, tended the flowers and grew herbs as well. Zoheret had thought that the two were only making extra work for themselves and had wondered why they didn’t grow something more practical. But the herbs added flavor to their food, and enough people wanted the flowers to be willing to trade with the girls for them. Bonnie herself always wore at least one flower in her hair, and others followed the fashion. Zoheret would not see Bonnie until Ho and his friends were gone; the other girl always seemed to find a task which would keep her away from anyplace Ho was likely to be. She had not left the settlement with Ho and had never told anyone why she had not.
    Zoheret thought of Manuel. She had not seen him in a long time, though she had once caught a glimpse of him on one of the fishing boats. He rarely came to the settlement with Ho. She looked out at the river. The three boats she had seen out there earlier were gone, having tied up farther downriver to wait for Ho.
    She could think about Manuel calmly now, as long as she did not see him. Whenever Ho came here, she would feel both a twinge of disappointment and one of relief whenever Manuel was absent. Their last days in the corridor seemed far away, the problems that had occupied her then unimportant.
    Dmitri was standing at the edge of her vegetable garden, staring out at the river. His wavy, dark-brown hair was redder in the daylight. His once-pale skin had become tawny; he could go shirtless now without worrying about burns. Ship did not seem to regulate its light properly; many of them had acquired pink, peeling skin during their first days in the Hollow, and a few fair-skinned people had been sick with fever and pain from the burns.
    Dmitri turned and saw her; he motioned to her with one arm. She lingered by her door, then went to his side. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
    Here, the river’s banks sloped gently. The river narrowed at the bend, then flowed on. Its currents were not as strong here, and it was possible to bathe or swim as long as one kept near the shore.
    Zoheret leaned against Dmitri for a moment, then yawned. “I was going to take a nap.”
    “I guess I tire you out too much at night.” He sounded proud of it.
    “It isn’t that. I’ve been in the storehouse kitchen all day.”
    “I thought we could go for a walk. I’m supposed to check the fences around the fields.”
    “Do you mind if I don’t go along?”
    He shook his head. “I’ll see you later anyway, won’t I?”
    “Sure,” she said wearily, yawning again. He released her and marched off to begin his rounds.
    She went inside. The house had only one story, which they had divided into three rooms. The largest room, in the front of the house, was used by all four girls; it was bare except for a makeshift table and five large cushions she and Annie had sewn. A dark, narrow passageway led to the two bedrooms, separating them. Their latrine was at the end of the passage; Anoki had worked on all the latrines, devising, with the help of diagrams from Ship’s library and