The girl was new. Ful had already met everyone in the village and he knew that he had never seen her before. He immediately looked around for some kind of wagon train or horse. Generally, no one ever came to Quiet Nowhere, but there was a trading caravan that came once a year at harvest.
But there was no caravan today.
"Who are you?" Ful asked.
The girl smiled but didn't say anything.
Ful looked around for anyone else. The street was pretty deserted. At first he got really scared, but then he remembered that there was a barn gathering nearby at Zensha's house.
And he was supposed to be there. With a look of horror on his face, Ful waved to the girl and began to run. He was very fast when he wanted to be, and had pretty good endurance.
Down over the pale river and the azure stones of the bridge that crossed it, he skittered around an ancient cobblestone street. Everything was old. From what the elders said, everything was old everywhere. They always talked about how better things would be when the new emperor came, but they never said much about it.
Sometimes, when he was eavesdropping on his own, he'd hear them talk about the Prophesy and how important it was, but they'd never talk about it while he was around. Moving through the scattered trees that were just starting to get the hint of a flower, he cut through Zensha's field and took a short cut.
He heard a giggle behind him and realized that the mysterious girl had been following him. He almost stopped to ask her what was up, but he was out of breath and he was very very late. He kept running and opened the door only to find the village leaving.
The meeting was over.
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