Green Desert - Chapter 3.5.3 - Vata

The young foreigner jumped out the window, leaving me alone in the house. I couldn’t go chasing Zhíno and Fírí. My body just wasn’t capable. I had to trust the kids to do that for me. When they captured him, though, I had to be ready.

I shuffled down the hall to the chapel. I had to call Névazhíno. The only way I knew to do that was a sacrifice. Since this was a special request, it had to be a special sacrifice. Something big. One of the cows.

I left my slippers on the steps and crossed the chapel, cutting through the circle, over to the short hallway in the back corner. At the end of the hall stood a door. Actually, the entire end of the hall was the door––three meters tall and one-and-a-half wide. I pushed the lever down, slid the bolt out. The door swung smoothly open. I squinted in the sudden sunlight and stepped through, into the backyard. Two barefoot shuffles across the comforting soil, I stopped. Usually I guarded the door from any curious animals while Pí‘oro fetched the sacrifice. Two cats and a pig already crept and waddled to investigate. I swung the door almost closed, extended the bolt so it couldn’t latch. The door had no exterior knob. In fact, it had the same stucco finish as the rest of the wall. When it was closed, you wouldn’t even notice it.

I headed for the cowshed, my feet dragging through the rich earth. And then I noticed the back gate was wide open.