Murdock, Mei Lee, and all the kids were awake shortly before dawn, as was their habit. Murdock and Mei Lee had decided to let Annie sleep after her extreme exertions of the previous day. Andrew and Chun Hua went about their daily chores, loading the hearth with logs and kindling, refilling waterskins, and keeping an eye on Rosa Lea. Murdock and Mei Lee had gone out to commune with their friends Beron and Bridget.
Roughly an hour after everyone else was awake, Annie, being mostly asleep, felt like she was being watched. When she opened her eyes a little, she saw a little girl of about one year in age sucking her thumb. It was obvious that she was a Euro-Asian mix. Annie didn’t say anything to the youngster and the youngster said nothing. They both just looked at each other for a time.
“Mo
