29In spite of Grandpa Po's advice to return to her lessons and training, Cryssa continued to spend her days waiting by the lagoon for Seek. Day and night, she sat on the sand or paced the beach, always watching the gate in the rock wall, always listening for the telltale splashing of the returning search parties. Many nights, she even slept on the beach, lying on a blanket that Mana the seamstress had brought her.
People came by and tried to draw her into conversation, but Cryssa never had much to say. Eenie and Ayla often came to keep her company, but Cryssa mostly listened silently to their chatter about boys and village gossip. As long as Seek was missing, she didn't feel like joining in; she felt as if she were living in a different world from everyone else, a dark, dull world whe
