SEVEN
The reassignment of Harie Niyimbone took place less than a week after Emma and Sarah’s courtyard conversation, the remaining trainees informed that sedentary work had exacerbated a health issue. There was no opportunity to say farewell, Harie sitting at her work-station one day and absent the next. Rumours abounded, some suggesting she’d been sent offshore to work at one of the high-security prisons, or to a Western Territory mine. Others, including Emma, kept their thoughts to themselves.
An empty chair prompted a profound change in workplace relationships, the other trainees deciding to socialise during lunch breaks, as Emma had with Harie. Some formed a small group to walk city streets or venture to the river; others headed for shops or the nearest environmental retreat. Eager t
