Ahmed and I did finish the puzzle, and when I woke up, the sun was well into its climb for the day. I felt refreshed and revived in a profound way after taking a day simply to rest, and even though I hadn’t gone to bed until almost two in the morning, I didn’t feel tired at all, probably because I’d still gotten a full night’s sleep.
When I went out into the living room after my shower, I found Ahmed sitting by the front window, rocking as he looked at the sea. He raised one hand slowly and then nodded at me.
“Good morning,” I said to him and the other few folks—Beattie, Link, Hildy, and Ivan—in the room. “Where is everyone else?”
“Boone and Frank have gone to finalize plans for the painting with Zariyah,” Hildy said and then looked over at Ahmed, “and given the new information Brother
