The Penumbra Paradox - ONC 2023

Chapter -7 Not ready yet.

"May be I was just as young as you are when I had my daughters." Oja leaned back, resting her head to the rock surface behind. "Zoramaic way teaches us to grow roots in a place, disagrees the traditional Sinuqian way of wandering and raiding tribes. That's savagery in Zoramaic dictionary."

"Yeah, that's what we were scared of, before visiting." Arya nodded arranging samples inside her bag.

"But back then, the desert had been unkind to us. Acid rains, draughts so worse that we barely got a drop of water to drink. The prize killings were rampant, so we retreated, searched and kept searching and praying for a home."

Arya frowned, what did all of this had to do with Rina and Fiana?

"One day we found an Oasis in the middle of nowhere. The water so blue, so pure and fresh there wasn't even a single living thing that touched it."

The realisation struck Arya, she almost got what she wanted but nevertheless listened to Oja intently.

"We thanked God, prayed a little and started preparing to 'grow roots' around the pond. We thought it was a spring fed water body, an aquifer. We thought we were saved by Sinukhi yet again."

Rina was asleep on her tattered cot, resting her head on Fiana's lap. Oja glanced over to them and continued with her revisitation of memories.

"Years passed. We were content, even with the harsh reality and scarcity of food...that was until our girls started to act weird. Most of them were stunted, lacked the intelligence of their counterparts and started to change into this."

"I'm so sorry." Arya said, clumsily pressing on Oja's hand. The only proper human interaction that Arya had to go through every day was with Benji, and it didn't involve any of what she was doing right now. Consoling someone for their misery? Of course She hated it.

"Where are other girls of your tribe?" Benji asked.

"Closed doors. Finding this canyon has been helpful in more than one way. We could execute the Zoramaic way properly here."

"How many?" Arya fathomed the size of new research she needed to carry out, that was going to take a fortune to convince Silas and his crew. "And I don't quite understand how Fiana seems to be not affected?"

"Twenty three girls, born during those couple of years we stayed near the Oasis have met the same fate. We are with the remainder of eighteen currently. Rest of them are one with the Sinukhi."

"And Fiana?"

"Fiana is a hard egg, has always been. Her vision is affected, she struggled forming sentences. But she is as sharp as an eagle, you see? So she joined the guardsmen of the tribe."

"I see." Arya processed the information, she agreed with Oja, Fiana was special. She was strong and obviously smart, although Arya wondered how her vision was affected as she was sharp with her senses. "Do you mind if I take samples of Fiana too?"

"Sure." Oja nodded, she strained to sit straight and sat cross legged, "but Fiana's going to go with you two to the underground city to make sure the girls get the treatment you promised. And I am not willing to send any of my tribe's other children for formal educational program. It's way too risky."

Arya pursed her lip, how was she going to explain Oja that the promise she had made to her needed convincing Silas first. "But, I am not sure of the time the process might take."

"That's all right. I understand, Fiana will make sure it is on time." Oja showed her palm in disagreement.

"But..."

"I'll prepare for you guys to leave by tomorrow, is that okay?"

"Okay." Benji and Arya disagreeingly agreed with a slow prolonged chorus.