“He does as the Enlightened One wills,” Abigail said. “He finds things we need and brings them home for all of us.” She patted a small rose tied with leather strings onto the collar of her tunic. “He knows my mommy’s name was Rose, so he brings me roses and presents.”
“This does not look like an orphanage,” Victoria said. She inspected the tangle of wires which led into the rafters and then over as a more coiled mess toward the hay loft. “Why are you here?”
“The Enlightened One willed us here, like everyone,” Aria said. She patted Abigail’s arm. “We need to keep checking water lines.”
“Go ahead and do your chores,” Cooper said. “But talk to us, too. What is it you do here and why did the Enlightened One choose you?”
“We take care of the baby plants,” Abigail said. She slid her hands along the tubes to check connections and unwind any impending pinches in lines. “We help grow the plants the Gift Bringer trades for the things he collects for us. Our job is special.”
“Moon Speaker says we’re good for this,” Aria said. She poked her fingers into the soil of different containers. “She says the Enlightened One chose our families because they were unseen by normal people, like you. She says those who are unseen are left to die, but the Enlightened One chose to bring us here.”
“Where are your parents?” Victoria surveyed the many rows of tables and found no hidden threat.
“Our families died,” Aria said.
“They weren’t strong enough after being unseen for so long,” Abigail said.
“You lived on the streets?” Victoria turned to face the girls and looked Abigail in the face from across the row.
“We lived under them,” Abigail answered. “We went hungry all the time. The grown-ups fed on things that aren’t food. We were scared everyday. But here, the Enlightened One provides.”
“Homeless. Junkies. Scavengers.” Victoria shook her head. “No wonder you serve with such loyalty for one who gives you a comfortable life.”
“Who are these other people?” Cooper faced Aria. “Is Moon Speaker in charge? Is she the big woman in the bear pelt?”
“Yes, Moon Speaker is our leader,” Aria said.
“And if Gift Bringer is the thief, then who is the Enlightened One?” Victoria approached the conversation and stared at Abigail.
“He is our god,” Abigail said. Her lips parted and pulled back into an open-mouth grin. “He gives Moon Speaker the strength to lead. He gives Gift Bringer ways to find gifts. He gives us energy to live when our families died. He gives all of us life.”
“What does he look like?” Cooper stared into Aria’s eyes.
“I don’t know.” Aria shrugged. “No one is allowed to see him except Moon Speaker and Gift Bringer. High Voice lives with him in the house, but never comes out.”
“You came outside and told everyone the Enlightened One wanted to speak with Gift Bringer.” Victoria followed Abigail and watched her. “How did you know what your god wanted?”
Abigail pointed to a rotary phone on a wall near the barn’s main door.
“Can you please leave Gift Bringer alone?” Abigail turned to face Victoria. Some strands of her white hair fell into her mouth. She pulled them aside and simpered. “We like him. He’s so nice. We’ll ask him not to hurt anyone in the outside world.”
“He did something wrong, so he needs to face consequences,” Cooper said. He stood and went to the front door. “What we can promise is to tell the judges the story of this place and how he helps you.”
Victoria caught Cooper’s attention and shook her head. She tapped her headset and used her device’s poor local memory to direct-send a text message to her supervisor.
“Someone is going to rip this place apart once our report gets filed,” Victoria typed. “If not Homeland Defense, then something else. FBI, CIA, local health department, take your pick.”
“How do these trees help the Gift Bringer?” Cooper said aloud and nodded at Victoria.
“We keep them fed with vitamins that make them turn special colors.” Aria tapped one of the seedlings with its red-spotted leaves. “Then Gift Bringer can trade them. He has to go to the cities but the plants are worth so much, he can get anything.”
“Do you know anything about using these plants to travel to other places?” Victoria knelt down to stare at a container filled with two-dozen seedlings.
“Moon Speaker said someday we might all need to fly,” Abigail said. “She said someday the gods will welcome the Enlightened One home and we can go with him. Then we can use the plants to fly.”
“That thief didn’t fly away,” Cooper typed into a local message for Victoria’s view.
“I do not think the mass flight is literal,” Victoria typed.
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