jolantru | The problem with girls.

When he was growing up on the Mesa colony, all gangly limbs and hyperactive mind, his mother and his aunts used to talk to him constantly – when he was not running through the desert with the rest of the Mesa boys – that he must always walk in Beauty and that he must set an example to his fellow brothers and sister so that they too might walk in Beauty as well. Hozhoni.

At the moment, he was not walking in Beauty, because he did not feel harmonious at all. In front of him sat the girl, hunched over, hiding her face with her hands. So much for hozhoni. Everything right now was out of whack and out of balance. He clearly felt as if he had lost his equilibrium. Should he return her back to her family, probably beset with anxiety at the disappearance of their daughter? It was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?

She explained, in halting words, that she had a disagreement with her family and had run away to escape her family’s wrath. What was she fleeing from? Her family cared for her, didn’t they?

His aunt coughed, signaling for attention. She had roused herself out from her bed and upon seeing the girl, poured warm corn soup into a bowl and bade her eat. His family always extended their hospitality, even to strangers.

“Who is this strange girl?” His aunt asked in a low voice, not trying to disturb the visitor. “Her face looks vaguely familiar.”

Javen could not lie to his aunt. “She is the girl whom I have been talking to, Aunt Betta. Merchant family.”

His aunt placed her right hand on her forehead. “Her family must be so worried!” She gasped. “And you said that she had argued with her parents.”

Javen nodded, feeling uncomfortable at the way Aunt Betta was looking at him.