Veronica breathed a sigh of relief as she walked through the familiar gate to the Zanga Village. She smiled as several of the children ran up to her and asked her to play with them. She promised to come back later when she saw Assai wave and run towards her.
�Veronica!�
�Assai!� Veronica waved back excitedly and picked up her own pace to meet Assai. When they met, they hugged each other tightly. �I�m so glad you�re all right, Assai. I was so worried about you.�
Assai pulled back slightly but their arms were still loosely on each other�s shoulders. �I was worried about you as well. We looked for days for you but could find no trace. I thought something happened to you and I couldn�t find you to help you!�
Veronica felt tears well up in her eyes as she remembered her own feelings when she couldn�t find Assai or the rest of the Zanga. She gave Assai another small hug and smiled reassuringly. �I felt the same way when I couldn�t find you. We looked for days trying to find you and we probably would have never found you if it wasn�t for Challenger.�
Assai looked over Veronica�s shoulder and noticed that everyone else was there as well. She saw a familiar face and her face immediately brightened. �Malone! You have returned!�
Malone smiled and nodded. �It�s good to see you, Assai.�
Jarl came to stand beside his wife. �I found them in the jungle, not far from the outer gate of the village and led them back here.�
�Well, you all must be hungry from your journey. Come, I will prepare a meal for you and you can tell us how you found us.� Assai linked her arm with Veronica and they both led the way to their home.
The others followed behind at a slower pace, nodding greetings at the familiar faces of the village.
Roxton looked to his right when he thought he heard Marguerite talking. �Did you say something?�
Marguerite looked at him in surprise. �Oh, I just said I hope Challenger keeps to the shortened version tonight.�
Roxton chuckled. �Hopefully, he�ll be too busy eating to get into specifics.� Arriving at Assai and Jarl�s home, they saw the others had gotten there before them. Roxton held open the door and let Marguerite precede him.
�Thank you, John. And one can only hope.� She winked at him and stepped inside to take a seat on the floor next to Malone. �Did we miss anything?�
Malone shook his head. �No, not really. Challenger just started explaining everything that happened to us since the storm.�
�Damn.� She felt Roxton laugh from his seat behind her. She turned towards him and lowered her voice. �I knew we should have gone around the village one more time.�
Roxton smiled at her but didn�t say anything else. Marguerite scowled at his smile. She knew which one he just gave her. The �there, there, it won�t be that bad� smile. She turned her attention back to the conversation but was only half listening. She hoped dinner would be fast and they would be allowed to sleep after. She was very tired and was ready to sleep right there without any dinner.
She must have let her mind wander farther than she intended to because when she felt Malone nudge her, dinner was being served. Still out of it, she didn�t even yell at Malone for nudging her in the ribs. �What?�
�Assai was asking you if you wanted something to drink?�
�Oh.� Marguerite looked over at Assai who was looking at her worryingly and saw everyone else was staring at her as well. �No thank you, Assai.�
She began eating and as soon as everyone else did, the conversation resumed. This time she kept an open ear on it so as not to get another jab in the ribs. She also mentally reminded herself to get Malone back for that. How hard was it to call her name or touch her arm? He didn�t have to nudge her.
�Did you or any of the Zanga experience any of the effects that we did during the storm?� she heard Challenger ask.
Assai nodded. �Yes, several people went missing that day. We sent some of our trackers to go looking for them, but they did not return before the storm started. We took shelter and when it was all over, all of the missing people returned on their own.�
�Fascinating! They must have been caught in the same shimmering windows as we all were.�
�Well, we�re just glad everyone is home safe and sound.� Roxton added.
Veronica started explaining about the course of events leading to their journey and possibly leading to finding her mother.
�And you think you will find your mother, Veronica?� Assai asked.
Veronica shrugged. �I don�t know, Assai. But this is the only clue I have to find her, and I have to follow it and hope that I will.�
�Well, I hope you do. After all these years of waiting, you deserve to find true happiness.�
Veronica smiled. �Thank you.�
�When are you planning to leave?�
�Early tomorrow morning.�
Marguerite inwardly groaned at the word early, but wasn�t surprised Veronica wanted to leave as quickly as possible. She�d probably push them just as hard as she did when they were looking for the Zanga.
Assai frowned. �So soon? But you only just arrived.�
�I�m sorry we can�t stay longer, Assai. But I wanted to stop by and make sure everyone was all right. Now that I see you all are, I want to get going. I�ll try to stop by again after everything is over. Maybe you�ll even get to meet my mother.�
Assai nodded and smiled. �I look forward to it. Well you must all be tired. Jarl and I will let you rest for your journey tomorrow.�
Everyone thanked Assai and Jarl for the food and hospitality before finally getting the rest they needed before they started their day tomorrow.