Dindi

Wailing awakened her. Dindi sat up, her heart pounding as it had when she’d been kidnapped. The sky, visible through the smoke hole in the ceiling, showed the face of night freckled with stars. She identified the source of misery as Gwenika. While her grandmother patted her back helplessly, Gwenika threw up into the hearth. The burning vomit stank up the whole hut.

“Is Gwenika sick again?” asked Gwena, rubbing her eyes. She sounded less concerned than Dindi would have expected. “What is it this time?”

“I’m going to die,” sobbed Gwenika. “This time, I know I’m going to die.”

“Fa, then, can’t you just die quietly for once and let the rest of us get some sleep?” demanded Gwena.

Gwenika gagged and retched again, although nothing came out this time. She looked terrible. “One day I will die, and then you’ll be sorry you were so mean to me.”

“I’ll be too busy catching up on my rest,” said Gwena.