Chapter 6
As she stood in the meadow, Isika watched her brother sing, trying to untangle the threads of voices to hear his voice more clearly. She was proud of him. Not long ago, he was a shrinking, terrified boy, certain the voices in his head were his own insanity. He fled people and difficult situations. Now she was the one having a hard time and he was in the center of the ceremony, singing the old stories. Her soul leapt up as she listened. A humming inside told her that, though she had never learned the song, she would be able to sing every word perfectly if she tried, but she kept her mouth tightly closed, and her fists too, wishing she could disappear.
People had whispered as she and Uncle approached the meadow. They made a wide space around her, trying not to touch me, she thoug
