Gardens of Wind
The call was raised that the Parjanya had been spotted approaching from the nor’east. There was an outcry among the women for all of the last minute tasks that still remained to be done, but Akeli slipped away before her mother could assign her some duty. She knew this wasn’t her father’s ship approaching, nor her Brandon’s ship either, but she still wanted to see it for herself before it docked. She climbed up between the hydroponics rafts to the catwalks that ran over the top of everything. She could still be seen through the glass roofs, but the gardens below were empty, all necessary chores finished early in anticipation of the arrival of the Parjanya and the festival to follow.
Akeli reached the end of the al-Khátún and leaned over the railing as far as she dared. Th
