At the Orange Houses, twenty-one days before the hanging, Fatima rides the elevator to Mik's place. She's impressed with the speed of the thing. More accurately, she's impressed with electricity in general.
When she
gets to Mik's place, Mik's mom and NaNa question Fatima. What's her religion?
Where are her parents? Why does she live alone?
At first
Fatima is reluctant to answer all of their questions, but pretty soon she opens
up. She's been trying to convince herself to live alone, but if she's honest
with herself, she misses her sister—it's nice to hang out with a family.
After
dinner, Fatima helps clear the plates, and Mik takes her new friend to her
room. Mik shows her the drawings she's been working on.
Fatima
loves them, but she asks where the people are on the streets.
Mik's
mom comes in with some clothes for Fatima.
All she has
are some ratty old clothes, and the ones from Mik's mom fit her nicely; Fatima
is grateful. So is Mik. She fiddles with her hearing aids so she can hear
everything that's happening.