Wei Loon Jingsheng
"Tell me, Loon, what is this Rendezvous like?" Chi Unesugi asked.
The question ambushed Loon. She was dragging herself home from an exhausting day of an impromptu
"Who Am I and Who Could I Be?" presentation, an introduction to the confidence course, and two
boring lectures on project scheduling and time reporting. All she was thinking about was a shower
and a glimpse of "As the World Turns" on Em-Deh's Everyday-Life Channel. Just duck in her entrance
alongside the house, then scoot direct to her cottage. The last thing she expected was her
landlady sitting neatly on a garden bench, amidst the peaceful patterns in the sand.
And awash with fears and sorrows.
Loon took the stepping stones in three quick lunges and slipped onto the bench beside Chi Unesugi.
"What has happened?"
"Kudoka has struck Byukan-Hamil again! Our combine has been dissolved. All of our construction
contracts were cancelled. Trik Eckart, responsible for Ganj Dareh's roads and paths, has decided
that they are fine; they will be fine for the summer. Perhaps, in the fall ..." She shook her
hanging head. "How can we last until fall?"
"And your husband? Lith Consulune?"
"He still works, but his combine is not hiring. He fears they may close down the arena because
there are more and more fights. Or at least cancel some games."
"You could just stay home with the twins."
"Oh, Loon, we cannot afford for me to stay home. Even with the stipend from the Rendezvous
for your stay with us, we struggle to pay our way. That is why I asked about your experience
there."
"Oh, it's fine for me: I'm just starting out. But a person of your experience, your years, what
can they teach you?"
"Ah, child, perhaps you will find that age does not bring certainty. Experience does not assure
the appropriate skills. I am sure that I can learn much at this Rendezvous ... if they
will take me."
"They're taking everyone! They have to: some deal between the director and the anshin chief. But
they also need teachers! Perhaps you—"
Chi Unesugi wearily shook her head. "I bring with me no special skills, no desired talents. I
have merely gone to work every day, applied myself diligently as my tactician asked, then come home
early to where my life is: my husband and my children. This job made such an indulgence possible,
but it did not award me anything worth passing on to others."
"Oh!" How grime for Chi Unesugi! How grime for her family! I'll never take such a grime path
myself. Never!
Images of the Rendezvous flooded over her: the campus, a former industrial park, where she'd
started classes today; the teachers and students she'd met there; her study plan, crammed with
fresh objectives that pointed to her two-year goal: employment as a constable with an anshin
combine somewhere, anywhere; her penchant for peacemaking directing her life again. She moved
through the Rendezvous with pleasure and a freshening confidence — and she could help Chi Unesugi
do the same! At last, a chance to return her kindness.
Loon popped to her feet. "I'll take you to register tomorrow! Perhaps we'll share some classes."
She fingered the watch on Chi Unesugi's wrist to see the time. "Come on now. Let's get dinner
started, then go pick up the twins. It'll be fine. You'll see!"
Chi Unesugi lifted her face with an awakening smile. It carried some adult skepticism, even some
patience for an innocent's dreams, but soon, hope broke it open. Chi Unesugi clapped her thighs
with resolve and stood up too. Arm in arm, they strode into the house.
