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37. GO NORTH, ASS OOMAM; And Seek Your Future.
Aleashnnh = An old friend.

Morning comes. The Sunstar is shining! Red light outside. I go to the windows, look north out over the courtyard. It's early. Not many people.

"Oomam ass," Eenunh murmurs, "Come back to bed!" I do what I'm told.

We shower and dress, go out. No one's up. Eenunh begins preparing a breakfast, greenies, orangies, meatballs, ginger-cake. There's milk and cereal. I feel at home.

Soda comes out, looks into the kitchen, smiles, goes into the dining room. I hear her shuffling papers in there, leave her alone.

Thin Man's up, looking like he could use more sleep. Couldn't we all? Tinunh! Little beauty, lovely grin, eyes a'flicker. She goes and hugs her mother, stands there, face buried in her mother's bosom. Eenunh continues preparing food. She's talking quietly. I look in cabinets and find white plates. Drawers, cutlery. I rinse them all, wipe them dry. Set the table around Soda's work.

We eat. The girls converse. I listen. Just mother/daughter talk. Some expressions of how they hope things go in the hearing. They look at me. I look at my food.

There's someone knocking at the door. I go. It's one of the unit commanders. I stand back, gesture toward the dining room where Thimiannh is sitting. They converse. Soda looks up, back down at her papers. The commander gives the salute, apparently, because Thin Man gives it back. He turns, comes back across the room, brushes fingertips with me.

"Let's all take a weapon, and an extra clip. We're in the most secure place in the city, but I don't feel... safe... comfortable," Thin Man says. I like his thinking.

I wonder how... unusual it will be for us to walk around armed in their Government complex. I trust Thin Man's judgment that it won't be. It sure wasn't at the store last night.

I start to put on my heavy coat, but Eenunh says we can get to the Courts without going outside. "It's a long walk around the complex, but I think that's the way we should go, inside."

I hang it on the back of a chair there by the bed. I think to look in my pack-bag. I forgot when we came back last night. My corn-knife belt is pushed to one side. The two knives are on the other side! Someone was in here while we were gone! I go out in the living room, tell Thin Man of my set-up.

"Yes," he says. "They came as soon as we left. They were in every room in all three apartments. They got into peoples' luggage. We all had our weapons bags with us. They would likely have stolen them or damaged the weapons if we hadn't. We're not safe. We're not secure. Our only defense is self-defense."

We're ready to go. We're all strapped on with a rifle, a clip in, an extra clip somewhere on our person. We might as well be out in the woods somewhere!

Thimiannh's looking at us. "I don't think you and your family should carry a weapon. We're military. You're civilians. Leave your weapons. Bag them up, and I'll have the men take charge of them while you're out."

As soon as we've set our three weapons bags on the coffee table I feel insecure. You get used to knowing you have firepower, weaponry of any kind. When Eenunh and Tinunh first took me in, they gave me Tinunh's bed hollow. Her rock collection was arrayed on the shelf in the back wall. I took comfort knowing there were rocks at hand I could use as weapons.

"I want my corn knife," I say aloud. Eenunh ponders it.

"Soda said to wear the common clothes, to look like working people," Eenunh says. "When we work we wear our corn knives. We'll wear our corn knives!"

Tinunh runs back to her room. I go to my pack-bag and belt up.

Troops are secure in the hall. They have two rifles, one diagonal, barrel down strapped off their right shoulder, one held port arms. Their uniforms are stiff with clips. I see the shapes in their shirt pockets. Belt knives. Canteens. Four set out ahead of us, each soldier waiting about eight paces before following. They 'stagger', one on the left side of the hall, one on the right. Glancing back I see the four behind, same configuration. They take turns turning and walking backward, letting the others pass them and falling in again in the rear. Angles, straight sections, turn and another straight.

Ramps. Down and down. We're still on the second floor. We come out into a wider hall, brighter light, windows on the courtyard, lots of people. A commannh team approaches us, shows Thin Man a yellow-orange paper. He hands it to Soda. He converses with the commannh. The woman seems friendly. The man is more formal. They turn and we follow them.

The Courtroom! Our troops station outside the doors, four in the hall, various locations, across by the windows, not in front of the windows, but by pillars between the windows, and inside, four, two each to the left and right of two commannh teams who stand against the back wall, close to the doors.

It's all white in here, dark wooden railings and the Koob-stand where the panel must sit. There's a central part higher than two 'wings' to left and right. There's a white table on the left, three chairs on the other side. We take our places at a table centered in the room, as rehearsed. Soda comes out of a door behind the Koob stand, glowing in her yellow suit! She stands on the left end, doesn't sit in the chair there. The rest of us sit, Thin Man, Eenunh, Tinunh, and me, me, The Alien. I feel it. Feel alien. My heart pounds. I calm myself.

And we wait, and wait, and wait.

Finally a door opens! Clerks come in, take their places. There's the... guy... the prosecutor type from Entemannh Garibe. I don't like the look on his face. He looks like someone caught him cheating at cards and he has to try to dignify his argument without anything logical to say.

The Koobs! They file in, white robes, old men, white hair, some just greying at the temples, nine. We all stand up.

And here come the Koobs from back home. They sit at the table off to the left. I don't like the main man's face, or the smirk on the one on his right.

Without further do-do the main Koob on the raised platform calls Sodaensus by name, commands her to begin.

"My clients," she says, "the family you see here, are seeking to secure their family by authorization for ass oomam to immigrate, to naturalize as an Emoilihn Citizen. It is our position that their intent is sincere and justified by their dedication to each other as a family. All have expressed clear agreement that this is what they want to do, as a family, to live from now into the future, as a family. We were prepared with character witnesses at Entemanh Garibe, Emoilihn Citizens who have befriended ass oomam and would attest to his good character and adaptability to Emoilihn life. They could not make this journey with us, but many have agreed that if it is necessary they will come. I have their letters of recommendation here."

There's some other stuff, legalities, loyalty oaths, education, responsibility. It sounds like folk tradition of the Emoilihn, common law.

There are questions and answers. Finally the main man addresses me, not to me but through Sodaensus. I stand. Soda looks at me, nods. He asked Soda, "Does ass oomam (the alien) know what he's doing, coming to live in our society, our climate, our economics, our troubles, our everything?"

I speak in Emoilihn, "I have lived here for several lunar cycles now, honored one, three seasons, so far. On my planet, in the location where I was born and grew up, there were four seasons and I learned to love them all, hot seasons, cold seasons, and the mild seasons of transition. I have found friends among the Emoilihn, Eenunh, the first, who came for me when I was left behind by my people, Eenunh and Tinunh who got me out of the desert before The Waters. One more day and I would have been floating somewhere, alive or dead. I have found employment, earned a living, able to pay my bills, and help my family. I seek legal permission to immigrate, to become a citizen, to... to marry. We are already family. We simply seek to make it formal under Emoilihn Law, that we may join our lives together."

Something causes a buzz among the Koobs. The main Koob up top addresses the main Koob from back home. It seems he had not been advised of that intent to marry, to form a family, to formalize the family we have formed, which Soda assured me was addressed in open Court, and in unofficial conversations, back home.

"We will take a short recess," the main man declares. He rises, goes, the others following. The three from back home don't go. They sit, the one on the right and the main cat talking quietly. The one on the left, sits, hands folded, impassive. Soda stands in front of Eenunh, unsmiling. We don't talk.

We wait. The door opens. The Koobs return. Much shuffling of feet, scraping of chairs.

"It seems we overlooked that element, marriage, in the reports we were given," he says. He looks unapprovingly at our home panel. The main Koob hangs his head, doesn't look back, studies his hands. "This element had not been considered, that ass oomam and an Emoilihn might marry. I... we... are agreed that immigration may be granted, but marriage demands more consideration. Can... can our... two species... marry? Can we... do you intend to try to... have children? We... I don't know... how to judge...."

He seems genuinely at a loss for words.

"I think the whole matter will require agreement from up north!" he declares.

Up north?

"We will refer the case for consideration in the northern Courts, along with our own judgment, if we can make one by that time, in hand. If they are in agreement it will be ruled on."

With that he's up and out and the others follow!

The main Koob from back home struggles to his feet, nearly trips over his chair to turn and race to the door, following the other panel. His buddy to his right is only a little less frantic. The one on the left end, my right, sits calmly, hands folded. He uses his hands on the table to rise, slowly. I see an exchange of looks between him and Soda. He turns to a clerk, says something. He goes out without looking at us. The clerk advises, "A copy of the ruling will be ready in a short time. You can wait or we can deliver it to you."

Soda says, "I'll wait." She turns to us, says, "Go back to the apartment. I'll come when I get the papers."

Thin Man tells his troops inside to stay with Soda. Outside he just gestures and the four form the way we came, staggered left/right in the hall, two before, two behind.

"Eenunh Entemannh!" a woman's voice!

I look and see a woman, coming slowly across the space.

"Aleashnnh!" Eenuhn says, her voice shrill!

They embrace! They are crying. They murmur, voices choked with emotion.

Eenunh turns to me. "You remember the woman I told you about. The one whose door was kicked in and never fixed. This is her, my neighbor from long ago!"

I brush fingertips with her. "Ass Oomam!" she says. We've been hearing about you. I heard an 'Eenunh' was marrying an Oomam, but I didn't know it was my Eenunh!"

"Your door is still broken!" Eenunh says. They laugh, and cry, and hug. Tinunh stands watching, her face smiling, eyes watery.

"This is Tinunh!" Eenunh says. The woman crosses her hands over her chest. Eenunh seems to support her. She weeps. Hugs Eenunh. They stand. She turns away from Eenunh, touches Tinunh, says,

"You... you were just a baby! You... were just a baby! I didn't know where you went!" she tells Eenunh. She looks back at Tinunh, holds her shoulders. "I looked for you. I have some things of yours. I thought you would come back! I... I have things of yours," she says to Tinunh. She seems light-headed. Eenunh takes hold of her, hugs her from behind across her chest.

"I remember you," Tinunh says. "You baked bread. We sang songs."

The woman is reeling now, Eenunh holding her up. Tinunh takes hold of her, supports her.

"Breathe, Aleashnnh! You're going to faint!" Eenunh says, in a jocular tone, but I think it is a true statement. She looks pale.

"Eenunh Entemannh?" another woman's voice. There are three of them, all looking at Eenunh. She embraces one. Aleashnnh is doing introductions. They are people she works with. One is an old workmate of Eenunh's. Some men come. They are brushing fingertips with Eenunh. The hall fills with people. Soda comes out. We step away to the walls, let the throng have Eenunh. Thimiannh's soldiers are looking to him for orders. He gestures to stand down. I see him speak with one who then slips among the crowd to get close to Eenunh, but stays unobtrusive. Thin Man speaks to another, who does the same on Eenunh's other flank.

Commannh come and start telling people they have to disperse. Eenunh turns, arm in arm with Aleashnnh and, with Tinunh, they begin moving on down the hall away from where the rest of us are standing. Through an arch there is a doorway and it is held open and the crowd, murmuring loudly, goes out into the courtyard. As the space clears we go to the windows. Now the throng are following Eenunh across the lawn, across the roadway to the central park by the evergreen trees.

Thin Man dispatches two more soldiers to take a position close to Eenunh, "...but be unobtrusive," he commands. "Eenunh Entemannh is among friends!"

Soda, Thin Man and I, ass oomam, stand watching from the windows. I hear an outburst of laughter! Then, quiet. I hear Eenunh's voice, raised to be heard. There is a shout! "Neh!" Maybe one-hundred fifty voices! More of Eenunh speaking loudly. More laughter. The laughter goes on longer. More talk. Another, "Neh!" Time passes. Just as it seems to be becoming a long time...

Oh! Eenunh is coming. The crowd parts, people reaching to brush fingertips of both her hands. Tinunh and Aleashnnh follow. Our soldiers come behind. They come up the steps and in. The crowd disperses.

Soldiers form up, lead us to go back the way we came.

At the apartment Eenunh and her friend, and Tinunh go on down the hall to see the broken door, laughing. I hear someone say, "It was never fixed!", and commenting "Your apartment was always cold!" I can't tell Tinunh's voice from Eenunh's. She's an... adult among adults.

They come back. We all, troops and... my family... stand in a great circle in the living room. Two troops stand in the open doorway, facing opposite directions down the hall. I'm head-counting, ten troops. Two who stayed behind have emerged from wherever they hide when the rest of us leave, and are in the hall, outside the doorway. Thin Man speaks, tells everyone what has been decided. There is no grousing. But I want to bitch!

"We're going to have to go north, past Entemannh City, to some northern city, and another hearing?" I say, regretting my irate tone.

"Neh," Thin Man says, quietly. "We'll go home for two days, then... we'll go again."

I guess it was foolish of me to think it would go smoothly, with success today, or even a rejection of my immigration application... today. Stress over, one way or the other. But... a new... adventure... awaits. Will a northern city be as... eventful as this one?