“Maybe nothing’s going on. You were in that brewery. You know both Geldou and Sibolt. We could wonder if you have something going on, if we wanted to.” The group laughed. “A lot of people from Pencadick Rill go there when they’re in the city. They have good food and fine brews.”

“They do,” several voices said together.

“Any idea when the results of the audit will be announced?”

“I’m sure the committee will take their time and be very thorough. It might be sometime next week.”

The group of people pushed back their chairs and stood up. As they walked toward the counter to pay the checks for the meals, Tysske Jelsma recognized Eiske. “Dr. Bonnema, how nice to see you! We were just talking about Geldou. How is she? Is she still the bookkeeper at Bonnema Boots?”

“I’ll let you talk to Geldou about her health. Doctors don’t talk to other people about their patients, unless they’re consulting on medical issues. I’m sure your doctor has told you that. Why are you asking whether she’s the bookkeeper?”

“I simply was asking about her. Haven’t seen her for a while. Hilke Schaff told me that Geldou and Bron were building new chicken houses and a brooding building. Perhaps she’s busy with that. I assume she’s still working with your dad?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Oh, you know. Just keeping tabs on people.”

“In other words, being nosy. I'm not interested in talking about other people.”

She giggled like a schoolgirl, “You know that I’ve always been that way, Doctor! Geldou is a good friend of mine. Rina Vander Wey mentioned the chicken houses to me. Geldou's so busy. She’s got her hands full with all those boys. I’ll bet her daughter gets lost in the mix sometimes. I need to get back to work.” She turned to go. “I’m so sorry, Jen! Jensjke Brower, this is Dr. Eiske Bonnema. Eiske, Jensjke works with me in the school administration office.”

Eiske and Jensjke shook hands. “Doctor, perhaps you’ve heard about the school audit that’s underway?”

“No, I’m not on the school board.”

“Perhaps there’s simply been a misunderstanding, but it seems that Geldou’s been receiving payments from a student’s lunch account.”

“It would be best if you took that up with Geldou. That is, if you’re on the school board.”

“Oh, I’m not.” Jensjke waved her hand dismissively. “We’d just like to know what’s going on.”

“If there’s an audit underway, I’m sure the finance committee will inform everyone who needs to know.”

“Of course,” Jensjke was clearly annoyed by Eiske’s response. She followed Tysske out of the diner.

Eiske paid for their meal and Syp followed him out to the hovercraft. “Just like a pair of nosy old biddies!” he exclaimed.

Syp tipped her head and looked at him curiously. “Why would you say that? A biddy is a chicken with a brood, right?”

“They cackle and fuss and don’t really have a reason to be making such a bunch of noise.”

Syp let loose a series of low whistles and they gradually grew in pitch. It was hard not to laugh when a Stafriez laughed, it was a mid-range trill and Syp seemed surprised by it. “You’re saying that those women were making a bunch of noise about nothing! They were just being nosy about Mom.”

“Exactly! They really had no business asking.”

Syp laughed again. “That’s why you told Jensjke Brower to talk to Mom! You knew she’d never do it, and you knew that Mom would tell her it was none of her business.” Syp looked at Eiske, “I knew about the audit.” She slowly told him what had happened on the day it had gotten its downloads. “I was worried that Mom would get in trouble for doing what she did. But now, I don’t feel like it’s a big deal.”

“Maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s simply something that the school financial office does for various families. We have other things to think about, Syp. I think we should stop at Jasper and Minnie Blok’s on the way home.”

“Aren’t they the people who moved onto Grandpa and Grandma Bron’s farm after they died?”

“They are. Let’s go talk to Minnie about the herb garden.”

He sped along the road to the Blok’s farm. “You know a lot of people, Eiske,” Syp observed. “How do you keep track of who’s who?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“How did you keep track of the kids in your classes?” he countered.

Syp put its head down. “I didn’t. I knew Suske by her voice.”

“You didn’t recognize them because of your visual challenges.”

“Right.”

“I remember voices, mannerisms, things that happened. There’s also injuries and illnesses that people have had, and the babies born to them.”

“It seems like a lot of information.”

“It is. Every person is different. I wonder,” he murmured to himself. He wondered whether the midwife remembered the birth of the quintuplets. Maybe she would talk to him about the births.

“What do you wonder?”

He didn’t want to answer her question. He turned into the Blok property. Minnie Blok was out hanging laundry on the clothesline. “Dr. Bonnema,” she said as she came to the hoovercraft. “What brings you out here?”

“We came to see you, Minnie, because we have some questions about Mom’s old herb garden.”

“Oh, yes! She did a wonderful job starting it. I added to it this past year.”

“May we walk through?”

“There's not much to see. Its still too cold. . Eageltsje did a nice job on thevpaths. You can see those, but that's about all. We were friends years ago, when we went to school together.” She looked at Eiske and then at Syp. “Who is this, Doctor?”

“This is Syp.”

“Syp. Syp? You’re Eaglestje’s granddaughter? Eagletsje loved you so much. She talked about you all the time. She told me that she was sure you would be a botanist when you grew up."

“Grandma talked about me?”

“Yes.” Minnie nodded her head firmly. “She told me how you would repeat the names of the plants back to her and what they were used for. Do you remember any of it?” She led them into a maze of pathways. ?{

“I do remember,” Syp nodded. “I would like to learn more.” They looked over the areas where perennials would come up.

“I would love to teach you. Perhaps some afternoons after school?” Syp smiled at this offer.

Eiske knew that Syp wasn’t ready to tell people that it wasn’t in school anymore. “Minnie,” he ventured, “I told Syp that it would be helpful to have an herb garden at my place. Do you think you might give us some cuttings when the plants are big enough?”

“I have some plants in the house you could take cuttings from today, if you’d like.”

Syp smiled at this. “I would love that, Mrs. Blok. We could put them in rooting hormone, Eiske. They'll be the perfect size to plant in the spring." Its eyes became a golden-brown and its hair changed to match Minnie’s white curls. Eiske recognized that Syp was very pleased by this offer. Minnie didn't seem to notice the changes.

“When its warmer, and the ones outside have grown several inches, you can take cuttings from those, too. Will you be planting some trees and plants for spices?” She looked at Syp.

Syp looked at Eiske. “If you’ll provide them, we’ll give them a try,” he said.

“This is going to be so much fun!” Syp said excitedly. “What things did you add?”

“I tried to grow a vanilla bean plant but had to dig it up. It didn’t do well outside. It’s inside sitting in the warmest place I could find. This year I added saffron, star anise, and juniper.”

Syp nodded. “Grandma had juniper. She used it for bladder infections.”

“How do you remember that, Syp? It’s been two whole years since she died. You were what? Three?”

“Yes. Grandma had a lot of bladder infections.” They followed Minnie inside. “Wow! This room is awesome!” The Bloks had added a sunroom onto the house. There were plants on the floor, on plant stands, and hanging from the rafters.

“Did you know that I own the greenhouse on the south side of Pencadick Rill, Syp?”

“I didn’t. You have a Togarlian Metsu? Those are very rare. Look at it, Eiske. It will change colors as the temperature gets warmer.” Eiske and Minnie’s eyes met. They heard Syp gasp. “I’ve seen pictures of these. Tefir Raw, from Nacternis Island. I thought they didn’t survive outside of that ecosystem.”

“Scientists identified the metallurgical element that it thrives on.”

“Really? A metal. That’s so amazing! Look at you,” Syp said to the plant. “You are so gorgeous.” It gently rubbed the plant’s leaves.

“I’ll get some bags for cuttings and seeds, and I’ll be right back.”

“Syp, you’re really excited, aren’t you? Maybe you should think about being a botanist.”

“Or a healer,” Syp murmured. She touched a plant and it seemed to lengthen.

“A healer? Do you mean a doctor?”

“I don’t know, Eiske. I don’t see how I can go back to school. Do doctors use native plants as medicines?”

“We do,” he said. “I took classes for what would be the equivalent of a year here on Zuphreon.”

“I didn’t know that. I thought medicine was all about internal organs, bones, and repairing things.”

“Some doctors specialize in certain things.”

“Did you have a specialty?”

“I did. Zuphreon thoracic medicine, with a second focus in adolescent psychology.”

Minnie entered the room just then. She gave Syp a stack of stickers and tiny plastic bags. “If you fill these with soil, then punch a few holes in them for drainage and put them under a grow light, you’ll have an herb garden before you know it.” She went from plant to plant, clipping and trimming leaves for plant starts. Syp put them in the bags and made a label for each bag. After Minnie clipped from each of the herbs, she went to a high shelf by the big window. “This is from one of your grandma’s houseplants.”

Syp recognized it. “It’s a violet. Look at all those blooms! Beautiful, just beautiful! She loved these things. She said that her ancestors brought a few live plants with them from the Aphyx star system, and this was one.”

“She wanted you to have one, Syp. I have four others. I’d like you to keep this pot.” Syp turned away and blinked. With its hand over its mouth, it swallowed hard several times. “It has four different plants in it. You can see the different colors.”

“You are so kind. I don’t know how to thank you!”

“You can thank me by being my friend and student. You’ll work it out, so that you can come and learn? Come to the greenhouse in the village. I’m there every day.”

“I’d like to think about it for a few days, if that’s okay.”

“Of course, it’s okay. I hope you’ll say yes. Not very many people are interested in plants like you are.”

Syp thanked Minnie again for her generosity and told her she would treasure the violets. As Eiske and Syp went to his home, Syp was very quiet. Eiske watched as her eyes rapidly changed colors. They carried the treasures that Minnie had given them into the house.

“You’re really thinking hard about something.” Syp didn’t respond. “I’m eager to hear about it.”

“I don’t know how to explain. I have an idea. It’s starting to perc – perc- What’s that word that Grandma says the coffee pot does? It starts with perc. My idea is starting to cook.”

“Percolate.”

“I have an idea percolating.”