" Would that be that Jollis fellow that I met my first day here?" Yes."There was a pause. Lanno lifted the vial briefly. "He has very dark hair, doesn...'t he?"Vanlo looked thoughtful. "Yes, he does."Lanno made a face. "But he hardly struck me as the kind that would do something like this." Admittedly, I know little of the man," said Vanlo. "But his Lordship trusts him implicitly. And I see no motivation on his part." Then that doesn't leave us with much, Vanlo."Vanlo stood up. "On the contrary,. I, as a Muslim girl was brought up without ever considering myself as girl, one who could be appreciated, liked or praised as beautiful, pretty or charming. I was not allowed to use any makeup. I was a commodity or at best a chattel who would at appropriate time be handed over to a male for procreation. After meeting Puja, who used little makeup for the College, I started having weird thoughts, comparing my own self with Puja.I was not Caucasian white but have much fairer color than Puja, my. It took me about half an hour to get everything straightened out with the aircraft maintenance and flight service people before we were able to leave for Ridgeline. Of course, even though it was almost eleven o'clock when we finally got to Mama's house, she and my Dad were still awake and right there to greet us.Mama didn't seem that surprised that Cindy and Dale were with me. I figured Joyce must have warned her about it. We spent an hour in the library together, talking about business, and. Uncaring in its demands. Uncaring of the tears that decorate my bruised and glowing face. Uncaring of the ragdoll shaking of my shoulders, the forced gasping breaths, my bouncing breasts, the heaving of my stomach, the twisted writhing of my entirety. Uncaring, my fingers clinging to its rough smooth surface as it jackhammers. "Bitch." Just flesh. Trembling and pathetic. Just blood and muscle and sinew. Worthless. Recyclable. Fleeting in existence. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. Worm food. Soon.