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I nodded and moved toward the washroom door but I didn't even open it.
When I glanced back, Om-mother had her back to me. Her face was turned up toward the lights in the sky. She trusted me completely.
Swallowing, I glanced around.
We were at the far edges of the crowd now and I didn't see a soul turned in my direction.
No one saw me weave around to the back of the outhouse and dart toward the nearest alley. Still, it wasn't until I was in the shadows that I could breathe.
I went through the alleys, trying my best to avoid being exposed until I was finally at the southernmost point of the market, where Addy had told me to meet him. I could still hear the fireworks and music but they sounded so distant. I wasn’t sure that I had ever been alone outside like this and my heart started racing even faster.
The Alley here was dark. Too dark to see for a moment when I stepped into its shadows.
“Addy?” I whispered and someone touched my hand.
Somehow, I knew it was Addy’s hand even before he said a word.
“You came,” he whispered.
My eyes finally began to adjust, and I saw his form, standing in the shadows.
I placed my hand over his, even though I knew I shouldn't.
“What happened, Addy?” I asked. “Why did you ask me to meet you here?”
For a long moment, he didn't answer.
“Come with me,” he finally said. “I'll explain everything once we are there.”
I shook my head.
“What do you mean? Explain what?”
I looked back in the direction that I had come from anxiously. Any moment now the fireworks would be over, and my om-mother would realize that I was gone. Perhaps she already had.
Addy tugged.
“Please, Alil,” he whispered.
The desperation was clear in his voice and that was the only reason my feet moved.
I followed him grudgingly through the alley and out the other side. He pulled me into another one and then onto a path.
I didn't have time for this. I had to go back.
“Tell me where we're going,” I begged.
“I can't,” he whispered. “Just trust me Alil. I know what I am doing.”
Somehow, I didn't believe that for a second as I was pulled into a small park that was filled with Addy's friends.
The three that he hung around with stood before one of the human machines that rode atop the desert sand with ease. A dune buggy, I believed. Inside of it, there were three prone bodies. I immediately recognized one as the temple priest, Naz, bent over the side as though asleep.
My heart was in my throat as I took in the scene.
“Addy,” I whispered, backing up a step. “What have you done?”
He looked at me, his eyes wide as though he was just as shocked as I was.
