I clutched the beautiful emerald broach that Nadine had given me so long ago. My eyes grew hazy with tears as my mind drifted back to that evening whe... we'd shared parts of each other that noone else would ever have."My stars!" Nadine called out as she made her way down the long and winding staircase. "You've done more in a few hours than that bitch Maureen did in two days! Aren't you glad I got rid of her ass?"I laughed softly. By then, I had been working as Nadine's housekeeper for over three. She bought us lunch at a crab shack. That afternoon, we strolled five miles through the city’s largest park. We’d left a lamb roast defrosting in the refrigerator. I cooked peas and carrots, mashed potatoes, and sweet corn on the cob, while she carefully broiled it. After dinner, we watched more of the costume drama she and Andrew had started.“I’m going to bed, Grandma.” Andrew said as soon as the credits rolled.“You can sleep in, tomorrow.” Mother instructed.I woke at seven am with my son’s. On the second day of the tour, she came to me. She said that she wanted to spend time with me and sat beside me on the last seat of the bus.It was around 10:30 in the night. We were traveling to some other place for the night stay. All the students were damn tired including the staff. Everyone was either sleeping or talking with each other. So there was no problem of her sitting with me alone in the last seat.In the seat before me, my close friend and his lover were together smooching. Seeing. Touch her mind. Instead of the clear communication he was accustomed to with her, he struggled to send her his needs and instructions, forming concepts to be sent through Little One.Apparently the Ship understood, because he received what had to be an acknowledgment. Soon, he could feel Little One struggle to maintain the link, then he was back in the lab swallowing hard, taking deep breaths as the vertigo again swirled around him.He realized that he could still feel Little One — feel her.