Wildflower

8

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2142

"They're here."

"Oh my God," Grace muttered. She put down her walkie talkie and buttoned up her coat. "Oh my God."

"Just relax, Grace," Amelia advised, playing with Liza's hair. "You've done what you can. They would be wrong to deny you."

"But they still might. This project is my life, Amelia, and if I mess it up now, I'll never forgive myself."

"Grace, we have to go greet them now." René gently pushed her toward the door. Amelia patted her daughter on the head, then bent down to eye level.

"Stay where you are until I say your name, okay? The people who are coming are big and blue, but they are nice. Remember the Na'vi we practiced?"

"Yes." Liza whispered. She'd heard stories of the Na'vi, and how her mom had met them before, but she'd never seen one herself. Today, they were coming to Hell's Gate to talk about a school— one that Liza would also go to. She liked the idea of school, but at six years old, she didn't know what to expect out of the aliens. Maybe they were nice, but would they be scary? She hoped not. Being the only kid in all of Hell's Gate meant that she didn't have a lot of friends, so perhaps she would get along with the Na'vi children that were coming today. According to her mom, there would be four children visiting today, and two adults. The adults were the "clan leaders", but that was as much as Liza knew. She hid behind a wall as Grace opened the door.

Liza gasped. They were huge. The one who looked like a man stared down at Grace until she stuck out her hand. "Thanks for agreeing to meet with us," she said in Na'vi, all traces of her earlier nerves gone. The alien studied Grace's outstretched palm, then stared her down until she lowered it. "Welcome to Hell's Gate."

"Thank you." he replied. "Your Na'vi is very good."

That was about all Liza could understand as the pace of their conversation picked up. She peeked around the wall so she could see more introductions being made; Grace pointing to Amelia and René, and the chief stepping aside to allow his wife into the doorway. "These are my daughters," said the chief, whose name Liza had figured out to be Eytukan, as he pressed two young Na'vi forward. Liza's eyes widened. These were the kids? They were both as tall as René was!

"We have also brought their friends." Mo'at, the wife, added. She gestured for two more Na'vi to enter the frame, both boys. The taller one nodded stoically at Grace, but the shorter one-- if he could even be called that-- looked directly at Liza. She jumped, doing a double take, but she wasn't mistaken. His eyes were locked directly on hers, round and curious in a mirror image of hers. They stared at each other until Grace made a motion for them to move outside. Liza watched her mom whisper a question, and Grace nodded.

"Liza! Come meet the kids!" Amelia called. That was Liza's cue. Quietly, shyly, she stepped out from her hiding place. Mo'at could not hide her shock, and Liza supposed that, to her, she looked impossibly tiny. She stepped closer, very much aware that she was the smallest in the room, and clutched her mother's hand. She'd been instructed not to hide behind Amelia's leg, but if she hadn't, she knew where she would be right now. The kids, who had all begun to shuffle toward the grounds, turned to stare at her.