Tongana sat on her porch with Nakasi, watching as thick columns of smoke rose from the jungle in the north. In the dramatic light of the fading sun, each cloud became a grim portent. At the moment, Bonde Wakulima was at peace, safe in Ahura Mazda's hands, but clearly Ahriman was not idle either.
"Something's going on in there," said Tongana. "Probably a fight."
Nakasi laughed. "It looks like the Mauves and Sabers aren't getting along after all." She paused. "When do you think the war'll end?"
"You can't try to predict a war. If you do, you'll only be caught off guard when things change. Sometimes they change for the better, sometimes for the worse, and all you can do is be ready for anything."
"Then how about this... if I were getting a job tomorrow, how long will it be before I earn enough to buy my own house?"
Tongana gave a knowing smile. "You have your eyes on the prize, don't you?"
"Yeah. Don't be surprised."
"Well then, that depends on who you work for and how well you do. And it also depends on how many houses they build a few months from now. Bonde Wakulima has never had so many people come in at once. You'll just have to be patient and see."
Nakasi sighed bitterly. "All my life, I've been telling myself to be patient, and I'm sick of it. It wasn't easy, getting accepted here-- don't think this was the first time I tried. Now that I've done it, I'm through waiting. I want something real."
"I understand, but it simply takes more time. You have to learn not to hang your hopes on things in the future. Take comfort in what you've already gained. You're out of the jungle, aren't you?" She held up a sandwich. "And now Morgan's cooking for you. I swear, if my old unit had had a cook half as good as him, we'd have been a happy bunch."
Nakasi had stopped listening. Her dark eyes were fixed on no-man's-land. Here on the outskirts, she had a clear view of the ashen expanse.
Putting on her night vision goggles, Tongana stood up and followed Nakasi's gaze, seeing a dozen figures, maybe as many as twenty, trotting into Bonde Wakulima from the jungle. The tall ones in front waved their arms above their heads, displaying unarmed hands. A border guard poked up from the trench and aimed her gun at them, but did not fire.
Tongana stood up, grabbing up her rifle as an afterthought. "I'm going to check that out." She loped off down the street, hoping to reach the trench before the outsiders did.
"Hey!" came Nakasi's voice, accompanied by the whine of an engine. She drove up on a three-wheeled motorcycle. "Get on."
"Where did you get this?" asked Tongana, getting on behind her.
"The garage down the street."
"You mean you stole it?"
"I thought you said it was fine to borrow things in this town."
"But you have to ask first!"
"Fine, I will next time. For now, let's go see what's happening."
By the time they reached the trench, the outsiders had already stopped, and a few other guards had gathered. Now that she was closer, Tongana could see that the immigrants walked in two groups. The adults came first, led by a woman who carried a sledgehammer over her shoulder, the only weapon in the whole group. Behind her stood a hard-eyed adolescent girl with six other children huddled in her shadow.
"We need shelter," said the leader with the sledgehammer, as Nakasi stopped in front of the trench. "My group is in danger."
Dismounting, Tongana peeled off her night vision goggles. "Who are you?"
