Some days later it was spring. Soon it would be summer, arriving just as abruptly as it had left. It was mid morning and everyone was having morning tea and snacks.

The doughnut maker was back under the guest room veranda. It also had a new addition. Kana had been busy, with guidance from Mado and help from Hikari, and had made the oil container for the machine. It was rectangular tray a metre long, with the doughnut dispenser hopper sitting at one end. In the final machine it would contain a sprocket chain arrangement that would move the doughnuts along in an orderly fashion. Right now it just had the heater elements and a drainage spigot. It also had its own supporting table; the folding table was now only used for serving.

Actually only the older ones were having tea. However everyone was having doughnuts. Kana had operated the dispenser and Hikari had manually moved the doughnuts along with a spatula.
"I like the one with the cinnamon icing the best." said Sam.
Most of the children disagreed.
"The chocolate coated ones are the best!" said Hana, waving her remaining piece around with so much energy that most of it ended up on Sam's overalls.
"Oops" said Sam.
"That's mine!" said Hana, as she scooped the remains back into her hands.
Some crows looked on and gave their opinion about all of this.

The house mother led the children away. Sam relaxed in a chair, contemplating the chocolate smudge on his overalls. Hikari and Kana started to clean the machine. They drained the hot oil into an aluminium pot, and carefully lifted it onto the folding table.
"Nobody come near this for a while, ok" said Hikari. "It is hot!"
Kana went to get a couple buckets of water to clean the hopper.

At this point one of the crows took off and flew straight at Hikari's head. Startled, she stepped back, tripped over the leg of a chair and fell to the ground on her back. She was winded and he wings had taken a beating. And as she had fallen her hand hit the leg of the fold up table, and it started to collapse onto her.
With the container of hot oil directly above her head. Starting to fall.
When the crow had flown at Hikari, Sam had already started to rise out of his chair. He saw the oil start to fall.
Sam's world went silent. His brain decided that hearing wasn't going to be of any use, so it just switched it off. His brain also turned up his perceptual speed, so from Sam's point of view everything became s-l-o-w. He calculated his footsteps.

Accelerate off his left foot.
Hit ground with right foot.
Left foot, keep accelerating.
Adjust stride so that his right foot lands half a metre in front of Hikari.

The pot full of oil was now tilting over, in free fall, almost clearing the table which was collapsing and folding away from it.

Bend knees to get torso in line with the pot.
Raise left foot to clear Hikari; aim for position half a metre beyond her.
Reach out and grab pot with both hands.
Calculate the orientation of the pot to reduce spillage.
Smoothly guide pot to his chest.
Lift right foot as high as possible to avoid hitting Hikari.

He got a brief glimpse of Hikari face, a look of utter horror slowing forming, and he was past her. His knees were doubled, he managed to slam his left foot to the ground and keep himself going. Some of the oil had sloshed out of the pot onto his front.

Keep rotating torso to avoid spilling any oil on Hikari.
Area to the left was free, rotate pot to avoid any more spillage and throw it away.

By now his knees were too bent to allow any more running. He was beginning to tumble; his body was out of balance. He was calculating how to forward roll out of it -
"Wings in danger!" said one part of his brain to another.
He converted it to a mid air flip, tucked in his wings and hit the ground on his side. His feet were now leading the way, and he skidded and slid and hit the veranda wall with a thud. He moved from his side to lying on his back, arms flung out, and took his first breath since he started.

A second later Kana threw a bucket of cold water onto his chest. She then ripped the front of his overalls off, sending buttons flying everywhere, and poured on half of the other bucket of water. For good measure she used the rest of the bucket on his hands.

Sam's perception went back to normal. He could hear screams, the sound of gravel flying, water splashing off him. He struggled up and looked back
"Hikari!" he screamed, "Are you all right?"
Rakka was helping Hikari to her feet, together the two hobbled over.
"I'm fine, I'm fine" said Hikari.
Sam relaxed, the adrenalin subsided.
And then the pain hit him.

* * *

It took Kana forty two minutes to ride her bicycle into town, grab a doctor, impress upon her the seriousness of the situation, and get back, using the hospital's emergency van.
Forty two minutes while Sam's skin reddened. It wasn't blistering yet, but it will. Rakka kept pouring cold water over the burn sites, she had organised the twins to run a relay, getting water from the kitchen.
Forty two minutes while Hikari knelt beside his head, holding his head and arm, while tears streaked down her face.
Forty two minutes as the pain built up and Sam gritted his teeth to avoid screaming.

The doctor knelt beside him. She took into account his size, opened her bag, selected the appropriate pain killer, and injected it.
Forty three minutes later, Sam was floating on air.
"Wonderful. Please make sure I never get my hands on the stuff." said Sam. He had seen the results of out-of-control addiction, and even in his current state he was terrified of the idea of being addicted.
The doctor was kneeling on the ground, which was soaked with water from all of the wound irrigation being done by Rakka. She stood up and tried to brush off the mud:
"Kasai, get lots of towels!" cried Rakka.
"Sorry, doctor, but things are a bit -" said Rakka to the doctor.
"That's fine. First I will do an initial examination here". The doctor had brought a nurse with her, together they checked Sam over.
"Now we need to get him to a bed and then we can do a full examination" she said.
She then spoke to Sam "Can you get up?"

Sam might be floating at this moment, but it didn't make him any lighter. After some struggle he was assisted to the guest room bed. The doctor and the nurse gave him a though check:
"Yes Sam, I am going to take your overalls off. I've been a nurse for thirty years; I've seen sights a lot worse than your, admittedly ugly, body. We need to check for grazes, bruises and possible other burn sites, you know."
Hikari and Kana waited outside, looking like two little dejected birds that had been caught in an oil slick, except they weren't the ones who suffered from the oil.

The doctor left to get supplies, leaving the nurse behind to monitor the situation. The girls were allowed back into the room.
"Hello Hikari. You look horrible. You mustn't blame yourself, it was that ******* crow that caused you to trip and fall over." said Sam.
"Also, pardon my swearing; please don't use that word yourself."
"And thanks to Kana for getting the doctor so promptly."
They sat on either side of him. They couldn't even hold his hands, since they were burnt. They patted his head instead.

The next twenty four hours were a difficult time for Sam and his friends.

"Sam, you need to go to the toilet, and you have burnt hands, so I will be helping you. Don't fuss; didn't I say I've been a nurse for thirty years? When you're as incapacitated as you are, some things you just have to let go." said the nurse.
Sam was beginning to regard the nurse as a formidable elemental power, to be respected and feared, but never to be thwarted.

The doctor came back with special bandages and ointments. She and the nurse and Rakka and Hikari and Kana had a consultation, out of Sam's hearing range:
"It is easiest to just leave Sam her. It might be painful, but it's only first and second degree burns. However they will take a while to heal." said the doctor.
"So you will have take over some of Sam's medical care, if that agreeable."
It was.
"From what I have seen of you, would Kana and Hikari like to learn how to change his bandages?"
Yes they would.
"And perhaps Rakka should be the only one allowed to administer the pain relief?"
Rakka agreed.
"And to save too much embarrassment, I believe the nurse will be able to set things up so that Sam can go to the toilet by himself."
Much relief from the girls.
"However, just about in everything else Sam will need help." said the doctor.
"That's going to be irksome, Sam tends to be macho about accepting help on his own behalf." said Kana.
"Hmm, nurse, when you go in and set up Sam's ADL's (Acts of Daily Living), try and talk him into getting used to the idea of being dependent for a while." said the doctor.
"No worries." said the nurse.
The doctor smiled. "Nursie here has lots of experience, I'm sure Sam is no match for her."

"Ok Sam, here's how it's going to be. You have limited ability to look after yourself. So what if we put all of our effort into allowing you to toilet yourself, and for everything else you agree to let the girls look after you?"
Sam, thinking only about the toileting issue, said
"That's fine. Thanks. What a relief."
"Right. Then here's what we will be doing ..."

An hour later the arrangements were in place. It will be awkward and painful, and consume time, but Sam would be able to keep at least his basic dignity intact. He had to agree that in everything else he just had to let others help him. The nurse opened the door of the guest room and invited the girls in. By now the twins had joined them.
"It's all agreed. Apart from certain basics, Sam is happy to let you help him." said nurse.
The twins and Rakka clapped. Hikari and Kana looked pleased. Sam had a sinking feeling. He was beginning to realise at a gut level just how dependent he was going to be.

Firstly, the nurse took Hikari and Kana in her charge and showed them how to apply the bandages. Then it was the doctor's turn:
"Rakka, I will show you how to inject the Oxycontin. Now there are several very important steps involved, so please pay attention."

Afterwards, when Rakka had successfully given Sam his pain killer while a very attentive audience looking on, Sam said
"That's much better. You really have Oxycontin here?"
"Sure, we import it via the Toga. Unfortunately, what with you and some other emergencies the hospital is having, I will have to restrict your usage just slightly. If you can make these supplies last for the next three or four days, until our next shipment, that will be useful." said the doctor.
She had a discussion with Rakka about dosages and timings and recording the injections on Sam's chart.

"Where did the Oxycontin come from?" mused Sam to himself.
"Is there some pharmaceutical warehouse in Europe where the Toga ring up and order 100 units of Oxycontin, the paper work is coming by fax? How do they pay? And where is Earth in relation to Guri, anyway? Or is Guri on a world of its own in the company of lots of other Guris? Perhaps Guri#243 specialises in manufacturing drugs, and the Toga form the distribution network? And continuing in that vein, perhaps Guri#813 is the one I would have normally been assigned to, but for some reason I ended up in this Guri?" Sam decided he had better keep these speculations to himself.

* * *

Sam still hadn't, quite, learnt his lesson.
Tea time had arrived. Sam had struggled out of bed, with Hikari and Kana pushing against the back of his shoulders with all their might. Before she had left, the nurse had already helped him into his pyjamas. He had a bandage over half of his chest, and both hands were covered. He wobbled over to his chair and sat down heavily. The chair creaked. He took a few deep breaths:
"Sorry, everyone, I didn't realise how weak I have become. And the accident was only this morning."
Hikari put a bowl of stew in front of him. She had carefully checked its temperature to make sure it was not too hot. Jika put a large handkerchief over his front. Kasai said:
"Now I can feed you the stew."
Sam frowned. "No, I am not totally hopeless."
"But your hands, you can't use them." said Kasai, starting to become upset. She was now holding the spoon with both hands in front of her, as if making an offering. She was looking between Sam and the other girls, seeking reassurance.
"Sam, perhaps Kasai can help you?" said Rakka, speaking as gently as she could.
"I can feed myself!" said Sam, becoming defensive. He reached with one hand to the spoon resting on the table. Thankfully he didn't try for the spoon in Kasai's hand, which would have been a disaster.
In the process of trying to pick up the spoon using a hand covered in bandages, he managed to tighten the bandages against his burns. He jerked with the sudden pain. The bowl was knocked off the table, bounced off Kasai's dress and landed with a splat on the floor. There were little bits of stew over Kasai and the floor. Kasai backed away, the expression on her face wavering. She looked up to Sam as if he was a large and once friendly dog that had suddenly started growling.
"Oh sh-" said Sam to himself.
"I am sorry", he said. He decided he had no choice but to go all the way. He dropped to his knees, incidentally landing in a puddle of stew.
"Serves me right" he thought.
"Kasai, I am sorry, I still haven't gotten used to this. Please forgive me."
Kasai looked in surprise at the huge man bowing is head in front of her. Tears completely forgotten, she patted his head. Not sure of what to say, she took the cue from Sam's last words and said "I forgive you."
Rakka jumped up, grabbed a tea towel from the kitchen and mopped up the mess. Sam sat down again
This time he did the right thing.
Jika replaced the handkerchief. Hikari replaced the stew. Kasai put the spoon in the stew, and then lifted it to Sam's mouth. He ate it, and nodded and smiled. Kasai continued.
Hikari and Rakka and Kana smiled at each other. They were proud of their Sam.

Another lesson learnt by Sam. There will be more to come.

Kasai fed him his stew. Jika buttered and cut up his toast and gave it to him between mouthfuls of stew. Then Jika spooned into his mouth his dessert. The twins were surprised by how little he ate compared to his usual standards.
"But, girls, he has burnt himself badly. He doesn't feel at all well." explained Hikari. Suspecting that this would be true, she hadn't made as much food as she would have normally done.
At the end Sam was beginning to feel tired and worn. The pain was beginning to come back.
"How long since the last pain killer?"
Rakka told him.
"Oh, that all. Let me lie down for a while."

While Sam lay down, concentrating on not feeling the pain, everyone else congregated in the kitchen.

Rakka spoke:
"We are going to have to set up a roster. There doesn't appear to be much choice in the details. I do the pain killer injections, which means at night I'm going to be woken up every three or four hours. Kasai and Jika can be with him during the day time, with a backup from the house mother. Which means Hikari and Kana will have to alternate each second night. We can find a spare mattress and whoever is on duty that night sleeps on it. So whenever Sam needs attention he can call out and get it. I can continue with my job at the temple, except I will have to adjust my timing so it is between his injections. And I might have to cut back the hours."
"It's going to be tough the day after our night shift, but that's the way it's going to have to be." said Kana.
"I agree." said Hikari.
Kasai and Jika were pleased to be part of the team, especially one bearing such responsibilities.
"I volunteer for the first night." said Kana.

Sometime in the middle of the night.
Kana was woken from a fitful sleep by the sounds of Sam struggling up. She got up and did her best to help Sam out of his bed.
"OK, this is the part where it is agreed that I look after myself." said Sam.
Being careful not to move his torso too much for fear of tugging the bandages and giving himself a fresh salvo of pain, Sam made his way to the toilet/bathroom.

Half an hour later he staggered out and sat on his bed.
"Oh, my God, all of that just to do a number one." he said. He lifted up his hands and looked at the thick bandages.
"Kana, if you ever meet that crow, please bludgeon it to death with a blunt instrument."
Not being able to think of a witty comeback to that, Kana just agreed. Then she said
"Want help in getting back to bed?"
"Yes, and a glass of water. How long before Rakka is due?"
"An hour" said Kana.
"I wish the Toga would hurry up with their shipment." said Sam. "I say, is that a teddy bear on your pillow next to you?"
Kana snapped up the teddy bear and stuffed it under the pillow.
"You didn't see that. If you tell anyone I will personally ..." she stopped at this point. She belatedly realised that making mock threats against someone who was so thoroughly incapacitated didn't actually work all that well.
Sam laughed. "Don't worry, I won't. Also remind me to not laugh so much, it hurts."

Fifty minutes later Sam said
"Kana, if you could go and get Rakka now, please."
"I will". Kana looked at Sam. He had frown lines across his forehead and was breathing in short breaths. She retrieved her teddy bear from under her own pillow and placed it next to Sam's head.
"Carrot Monster will look after you while I'm getting her." Sam managed a smile.

Rakka must have noticed the small stuffed teddy bear next to Sam's head, but she didn't say a word.
She concentrated on the job on hand. Sam watched her face as she went through the procedure for injecting the pain killer. Her face was calm and thoughtful, and as she finished it off with the placement of a bandage, she looked at Sam and smiled.
"Is it working yet?"
"Yes, I can feel the pain fading away." said Sam.
Inside his head he thought "She really appreciates the responsibility, and the ability to help someone."
"Good night." Rakka said.

In the morning, before the twins arrived, Kana tucked Carrot Monster under Sam's pillow, out of sight.

Oyakata walked up to the front door of his clock maker's shop at 9:00am. As he was reaching for the handle; Kana opened it from the inside and hung out the 'Open' sign.
"Good morning master" she said. There were uncharacteristic dark shadows under her eyes.
"I would normally say it looks like you have been staying up for an all night poker session, only I'm sure Haibane don't do such things."
"No master. But I did stay up most of last night looking after Sam. He had an accident with scalding hot oil, but he's going to be all right." said Kana.
"Huh?"
Kana filled Oyakata in with the details.
"But I don't want any special time off, since it is the responsibility of the Old Home's haibane, not yours." she finished with.
Oyakata approved of the sentiment. Still, he could give a little.
"Very good. What's say we let you can find some corner to have a short nap during the lunch break?" he said.
"Oh, thank you very much, master!"

Next night was Hikari's turn. She fluffed up Sam's pillow -
"Hey, this is Carrot Monster. Did Kana give it to you for the duration?"
"Yes, but I'm not supposed to be telling anyone it's hers'."
Hikari giggled and laughed. "I was the one who gave Carrot Monster to Kana when she first arrived!"
Hikari was also tired at work. Fortunately the baker was happy to let her have the last half of every second afternoon off.

Next morning, just like the previous morning, Hikari and Kana changed the bandages. This was definitely not a fun job. The used bandages had a peculiar smell, and the wounds looked terrible. But the nurse had reassured them that this was normal for burns. As they were taking the used bandages to the waste furnace Kana armed herself with a broom and looked out for some crows to slaughter. But they were too clever for that, and were nowhere in sight.

As Hikari walked out of the front gate and down the path to go to work, she remembered that no one had informed Naoki yet. Feeling slightly guilty, she took a short detour, and knocked on Naoki's front door.
"Hello, Hikari. A fine day to you, how can I help you?"
Hikari described what had happened.
"Right. Thank you. That sounds terrible! I shall be paying a visit. Thank you again!"

Mid morning. Naoki quietly let himself into the guest room. The twins were sitting on the bed, each reading a book and each looking bored. However they were determined to fulfil their obligations. Sam was snoring gently on the bed.
Naoki whispered "No need to wake him up. If you want to, you can go and play with the children or something for the next hour, and I'll call you if anything happens."
"OK" said the twins softly. They left.
Naoki settled himself in a chair at the table, where he could still see Sam. He resolved next time to bring a book.

Sam stopped snoring.
"Oh, hello Naoki. Come to visit the invalid, have you?"
"Yes, old fellow. You've been having a bit of fun, I hear."
"Fun, sure. If you can help me sit up?" said Sam.
"Another half hour to the next injection. This really sucks, Naoki."
"I can see." said Naoki.
Sam described what had happened.
"What did that crow think it was doing?" said Naoki.
"Beats me. There's the crow that helped Rakka. There's the crow that guided Kana and Hikari to my cocoon. And there are the crows that fly over the Walls and bring back lost memories. Now, apparently, there's a malevolent crow out there that is acting with extreme prejudice against Hikari, or maybe me." said Sam.
"Beats me too." said Naoki.
At this point Rakka walked in.
"Oh, sorry, we forgot to inform you!" she said.
"Not to worry, I realise you were slightly distracted. Hikari eventually remembered."

After the administration of the pain killer, Sam and Rakka described the subsequent two days. Naoki had an idea.
"I say; to save Hikari and Kana from exhaustion the day after their all night shifts, why not let me do the midnight to dawn part, every night. I'm retired, so I can sleep in the mornings. Also I have some experience in looking after ill people." said Naoki. He slowed down and added "You know, when my wife was - very ill."
Sam looked at Naoki.
"You want to do this?"
Naoki looked back.
"Yes"
Sam nodded.
Rakka held her hands together under her chin.
"That is wonderful. You're very kind Naoki. And of course, at the end of your shift you are welcome to have breakfast with all of us."

Kana and Hikari also thought it was a good idea. As did Oyakata and the baker, when they heard about it.

Ten minutes before midnight the silhouette of a man could be seen walking into the arched entry hall. He was carrying a roll of bedding and a book. He went across the courtyard, climbed up the steps and presented himself to the occupants of the guest room. Who were both asleep. Kana was lying on her mattress and Sam on his bed. Naoki noticed a teddy bear next to Sam's head. As silently as possible he put down his roll and sat at the table. The bed lamp produced enough light to show both Sam's and Kana's faces. He looked at Kana. Mid teen girl, short hair, smiling slightly in her sleep. Face unlined, with soft fine details. And her halo glowing slightly above her. The same age as his daughter when she died. And Sam, age lines across the jagged terrain of his face, relaxed now as he was sleeping. Rough skin and rough features. What a contrast between the two.
He was drifting along memory lane when another figure walked in the door. This one was also a teenage girl, in a dressing gown, carrying a small bag. She walked up to Naoki, smiled and gave curtsey. "Nice to see you, Mr Naoki."
"Hi, oh, and I think we have reached the point where you can call me Naoki."
"Thank you. Should we wake Sam up now?" said Rakka.
"I don't know. I suppose it's up to you. It's you that's losing sleep time" said Naoki.
"I'll wait."
"I must say I am impressed at how you and the others are dealing with this emergency." said Naoki.
"Thank you. My companions here are so good."
They waited in companionable silence until Sam woke up.

Morning was breaking as Naoki yawned and got up from his bedding. Kana's bedding was rolled up and put to one side. Seeing that Sam was awake, he put a chair next to the bed and sat down.
"Hello Sam. Say, is that a teddy bear next to you?"
"Meet Carrot Monster, donated for the duration by Kana, originally given to Kana by Hikari. But don't ever tell anyone who owns it; otherwise Kana will do horrible things to me."
"I promise."

An hour before breakfast everyone, including the twins, trooped in. Rakka was carrying the pain killer bag, also another bag which Sam recognised as his toilet bag. The one containing his shaving equipment.
"Oh-oh" he thought.
"We have some time before breakfast, so I thought we might decide if Sam's face should be shaved, or if we leave it and he grows a beard." said Rakka.
"Whoa, why not let me grow a beard and be done with it?" said Sam. He said it in the voice of one who strongly suspects he is not going to be taken any notice of at all.
"Sam, you don't see you own face and we do. Also you're a man, so your opinion about such things isn't valid anyway." said Rakka.
"I definitely vote for shaving" said Kana. "He's ugly enough, without having a bunch of hair sticking out of his face."
"I concur", said Rakka, "he won't look any better with a beard."
The twins voted for clean shaved also.
"Hmm, I think beards are kind of cute" said Hikari, "although on Sam, maybe not. So I suppose I vote for shaving also."
"Wait, can't Naoki have a vote also?" said Sam, trying to get someone on his side.
"Don't be silly" said Hikari, "Not only is Naoki a man, he's not even a haibane, and he doesn't live here and so has to put up with your face all day every day."
Naoki was following this serious little discussion with much appreciation. He felt it was a rare privilege to be allowed to sit in on a slice of daily life of the haibane. Over his life he had accumulated more information about haibane than most humans. He had been friends with one once, but he had never been personally involved with that person's life. And now he was an onlooker to six of them in their daily lives. He waited with interest for the resolution of this discussion.
"Ok, it's decided. Naoki, would you like to show Kana and Hikari how to shave?" said Rakka.
"Certainly. Let's start with Kana, and I'll show you how to do the left side of his face." said Naoki.
"Firstly, put a towel around his neck and - gently - over the front of his shirt." continued Naoki.
"I've got no dignity from this bunch" said Sam, his voice filled with mock despair.
Naoki momentarily locked eyes with Sam: "But you have something much more precious."

Kana finished shaving the left side of Sam's face. Naoki ran his finger up across the skin.
"Yep, pretty good. Now Hikari can do the right side."

Hikari finished the right side. Naoki checked again.
"Yep, good also. Also Hikari, don't worry about those little spots of blood, just hold a clean hanky against them for a few minutes."
"Can I feel his face also" said Kasai, or Jika.
"Certainly" said Naoki, "don't bump Hikari's finger as you do."

Rakka clapped her hands.
"We had better get moving with breakfast or Kana will be late again!"

* * *

The word about Sam's accident had already reached the other two nests. So a few days later, in the evening, Mado and Tsuchi from Stone Mill visited. As did the entire abandoned factory mob, which at this stage was Midori, Hyouko, Ame, Yuki (a girl), and Machi and Mawa and Michibi (three boys, the last one being the new one). Rakka was dismayed at such a number:
"Please, Sam is feeling better but his burns are still serious, and he's under constant pain relief medication. So be easy on him, no excitement please."
They promised.
They acted true their word. They talked to Sam in little groups of two, one either side. Mado and Tsuchi said a few words, and then Midori and Hyouko claimed their turn.
"So, you're completely at the mercy of a bunch of elegant little girls, heh?" said Hyouko, a big grin on his face. As the oldest male (besides Sam) present, he had some idea of how difficult it must be for Sam to rely on others for everything.
"I've no choice but to deal with it." said Sam. He lifted up and turned over his hands, still covered in bulky bandages.
Midori was enjoying herself. "Now a girl gets rescue a man instead of the other way around!" she said. "I'm going to be the first to feed you."
Sam could see there was no escaping a certain amount of friendly teasing.
She eyed his front. "Show us your bandages! I need to know where the burns are so I don't accidently lean on the wrong spot and cause you to scream."
Ame, watching from being, giggled.
Sam, with some resignation, asked Kana to undo the front of his shirt.
"The bandages don't need replacement until tomorrow morning, so I am NOT going to show you the actual burn wounds" said Kana.

Midori had fun feeding Sam. "Now open wide, please", "Good boy!" Eventually Hyouko had to intervene
"Midori, take it easy!"
"Aww, I'm not being too bad." but she moderated her behaviour.

Kana looked up at the ceiling and shrugged her shoulders. She grabbed Mado:
"While this mob is torturing Sam, come over here and I can get some advice on the next step for the doughnut machine"
They parked themselves out of the light of the main table area, behind Sam. Kana took out her plans.

Yuki took over the feeding, with Machi offering guidance. They played it straight, and didn't give Sam any more than the usual cause to complain.
Finally Ame fed Sam his dessert, with Michibi looking on.
Up to now the factory haibane had been scrupulously following Rakka's strictures about not causing Sam any pain. Then disaster struck.
Mawa had sat next to Sam for a talk. Unfortunately, as he was getting up carefully from his chair, holding the back of it to support his weight, it slipped and skidded away. Mawa, temporarily unbalanced, fell sideways and hurriedly balanced himself by putting out a hand. Right on the middle of the bandages on Sam's chest.
"Arrrghh!" screamed Sam. Everybody jumped and looked.

Mawa apologised profusely. Sam, after he got himself under control, said
"Never mind, accidents happen; I know you didn't mean it."
"Also, Rakka, perhaps I can have another injection a little ahead of schedule?"
At that the factory mob all apologised again and made their way off.

Tsuchi looked around for Mado.
"Er, why are you two huddling there as if you have seen a ghost or something?"
They were leaning against each other's shoulders, and Kana was gripping Mado's arm. They actually did look as if they had seen a particularly nasty apparition.
The Old Home haibane all turned to look. Sam, currently not feeling any pain at all, dragged his chair around.
"We happened to be looking up at Sam when the accident occurred." said Mado.
"And?" said Sam.
Kana spoke in a whisper "Mawa was - grinning - when his fist landed on your chest. He knew what was going to happen". She looked as if she had eaten something really, really bad, and her stomach hadn't yet decided if it wanted to throw it up, or not.
"What?" said Sam. He looked at Mado.
"Just as you started to scream is smile broadened. Yeah, he was enjoying himself." Mado looked as if he had stepped on a week old dead rat.
The twins looked mystified. Rakka and Hikari looked at each other in bewilderment.
Sam put on a carefully constructed blank face.
"I think it is best if you don't tell anyone about this yet. Tsuchi, can you arrange for someone from the Stone Mill to pick me up in one of your trucks and take me as close as possible to the temple. I can walk the rest of the way. It is probably best if I have a talk to the Communicator first. As yet, we don't know enough." said Sam.

The next day Kabe from Stone Mill accompanied Sam the final distance to the temple. At the entrance Kabe held up his hands to indicate he wasn't going any further. The temple assistant took a look at Sam's hands, bowed slightly, and disappeared inside. A minute later he came out and gestured Sam to enter. He didn't bother putting any bells on him. They walked through the temple gardens, with some early flowers appearing, and approached the Communicator.
The Communicator, taking into account who he was talking to and the situation, dispensed with all formality and said:
"You may speak. You have come here even though it is causing you some distress. Please explain."
"If you want to know about the burns accident, I can tell you later. Right now I need to inform you about what happened last night."

The Communicator was silent for a while after Sam had finished.
"I can offer no advice at the moment. But I thank you for telling me."
"Apart from Mawa, all of the other haibane I have met I would classify as nice people. Even the rowdiest of the factory mob. Surely psychopathic personalities are not selected to come to Guri?"
"The Renmei play no part and have no knowledge of the selection process. The Wall carries out its duty as it sees fit. I agree that you and Mawa's presence here do not appear to follow the usual rules. But I can offer no explanation."
Sigh. "I figured as much." said Sam.
He returned to Old Home.