The summer passed quickly with Daniel settling comfortingly into the Hammond family routine. Their experience with Barbara had given them knowledge of what Daniel could and couldn't do. He was expected to do chores along with the girls and, as he learned the placement of the furniture, he quit bruising his shins so frequently.

They'd gone to a fireworks display on New York Bay and Daniel could see faint flashes of light in the sky, but the explosive noises had frightened him at first. No one had forewarned him that fireworks included loud booming sounds.

For his birthday, they invited Ruby's family for a picnic in the local park. Daniel had his first American birthday cake. His parents had followed the more traditional Egyptian customs and foods, so his birthdays had been celebrated with flowers and fruits rather than balloons and cake.

The girls began to accept him as an older brother and treated him as such. They complained when he moved their toys that were in his way. They sometimes shut him out of their room when they wanted to be alone. Daniel had never been around other kids much and didn't really know how to respond to them, so he just kept to himself a lot.

Ruby and George had gotten him new clothes and a few toys. His favorites were Legos. He could feel what he was building. Ruby bought him a small plastic cabinet with dozens of tiny drawers and he used it to separate Legos by shapes. He learned to feel objects and then he attempted to duplicate them with Legos. He even tried to copy the frieze Aunt Barbara had showed him that first night. George said he was pretty good at it.

A couple of weeks before school was scheduled to start, Aunt Barbara had her baby. Daniel went with the family to the hospital to visit, but the baby was kept in a nursery and Daniel couldn't meet him. A week later, the family walked over to Aunt Barbara's to meet the newest member of the family.

Daniel had seen many newborn children, but he'd never held one before. The three children sat on the couch and Aunt Barbara supervised as, first Rachel, then Hannah and, finally, Daniel took turns holding Ethan George Theophilus.

He could tell that the baby was wrapped in a blanket, but he couldn't distinguish eyes, a mouth or hair clearly. He held the sleeping babe, measuring his weight and length mentally. He wasn't much longer than a football, but he was certainly heavier.

Barbara knew what Daniel was doing. She did it herself every time she held her newborn son. "Daniel, go ahead and unwrap him if you want. It will make it easier to feel him."

He settled Ethan securely on his lap and with one hand began tenderly exploring the baby. His own childish hand completely covered the tiny child's face and Daniel marveled at how that little bit of life would some day be a full grown man. The baby had his hands drawn into fists by the side of his head. Daniel slipped a finger into one fist and Ethan clutched it with such strength that Daniel feared he'd never get his finger back. He finally extricated his finger and continued his exploration. He discovered a large belly, no hips under the diaper and legs that reminded him of the frog goddess Heqet, who looked after women in childbirth. Ethan's tiny toes flared apart when Daniel dragged his finger over the sole of the infant's foot.

Daniel smiled softly and tucked the blanket around the child as best as he could. George pushed the hair out of Daniel's eyes and gave his shoulder a squeeze. He cuddled the infant and remembered his parents. His father had told him that they had been married for over ten years when he was born. He knew he had been welcomed, just as he knew they would never leave him.

With the new baby, Aunt Barbara wouldn't have time for their weekly history lessons. He was really going to miss that. She recounted numerous Greek and Roman myths and stories about how people lived then. She read some of the classical literature to him from her books in Braille. He retold the stories to himself when he was bored. He'd loved how expressive her voice was and how detailed she made the stories.

After a few minutes, Ethan began to fuss and Uncle James took him away to change his diaper. Daniel's arms felt cold and empty.

XXXXXXXXXX

School.

The thought terrified him. He'd never been to a school before. One of the reasons his parents had come back to the US was because they wanted him to grow up as a normal American kid and go to school. They had taught him to speak and read English, French, Arabic and German, the four most common languages on digs in Egypt. He'd picked up a smattering of Dutch from his grandfather and he had a rudimentary knowledge of Greek and Latin since some of the digs had turned up artifacts from times when the Egyptians had either traded with or been ruled by those cultures. He had learned a bit of math, especially measurements in metric, for recording artifacts as they were uncovered. He had learned about the constellations around campfires at night from the workers on the digs. He knew how to survive if he got lost in the desert for a few days, but he didn't know how to survive on a school playground.

Terrified or not, the first day of school arrived. Ruby dropped the girls off at their neighborhood school and headed for the subway, Daniel grasped firmly in one hand and his suitcase in her other.

Daniel had been on the subway many times with his parents during the few weeks they'd been in New York. It had horrified him when he had sight. The people shoving; the trains swooshing down upon him like some evil space worm from a Superman comic. Now he was beyond horror. He teetered on the edge of catatonic. He covered his ears to try and block the noise of screeching metal against metal and the rumble of feet as people bullied their way past him. The smell of stale sweat, old food and oil squeezed his throat closed and he couldn't get a breath into his lungs.

Ruby looked down at Daniel when he pulled his hand from hers to cover his ears. She recognized the look of terror on his face. She could have smacked herself for not realizing that this would overwhelm his senses and confuse him. She leaned down and snatched him up with one hand, fighting against the crowds to leave the underground station. She wondered if the bus would be too much for him and decided that she'd have to spend the money for a taxi. It would cost a fortune, but she knew George would understand.

She hailed a cab, gave him the destination and bundled Daniel into the relatively quiet confines of the back seat. She pulled him close and murmured soothing words while she rubbed circles on his back. Gradually, she felt the tension seep from him, leaving him leaning limply against her side. By the time they arrived at Daniel's school, the color had returned to his face and his breathing was normal. The cab stopped, Ruby paid the fare and pulled Daniel out of the cab along with his belongings.

She looked up at the imposing four story brick building, grasped Daniel's hand and walked up the steps. Inside, she found the receptionist who directed them to the correct office. Daniel clung to Ruby, holding onto her arm with both hands. She was his haven in the unknown.

His papers had already been filled out and a social worker, Mrs. Richardson, was waiting to greet them. She took them on a quick tour of the main rooms and then led them up to the dormitory where Daniel would stay Monday through Thursdays. It was a long room, with five sets of bunk beds along one wall. The other wall held ten small dressers for the boys to store their clothes during the week. At the far end of the room was a door that led to a communal bathroom.

Mrs. Richardson then took them to meet Daniel's personal counselor. Each counselor was responsible for only twenty students. That meant that Daniel could be constantly evaluated as his needs changed. Dr. Tanzi welcomed them into his office and invited them to sit on a small couch. He pulled over an overstuffed chair and took a seat facing Ruby and Daniel.

"Daniel, I understand this will be your first formal school experience." Dr. Tanzi leaned forward.

Daniel nodded.

"I'll begin doing some tests with you to see where we'll place you in the program. For today, I think you'll have enough to do with meeting the other students and getting settled, but I may come and get you later. Why don't you say good-bye to Ruby now and my assistant will take you to the playground where you can get acquainted with some of the other students."

Daniel gripped Ruby's hand tightly and she leaned over to place a kiss on the top of his head. "Daniel, I'll be back on Friday afternoon to pick you up."

When Daniel paled, Ruby quickly continued, "We'll go home in a cab, okay? No subway."

Daniel nodded and left quietly with a young woman.

Ruby turned back to Dr. Tanzi. "Daniel panicked when we entered the subway station and we had to take a taxi over. I think his senses were overwhelmed and he just couldn't process it fast enough to figure out what was going on."

"Not too unusual when someone's suddenly lost their sight. We come to depend upon our eyes for most of our sensory input, and when that's gone, it can be very confusing." He leaned back in his chair. "Tell me what you know about Daniel. I've read his file, but tell me about the child."

Ruby went on to tell him about the summer the family had spent with Daniel. Her most serious concern was his lack of speech. "I've been told that he read and spoke four languages fluently and was learning three more. When we've done oral math problems he's able to solve them, using magnetic numbers to show the answers since he's non-verbal. I believe that he has an extraordinary intelligence and I'd hate to see him not reach his full potential."

Dr. Tanzi nodded, clearly not convinced that a child as young as Daniel could possible be that accomplished. "I'll be evaluating him to determine the best placement and rehabilitation program for him. At first glance, I think he may have to begin in the Van Cleve Program. That's designed for children with severe emotional disabilities. Since there's no physical reason for him to remain mute, I have to postulate that his lack of speech is due to a psychological trauma. I think that seeing his parents killed qualifies as a severe trauma. He'll remain there until either he begins to speak or he can learn finger spelling to communicate." He pulled a book off a shelf behind him and handed it to Ruby. "I think our first goal for Daniel is communication. Your family can use this to learn finger spelling so you can understand when Daniel talks to you."

Ruby thanked him and chewed on her lower lip in an effort not to cry. "Doctor, he's such a great kid. I'm hoping that between your school and our home, we can reach him before he completely isolates himself."