The skinny Garsan turned her head with difficulty to look at the newborn. The latter was smaller than usual, and unlike normal Garsans, had nascent hair on the head. It was white, though not as bright as the hair of the father was in her memory. Even the three eyes seemed to have different colors from normal Garsans. She was just too spent to try to identify it. But the skin, she recognized, was also like her father's, instead of gray.
Soroka couldn't bring herself to be happy. She was too tired, and had suffered too much. She couldn't have imagined that losing further opportunity with the alien would have allowed her to survive. By the time she sent the letter entrusted to her by her mistress, the latter died along with the rest of the maids.
If not for the discovered pregnancy, she might have been sent to accompany them. But it was not easy bearing the offspring of the one that killed the old patriarch, along with two elders.
