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Show 52 Chua put the water jar on his head and walked across the mesa, keeping steady as the desert horizon. He didn't know if he would come tomorrow or not. He could get along alone. He didn't need anyone. A picture of his father came into his head. "That's not true," his father said. "I care about you, and I am still here." Chua knew he was right. 7 "Your mother will always love you." "I know," Chua said "Two is enough," his father said. "If you are kind and loving to those who treat you well, they will love you back. If you can't have the so 'o you want, sometimes you can have a substitute." "Maybe," Chua said. "That may work for a grandmother^ and maybe a friend, but not someone like Ahote." "Ahote does not speak for himself," said his father. "The chewing root speaks for him. You cannot be friends with chewing root." |fe could feel the peace of his father surround him again. Maybe he would give fAy Pavati a try. She seemed nice. He didn't know about Toho. Pavati would tell him stories. His anger and jealously began to fade. If he couldn't have his own grandmother, maybe he'd been given a substitute. Had his father given him Pavati? He could feel the anger knot in his belly growing smaller. He pictured himself sending the anger off to Father Sun.^> WL BiAM^t^a^y, < "Thank you, Father," he said out loud. He pictured his father smiling. ) |