"Be welcome in our home, and come and go in peace," they said together.
"I'm afraid that I must go in peace now," Patrick said. The children moaned, but the oldest bowed.
"I can show you to the gates." He looked at his mother. "Please?" His mother smiled and nodded.
"Why don't you two tell me about what you did with your cousins?" Patrick heard her say as he followed the boy out of the shop.
"Come right back," Pauli said, "I don't want you to be late for dinner."
"Yes, Father." The boy walked beside Patrick and chattered on about the city and his friends and his cousins until it all blended together. It reminded him of when Justine was younger and would talk endlessly the same way. The City was a mix of stone and wood. Some of the streets were wide and straight, but tiny alleys shot
