XXXIX - Dividends

First Commander Tristis pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the perspiration from her forehead and neck. It was very hot today; it was hot every day. The intense heat......and the dust, wherever she went, always the dust. But neither seemed quite so bothersome today as her jeep moved slowly through the streets of Calix, its tires kicking up the powdery dirt despite their sluggish pace.

Her driver Tanya wore a puzzled frown on her face. She really did not know why First Commander Tristis had asked to be driven to this village. It was insignificant. "Calix," Tanya thought out loud. "It would have been destroyed several days ago but for a lost communication......or so I've heard, Commander."

"Yes," First Commander Tristis responded quietly, "A lost communication." Tristis' eyes were roaming, observing buildings, the streets, anything at all in the village of Calix. She knew exactly where the 'lost communication' was.....in her dresser drawer back in her apartment. The peace agreement between the Fraus and the Clemens had surprised her as much as anyone. No, not surprised.....shocked. Tristis reread the 'lost' communique each night; she would destroy it soon.

Tanya was quite simply perplexed. Why were they here? She had driven First Commander Tristis to the village of Purus early this morning, had watched her oversee a crew as it began the construction of a foundation, a foundation for a new school. Heavy construction equipment had been brought in for the project. Good equipment, indeed excellent equipment, the kind which was hard to come by.

Then, in mid-afternoon, First Commander Tristis had asked to be driven to this location, the village of Calix. It had been a monotonous, dusty, two-hour-drive. Neither the construction of the school in Purus nor their presence here in Calix made any sense to the young driver. Why build a school in Purus? Why come to Calix? None of it made any sense at all.

"Commander," Tanya spoke, "may I ask you a question?" She could no longer contain her curiosity.

"Go right ahead, Tanya," Tristis responded, her eyes still scanning the streets and simple buildings around them, taking in every detail.

"Why are we building a school in Purus?"

"Because the people of the village need one," was the first commander's simple answer.

Tanya nodded but she did not understand. "But what military purpose does it serve to build a school?" she asked a few moments later.

Instead of an answer, however, the first commander held up her hand. Something in the village had caught her attention. "In a minute, Tanya," Tristis deferred. "Stop right here."

Tanya did as ordered. Tristis stepped out, hesitated a moment, then began walking slowly toward a young boy. The youngster was squatting on the ground, his knees near his face on his young and limber body. He was intently scrutinizing the dirt in front of him.

The first commander came up behind him noiselessly, more by habit than design. Tristis was facing the sun so her shadow did not alert the boy to her presence. She saw that the youngster was constructing images with brightly colored pebbles. The boy had nearly finished a 'house'. He was removing rust colored stones from what was the 'roof' and replacing them with red ones. Apparently, he had had a change in plans regarding the color of the 'roof' on his 'house'.

"What are you building there, son?" Tristis asked pleasantly as she squatted beside the boy.

The boy jumped with a start. He did not get up, but his hazel eyes opened wide, exposing white eyeballs which stood out in sharp contrast to his dark brown face and coal black hair. He wore only a pair of shorts on his slender body. He could not have been more than five Arnot years old.

"Don't be afraid," Tristis reassured the boy. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The boy hesitated, most likely debating whether he should run away or stay. He remained on his haunches, however. When he finally spoke, each word came slowly and he stammered through some of them. "My m--mom told me to never talk to s--soldiers."

"Well, that sounds like pretty good advice," Tristis replied agreeably. "But you see, son, the conflict is over. Peace is here."

The boy looked in confusion at Tristis. The concepts of 'conflict' and 'peace' were beyond him. He understood only what his mother had told him, and not all of that.

"I'm n--not your son," he managed at last.

"That's true, but I don't mean anything by it. I was just trying to be friendly. So," Tristis said, pointing at his project in the dirt, "do you think you might tell me what you're building here?"

It was difficult for the boy to follow through on commands that had never been explained to him. When his mother had told him not to talk to soldiers, she had never really defined why. Perhaps, he would not have grasped the reason anyway. In any event, his mind now saw no reason not to talk to the woman squatting beside him. "I am b--building a house."

Tristis nodded her approval. "It's very nice. What's this over here?" she asked, pointing to some brown pebbles beside his 'house' of stone.

"The cellar," he answered. W--We go there when the noise comes." The youngster resumed his work.

Noise? Tristis thought. As in explosions? Bombs? Shelling?

"Here. Let me help," Tristis offered, picking up the stones which made up the 'cellar'. "You won't need to run from the noise any more. It's gone; it'll never come back. So let's build a porch on the house instead. That way you can sit out on the porch at night when it's cool."

The boy permitted this reconstruction by Tristis. Indeed, he watched with interest. He soon joined in. He had obviously taken to the change in design. Whether he understood the stated reason or not would have been hard to say. Perhaps, he simply liked the way the new colors blended in with the rest of his 'house'.

Seeing that the boy was now engrossed in the new design, Tristis watched him work in silence for a few moments. "Have a good life, son," she at last said quietly, reaching over to gently muss the boy's hair with her hand. "Have a good long life."

The boy turned his head briefly to smile at Tristis, but then resumed his work, absorbed by the detail.

Tristis rose. "Good-bye, son."

The boy turned his head to look up. "Bye," came out of his mouth. Then he returned his attention to his project.

First Commander Tristis turned and walked back to her jeep.

"Now then, Tanya," Tristis announced as she climbed back into the jeep. "I believe you were asking me what military purpose it serves to build a school in Purus."

"That's right, commander," Tanya replied.

"The answer is obvious," Tristis said. "None. I hope to hell none," she finished wistfully. She paused, then, "Let's go home."

The answer only served to add to Tanya's bewilderment. She threw the jeep into gear and maneuvered her way out of the village of Calix. She had not been close enough to hear, but Tanya had watched the exchange between the first commander and the young boy. They had driven two hours through this stifling heat in order to talk to a dirty, little boy?! It made no sense at all! Surely, there was some purpose that had yet to be explained to her!

Once again, Tanya could not contain her curiosity. "Commander, may I ask you another question?"

"By all means, Tanya. Let me have it."

"Commander, why did we come here, to Calix?" Tanya braked and maneuvered around a dip in the street. They were nearly out of the village.

"I just wanted to see this place for myself," was Tristis' simple and quiet answer. "To meet someone who lived here."

The answer did little to clear up Tanya's confusion. Communications officer Henderson was right, she thought to herself. The first commander was acting a bit weird. Perhaps the heat was finally affecting her mind.

The vehicle cleared the village. Tanya accelerated and shifted to a higher gear.

"Put a little lead in your foot there, Tanya!" the first commander ordered after they were well out of town. "I'm in a hurry to get back to the base." Tristis grinned. "I have a date tonight!"

The jeep was soon lost in a cloud of dust.

END OF CHAPTER