Urdon Pov
I walked into the main hall and stopped at the doorway. The floor was swept clean. The walls were patched. The table was standing straight on all four legs. I looked at it and did not say anything for a moment.
"You are blocking the door."
Freda was standing behind me. She had her hands on her hips.
"It looks different," I said.
"It looks like a hall."
"It looks like it did before."
"Before the famine?"
"Before everything."
She walked past me and went to the table. She had flowers in her hand. Small white ones. She put them in a cup and set them in the center of the table.
"Where did you find those?" I asked.
"By the creek. They grow there now."
"I did not know anything grew there."
"They are small. But they are there."
I walked to the table and touched one of the flowers. It was soft. The petals were thin and white. I pulled my hand back.
"The room smells different," I said.
