The light streams in the tiny window, gauzy through the sheer curtain and Aliya's eyes open only after she has long been fully conscious, savoring those last lingering moments of sleep. She stretches languidly, her arm sweeping across the still warm indention where Kim's body had so recently lain. One day perhaps she'd beat the woman out of bed, but truthfully, she doubted it.

Slipping from the tangled sheets, she dresses quickly in an airy, silken robe and makes her way to the kitchen. The sound of the shower tempts her to join her lithe lover but there's work to be done, playing would have to wait. Her bare feet hardly make a sound on the chilly floor as she bustles about the kitchen preparing breakfast and making plans for dinner. The bogacha goes into the oven now that the heavy bread had risen all night and she works on the pastry dough carefully, being sure not to knead the light and airy texture out of it. Saviako was her particular favorite and it was with simple joy that she rolled the fruit, cottage cheese and raisins into the pastry.

Putting those in the oven to bake beside dinner's bread, she contemplates dinner itself. The pig's feet call to her from the back of the refrigerator but once again she wrinkles her nose. Someday soon she will actually have to make pertia for Korshan, but today she doesn't feel up to going through the arduous task of jellying the animal parts and making them edible. Instead she pulls onions, peppers and tomatoes out and begins dicing them after setting rice to boil. Last night's leftover spiced pork comes out next and is stirred into the vegetables; the rice will be added when it's done.

In the meantime, the pastries have finished cooking and Kim has wandered into the room still toweling her damp hair. Aliya spares a moment to tenderly kiss the woman before trying her best to ignore Kim's teasing caresses. She is not always successful, but this morning she manages to get the pastries to the table and enjoy a quick breakfast with the woman without too much distraction.

After that, Kim breezes out the door with a quick kiss still tingling on her lips and Aliya's work continues.

The remaining pastries are covered but left on the table for whenever Julie gets hungry. The vegetable/rice/pork mixture is wrapped within fresh cabbage leaves and settled into the oven for the long slow process of cooking them. It wasn't pertia, but she was sure Kor would still appreciate her sarma. The morning's dishes are carefully washed and the kitchen put to rights before she sits down to await Julie's arrival, a steaming cup of herbal tea her company until then.

When the girl does come, they enjoy a few leisurely moments of tranquillity. Aliya is more than used to Julie's quiet intellect and while their conversation is sparse, it is always meaningful and interesting. She treasures these moments each day, her opportunity to look into the young girl's life and share in her newest revelations. She still has trouble consciously thinking of Julie as her own daughter, but her heart recognizes her as such and it is the peaceful sharing between the two that strengthen those bonds.

After Julie wanders out, the winnebago's emptiness is far too evident to Aliya. She showers and dresses quickly, not forgetting to open the wini's little window and spread out a feast for the birds that have also come to expect their breakfast from her.

She locks up and heads to the Silver Owl, just in time to open its doors to the public. Settling in for a long day of minding the store, she dusts the shelves of books and cannot help but smile in the memories of sitting here and talking with the prickly Hermetic. She hadn't changed much when she took the place over, though Kor's creations were starting to alter its appearance as they grew in number. She preferred its simplicity and the feel of David's presence that still lingered in quiet moments. The cash register occasionally gave her some difficulties but she was managing and enjoying the feeling of having something more to fill her days. She saw more of Kor too, her big gypsy prala always showed up around dinnertime.

Never before had she felt so useful, caring for everyone who had come to depend on her and providing a pleasant service to the public. It wasn't quite enough, some deeper longing still pulled at her, called her to draw upon more of her potential, further explore life and herself; but this was enough for the moment. A quiet peaceful existence where everyone knew they could rely on her and always find her nearby, ready with an ear, meal or whatever else was needed.