Mint Ball

Astra looked at the book. The book was written for the moral education of children and country folk. It was not subtle. She found some relief from all the moral uplift by reading the Hespaniard wedding ceremony, and was glad that she was not participating. The funeral ritual was next, and she managed to skip that. When were they going to serve lunch?

She wrote on the wax tablet, "How long does he take?" and nudged Hesht in the side with it. He look at the corner of his eye, but said nothing. He seemed absorbed in the amuzgar's homily, and absently wrote something on the tablet.

Astra leaned over slightly. She saw the words, "Don't draw attention."

She rubbed out the wax, and wrote back, looking straight forward at the old man. She wrote on the tablet, "I am hungry."

Hesht wrote back, "Ask a child for some food. Whisper."

Astra felt that was an odd answer, but Hesht knew this place better than she did. She just hoped that she would not get called down by the amuzgar. She edged down her bench to a little boy, who was about seven years old. She whispered, "I am hungry. Do you have food?"

The boy smiled, and took out a large green ball of leaves out of the basket. The boy needed to have his good deed for the day ready, if the amuzgar asked him after the sermon, and the nice white lady had just allowed him an opportunity to do one. The leaves were a mint, and there was something inside. She thanked the child and edged her way back to Hesht. Although she wanted to wash the leaves, she was very hungry. She discreetly took a nibble of the leaves and the filling inside.

The filling was

1. very hot, as in spicy.
2. sweet and fruity.
3. starchy and bland.

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