[WitchQueen]

Sometimes it is necessary to make a change. I tried to edit on the last page of the story but I was not able to do this. The change is as follows. I have decided not to use the character of Rashida for the editor of the woman's page for the Jadida Press. Instead I have decided that Khadija will have that part. She is on Moroccodiscussions and I did spend some time with them. In fact I had been looking for her. But as I have said there will now be no new parts for any other females unless they would be one of the Watanis or Oblikans. If another Arab girl or woman logs on she can be considered to be one of the women at the children's library. If this occurs they probably will not be named.

In the story I mentioned that the typewriters and the cash registers are manual machines. I do not want to speak of cash registers at that part of the story.

Also I do not want to say the word recyle. I prefer to say that things that are made on Xanthia and the other planets are traded back so that the partcan be reused and the batteries can be recharged. If something is not able to be reused then it is melted back down. When shopping wooden boxes or baskets of various sizes are used. Groceries are put in brown paper bags and then they are put in the wooden boxes in the wagons. All merchandise is wrapped in brown paper and usually tied with string. Even the paper is traded back in so that it can be broken down and reused. Canning is done with glass jars with rubber seals. Specialty jars can be ordered and custom made. There are dropoff points for metal and tin items. The planets are beautiful places.

Ahmed has returned to the Palace. It is about four o'clock. Ahmed sees that there are packages in the entranceway. One larger package and one smaller package. He knows that they are from Jadida. Nadia must have signed for the packages. Ahmed calls her on the Phone. "I am home now", says Ahmed. "I see the packages are here." "Yes, Ahmed, they arrived this afternoon. Cassem accepted them." Ahmed clicks off the phone and then he opens the smaller package. It is the photo of him and Ishtar from the Photo Studio. Ahmed is happy with the photo. He takes the photo upstairs and places it on the chest where Ishtar will see it.

He knows that the larger package mus t be the painting of The Bee gathering the pollen from the flower of the Eggplant Squash. Ahmed opens the package and sees the painting. It is a beautiful painting. He goes downstairs to the basement to find a hammer and a nail. Back upstairs he centers the nail and hammers it into the wall above the table which is on the left side of the vestibule. The painting is hung with wire. The Eggplant Squash is the color of purpleish maroon. The colors are dramatic. Ahmed puts the brown paper in a box in the kitchen. He puts the hammer back into the drawer in the chest in the basement and then he goes back upstairs to get ready to go to the Training Camp.

Ibrahim, Amman and Jamal have now picked up the horses and the wagon and they have returned to Boogski's Grocery Store. Ishtar is there now with the children and she has picked out the groceries. The corn syrup and the cinamin will be going to the Trainig Camp so that the potion can be made for the men. "What shall you do Ishtar?" asks Jamal. "I will have to go to the school in the village so that the women know how to make this potion for the people of the village. Then I will return to the Training Camp to meet Ahmed for the ceremony. The Imam said that he would get some of the women to help out with this. Ahmed called me before and told this to me." "Some of the Militia will make the potion at the Camp. We will wait for Ahmed to tell us to take it. Now we must go."

Ishtar decides to take the children to nearby cafe so that they can have something to eat. There is no sense in going back to the Palace and she thinks it is best if she does not go back to the Training Camp unless she is with Ahmed. The cafe is around the corner and it is called the FrenchMoroccan Cafe. There are several people in the cafe. It is a cheery place. Ishtar and the children sit at a table near the window. They decide to eat cheese and fruit and pancake. The food comes in bowls and you choses which foods you want to have. Well the pancakes come on a plate. After their meal, Ishtar pays the shop keeper and they are on their way. The school is at the end of the village. This school is for younger children. Ibrahim, Amman and Jamal have finished this kind of school. Along the way they past the Mosque(I have no name for the Mosque) When they reach the schol they see that there are women outside of the building. The school has a kitchen and that is why they are here. There are about ten women. They want to help. Albar takes care of the school and he unlocks the door and lets the women inside.

Ishtar explains that they will need Crackleberries, corn syrup and cinamin for the potion. She tells them how the Guardian(Disciple) told them that this is necessary. Ishtar tells the women that a delivery of the corn syrup and the cinamin will be made the next day. There will also be a delivery of small bottles for putting the potion in. We need baskets for collecting the Crackleberries and we will need to gather the berries from where ever we can. Some of the younger boys and some of the men will be going to Carpathis. There are many berry bushes there and few people.

Ishtar talks with the women for awhile longer and then she leaves. Ishtar knows that she can only help. The women have to assist with this problem.

Ishtar, Tezia and the children leave now for the Training Camp. The Camp perimeter is not very far from the school.

WitchQueen