Snacks From the Butler's Pantry

The boy tried to put his body back together. The Elders took him apart in the ceremony, saying it would help stop the plague from spreading. Now he didn't know how to put it back together. The cuts looked clean when they removed his arms and legs. The thick black blood looked like it would work as glue to put him back together. If only the Elders would wake up. They would know what to do. But they had lain silent for days now, along with all the other adults.

The pounding of hooves shook the earth, and the boy hid, as he was taught to do. Strange men tore through the camp with torches and guns. They pulled the children out of hiding, separating them into two groups. They must have misinterpreted he boy's ceremonial dress and long braids as they threw him roughly in with the girl's group. They bound his hands and feet, and tethered him to a line with all the girls. They dragged him harshly from the blazing camp, yelling commands. He heard the guns, and turned to see the line of boys drop limply to the ground. The rope pulled him forward as he watched the strange men throw the small bodies into the fire to burn with the rest.

The woman had kind eyes, but looked defeated. She approached the boy last in line. She dipped her thumb into the small bowl of water, and roughly smeared the caked blood from his forehead. She made the shape of a cross, mumbling, "To cleanse you of your past, and be reborn anew..." She seemed shaken that he understood her, when he met her gaze, and replied in English, "Amen."

The men hauled the group of girls off to be washed. There was a commotion when they stripped the boy of his clothes for his turn, and realized their mistake. A large man seized him, and roughly dragged him towards the outskirts of the camp. The woman with kind eyes met them halfway. After much argument, the large man stormed off, and the boy was left alone with the woman. She bent down to look him over. "You are full of surprises. Here you are, a boy pretending to be a girl. Here I stand, a woman filling the duties normally reserved for men. It is a new world, indeed." Seeing clearly for the first time, the boy replied, "Like you, I have seen the future. This time, we can change it."