Charlene said, “The village still relies on well water, so water might be in short supply, especially when there are too many tourists around. And in extreme bad weather it would take awhile for the water to be heated. There are occasional power outages, but still, it’s much better than I expected. I wouldn’t mind living here for two more years.”
“Two more years?” Sharon cried. “Are you kidding? Isn’t it almost time for you to return home?”
“Yes I am kidding. Two more months is what I mean, sister.” Charlene laughed.
“You don’t have to stick to the one year plan, do you?”
“No, but I haven’t finished what I had planned to.”
“You can come back another time.”
“It doesn’t make sense to do that if I could finish it this time.” Charlene sounded defensive.
“But what about your health?”
“I’m all right, Sharon! Please!” Charlene threw her head back and suddenly became stiff as she murmured, “Ah, here it comes.”
“Are you all right?” Sharon stood up at once and put her hands on Charlene’s shoulders.
A moment later Charlene took a deep breath. “Yes I’m all right. It’s just another attack. But it’s getting weaker and weaker every time it occurs.”
Sharon didn’t want to upset her sister. She looked at Charlene with solicitous eyes.
“I’m sorry to worry you like that Sharon. But give me a week or two and see how it goes. If the symptoms don’t go away completely, I’ll go home with you.”
A rumbling of engines followed by the voices of a child and a woman broke the silence of the night. A moment later through the space of the railing Sharon saw Nobul’s bike passing by, with Namu in the back, holding Binma in front of her.
It was such cozy family picture that Sharon felt uneasy again. She wondered whether they were lovers. After all, cousin marriages were permitted in many cultures. But she felt shy asking Charlene directly about it. Instead, she probed, “How many siblings does Sadama have?”
“She is the only child of the last Moso chief and his Han bride, known as Empress. One of the islands was named after her. But the chief had had other lovers before he married Empress. Namu was the grand-daughter of the chief by one of his Moso lovers.”
“Oh,” Sharon worked on the information. “So, Namu is r elated to Nobul and Urcher by only 6.25 percent of chief’s blood?”
"6.25 percent?" Charlene said with a puzzled look , "let me see. Sadama and Namu's mother are h alf siblings , and they share one eighth of the chief's genes, one eighth divided by two is one over sixteen, one divided by sixteen is zero point zero ... " Charlene stopped here and grimaced, " U rgh! I hate math! Why are you so good at it? It's unfair. "
Sharon didn't answer her sister, but thought gloomily: Nobul and Namu are not so much related really. Therefore they were probably permitted to marry each other. Perhaps Binma is Nobul's son! That would explain why Nobul doted on the child. But why did Binma call Nobul 'uncl e?' Is it the custom of the Mos o? Maybe that was why he was so mad when she brought up the subject of 'father'…
“What do you think of Nobul? Sharon?” Charlene broke the silence.
“Uh,” Sharon was caught off-guard, “he’s ok.”
“Ok? That’s it? So he’s not an arrogant mule anymore? Interesting,” Charlene moved closer to look
“Two more years?” Sharon cried. “Are you kidding? Isn’t it almost time for you to return home?”
“Yes I am kidding. Two more months is what I mean, sister.” Charlene laughed.
“You don’t have to stick to the one year plan, do you?”
“No, but I haven’t finished what I had planned to.”
“You can come back another time.”
“It doesn’t make sense to do that if I could finish it this time.” Charlene sounded defensive.
“But what about your health?”
“I’m all right, Sharon! Please!” Charlene threw her head back and suddenly became stiff as she murmured, “Ah, here it comes.”
“Are you all right?” Sharon stood up at once and put her hands on Charlene’s shoulders.
A moment later Charlene took a deep breath. “Yes I’m all right. It’s just another attack. But it’s getting weaker and weaker every time it occurs.”
Sharon didn’t want to upset her sister. She looked at Charlene with solicitous eyes.
“I’m sorry to worry you like that Sharon. But give me a week or two and see how it goes. If the symptoms don’t go away completely, I’ll go home with you.”
A rumbling of engines followed by the voices of a child and a woman broke the silence of the night. A moment later through the space of the railing Sharon saw Nobul’s bike passing by, with Namu in the back, holding Binma in front of her.
It was such cozy family picture that Sharon felt uneasy again. She wondered whether they were lovers. After all, cousin marriages were permitted in many cultures. But she felt shy asking Charlene directly about it. Instead, she probed, “How many siblings does Sadama have?”
“She is the only child of the last Moso chief and his Han bride, known as Empress. One of the islands was named after her. But the chief had had other lovers before he married Empress. Namu was the grand-daughter of the chief by one of his Moso lovers.”
“Oh,” Sharon worked on the information. “So, Namu is r elated to Nobul and Urcher by only 6.25 percent of chief’s blood?”
"6.25 percent?" Charlene said with a puzzled look , "let me see. Sadama and Namu's mother are h alf siblings , and they share one eighth of the chief's genes, one eighth divided by two is one over sixteen, one divided by sixteen is zero point zero ... " Charlene stopped here and grimaced, " U rgh! I hate math! Why are you so good at it? It's unfair. "
Sharon didn't answer her sister, but thought gloomily: Nobul and Namu are not so much related really. Therefore they were probably permitted to marry each other. Perhaps Binma is Nobul's son! That would explain why Nobul doted on the child. But why did Binma call Nobul 'uncl e?' Is it the custom of the Mos o? Maybe that was why he was so mad when she brought up the subject of 'father'…
“What do you think of Nobul? Sharon?” Charlene broke the silence.
“Uh,” Sharon was caught off-guard, “he’s ok.”
“Ok? That’s it? So he’s not an arrogant mule anymore? Interesting,” Charlene moved closer to look
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