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[Mercy]

All of the kids laugh at the dumb present and move off to the cake and ice cream. All except one girl, who looks at the box and its contents with interest. Raf thinks her name is Gloria and that she is new to the school this year and has had a tough time fitting in with the other kids. Raf's mother knows her mother and has invited the new girl to the party to be fair. "After all, it is not her fault that her husband ran out on her and left her with the kid. You should try to make friends with her to show that we can accept other people, even........well, why is not important, dear. Just try, please?" Raf is not paying much attention to Gloria or the friends now crowded about the cake as he walks quickly away from the party pavilion, so he does not see the girl follow him. He breaks into a run after rounding the corner of the house, heading down the long drive to the gated entrance. As he approaches the ornate gate he sees a young woman just beyond it, sitting on the bench his father had put in for the non-resident staff to use while waiting for the bus to take them home. Raf slows to a stop as he reaches the gate and looks through the ornamental bars at Maya.

The young woman appears just about as he has remembered her. She still looks about 19, but might be 20 by now. Her face is cleaner than it was the last time he saw her, but he can clearly see the scarring on it that causes most people to look away. Her ebon hair might be a bit longer but it is hard to tell with it laying down her back in a long ponytail. He is not an expert on women's clothing, but Maya's dress seems to be in the style he sees some of the older sisters of his friends wearing. She stands as he walks up and the dress hem falls to just about mid calf.

A slight panting announces the arrival of the girl who had not laughed at the present. She moves to stand next to Raf as Maya walks to the gate, not flinching at the disfiguring scars she sees. The older girl looks through the bars and smiles. "Happy Birthday, Raferty. I am sorry that I have not been in touch for a couple of months. It is the rainy season in Borneo and the matrix connections have been poor to nonexistent. As it is, I barely got out in front of a typhoon. I hope that you like the gift. Everything is from Borneo and I hope that you can use it."

Raf nods and stares. He is still so very unsure what he feels and why. "Thanks. I will get working on those."

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Uh, sure. Maya, this is, uh......"

The girl chuckles and reaches a hand through the bars. "Gloria. Gloria Munch. Very nice to meet you."

Maya looks at her and smiles as she shakes the offered hand. "Maya Toroami. And it is nice to meet you, too, Gloria." She looks from the girl to Raf and nods, a look of sorrow and perhaps pain crossing her face as she looks to the ground for a few seconds. When she looks back up, she is smiling again. "He is going to need someone. Are you her?"

Gloria blushes a deep red and scuffs a toe in the gravel as she looks at Raf then back to Maya. "I think so. I mean, I think I want to be. If he wants it, that is?"

The last bit was said to Raf, who just looks a bit more confused before he nods and smiles at Gloria as she takes his hand in hers. Maya pulls a small card from her bag and hands it to Gloria. "Here is my com code. Please call me if you ever want to hear how brave and competent Raferty is. But I imagine that you might just figure all that out by yourself." She turns to Raf. "And you call me whenever you want to talk. About anything. Hmmm, I guess you will need to make that second bow for Gloria."

A large bus pulls up to the stop and Maya looks over her shoulder at it before looking back at Raf. "I need to go, Raferty. I did learn some things about myself while I was out there and the leadership skills I picked up have helped me a lot. You are looking at the leader of a Renraku expedition to Sumatra to bag an awakened tiger that is terrorizing some villages there. Could not have done it without you." She pauses and adds softly, "So long. Call me?"

Raf nods as Maya turns and walks to the bus. She looks back at both of them before stepping on and making her way to a seat then looks out the window at Raf as the door hisses closed and the bus rolls away down the street. Gloria is still holding Raf's hand when she turns to him. "She was very nice and seems to know you quite well. Is there a story there that you can tell me?"

Raferty looks into the eyes of the thirteen year old Gloria and sees what could very well be his future looking back at him and nods. "Yes, quite a story and I think that I am ready to tell it to someone. Do you have some time to listen to it?"

Gloria nods and the two start to slowly walk back up the long drive to the mansion.