VETTA MINDAL managed to absorb some aspect of the last lesson of the morning before lunch, something about grid manifestations, where everything was located across the Face of the World. She felt happy that her homeland of Poldorama was flat and nice and simple with canals leading to wherever anyone might want to go, whether to Shivering or the windy lakes near Dampenwet up north.
'Don't need a grid locator map to find the Squeaky Tomato,' Meresinth said as she tugged the dreamy Vetta along a corridor with Esper and Anthera in tow. The other Wonder dorm girls had already gone ahead, by the clever strategy of being nearest the door in Pirouette's case and the rapid departure by sheer exuberant energy of Dolly Bloomen. Like a surging river in flood she raced out of the main building and down the winding track to book places for the other girls in their now regular eatery in Cherryball Flats.
'This place is so full of strange things,' Vetta said as she wandered along a walkway after the meal, lingering to look at shop fronts that advertised novelty cushions and fruit displays from Gloriosa and Frangea's own orchards to the south, though the cacti salad looked rather risky to her mind.
Esper paused, seeing the Poldorama girl lost in fascination once more.
'Leave her,' Pirouette said. 'She's on one of her pilgrimages.'
'Yes,' Esper agreed. 'I think you are right. No harm will come to her.'
Thus as she stood there trying to figure out the significance of inflatables hanging above the doorway to a strange, dimly lit entrance the others quietly departed. Vetta was in a kind of trance-like rapture amid the bustle of a busy city intent on the business of making money, or transferring already made money to other locations, sometimes without the owner's knowledge.
'This is,' Vetta began, but realised she was alone. Not alone, for other foot traffic milled around her and three tried to ply her with flyers which she took politely before they disappeared. Placing them unread in her shoulder bag, a dull brown one with not a single shiny star upon it, Vetta moved along the sunlit street and sought shade in narrow alleyways leading off from the main thoroughfare. She repeated this process several times, always thrilled to see steps leading up or down for she was unused to such a varied level in the ground. Some buildings looked at times like they were built on top of others, yet when she investigated she found they were merely overlooking from a greater height.
'How strange to look out of a window and see someone's roof below you,' she mused happily. A winding lane took her past tall warehouses that terrified her a little and a towering block ahead made her neck ache to stare up at such heights with windows in them.
'One builds mountains here,' she gasped at times.
'Careful lady,' a voice said as a cloud of dust wafted towards her, having been raised by some vigorous brushing by a shopkeeper.
Vetta looked down and saw a fine patina of grime now decorating her school shoes.
'I'm sorry,' the man said, seeing the damage done. 'It gets so dusty in this place I'm forever trying to fight it. People don't usually stand about in Passing Lane. The clue being in the name and all.'
'These shoes can be cleaned,' Vetta said calmly, wiping the dust away with quick gestures. 'I am sorry for not passing. Everything here is so fascinating and new to me. I have never been down this way before.' Then her eyes widened as she looked past the man with his broom.
'Is that a-?'
'Yes, a secondhand furniture shop,' the man interrupted.
'No, I mean next to it.'
With this the broom-wielding shopkeeper turned and looked to where she was pointing.
'You can see that?' he said doubtfully and stood next to her, as if assuring himself she could.
'It's a toy shop,' Vetta confirmed pleasantly. 'A toy shop must surely contain wonderful things, like toys.'
'There is only one way to truly experience such marvels,' the man said, seemingly inspired by the interest of this curious girl. 'Please to enter.'
He held open the dusty door for the small, bright-haired figure to pass through. She did so in eager fashion and his heart swelled so much at the display of unwonted interest that his humour took on a slightly less grim tone.
'Marthy,' he declared, 'we have a child.'