As her father put Mary down the little girl whose hair she had been combing rushed forward and took her hand.
"Don't leave us, Mary!" she pleaded. "You're our mother! You promised you'd take care of us, that we'd never be separated again, that these nice people would give us a place to live, and you'd be a soldier for them. You promised!"
Three other children came up looking at Mary with pleading eyes. Mary looked to her father.
"Can we take them with us?" she asked. Her father shook his head.
"Gram lives in a small apartment. I just have one room. We don't have the space for five of you. And anyway, you're not going to be a soldier. You're going back to school. You're going to learn to be whatever you want to be."
Mary looked to her father, then to the children. "I'm sorry," she finally answered, "I can't. If they can't go I can't go. But you can visit, and grandmother can visit."
Mary's eyes suddenly widened. "Why can't YOU live HERE, and gram come HERE? I'm sure they could find us a big enough home. This is where your people came from, this is where you SHOULD be!"
Her father looked at her and shook his head. "It's not that easy sugar cake," he explained. "I'd have to have work, and it's expensive moving stuff from the U.S. to Somalia."
"Excuse me," Samuel commented. "Can I speak to you over here a moment?"
Mary's father nodded and followed him off a way. "Listen," Samuel began, "if you really want to come we're desperately short of civilian pilots. We've acquired some good aircraft, but many of them sit idle because we simply do not have the people to fly them. You wouldn't make as much as you're making now. But the airline would provide free housing, and I'll pay your moving expenses out of my own pocket, and, your mother's. Somalia needs people. We've made tremendous progress, but there is still much to do. I know it's a big decision, it's alot to ask, but there's not one child over there that needs a father and a grandmother, there's five. Most of these children will never be traced. Their parents are probably dead. You don't know what it would mean to us to reunite even ONE of them with their parents."
The pilot took off his cap, and rubbed his bushy hair. "Oh, hell!" he finally answered "It sounds like you folks really DO need me. Did I mention I'm a qualified instructor?"
"No," Samuel answered, "but I'm glad of it!"
They went back to Mary. "O.k!" her father answered. "Let's go find a phone and call gram. This is going to be an awful shock to her to suddenly have five grandchildren. But I think she'll love ALL of them!"
Mary took his hand, and with the other children following they headed for the communications center.
Kalina stood looking at Samuel with a big grin. "What? he asked.
"You know, they're apt to make you a saint!" Kalina remarked, "Or, whatever it is YOUR people call them. You're a miracle worker!"
"No," Samuel answered shaking his head "I just take advantage of every situation I can find that will do as much good for as many people as possible."
Kalina nodded. A little girl ran up and took her hand. "Patty and Marie are fighting again," she announced.
Mary shook her head. "WHAT am I going to do with those two?" she moaned.
"Teach them that you love them both equally," Samuel answered, "and there's no need to fight to get your attention, that they'll get far more if they're good girls and do what they're supposed to be doing. That's the only reason they're fighting. Make them understand that if they don't stop you'll send them to someone else, and it will stop pretty quick."
Kalina nodded and headed off to stop the squabble. She sat both girls down on Samuel's cot, sat on her own, and talked to them very sternly. After a few minutes both girls rose, bowed and headed off to help with the chores. Kalina came back to Samuel, smiled at him and shrugged.
Samuel, too, returned to his duties. He had just received orders to report to the capital, that he was being reassigned, and he wasn't too happy about that, he wasn't happy at all!

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