Moonjar Courtyard
Basil
“Basil is a child the size of a large house cat, with dust-brown curls, bright alert eyes, and narrow sandals that leave quick little prints in the pale courtyard sand.”
Basil is a small, wiry child who fits between the low water jars and the bake nook step. He has a restless, listening kind of presence and a habit of drifting toward the edge of things where he can keep an eye on what everyone else misses.
2 stories feature Basil
Where you've met them
The Birds Will Not Go
Just before midday, a flock of thirsty desert birds lands in the courtyard and refuses to leave, crowding around every bowl and basin. Their arrival creates a real problem: the water meant for the courtyard has to be shared carefully, or there will not be enough for everyone.
The Hot-Tile Trail
A row of sun-baked tiles along the courtyard floor begins heating up far hotter than the rest of the ground, and the heat keeps moving from tile to tile. The strange pattern is forcing people to keep stepping aside, or risk getting their feet burned.