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He smiled again. "You are my friend. I could use your advice."
She hooked some hair behind her ear. "I don't know what advice to give, Richard, and my life, too, depends upon you making the right choice. But as your friend, I have faith that you will decide wisely."
"Will you hate me," he gri
She looked into his gray eyes, eyes that could see into her, eyes that made her weak with longing. "Even if you choose wrong, and it costs me my life," she whispered, swallowing back the lump in her throat, "I could never hate you."
He looked away from her, back down at the dirt awhile, then once again up to the Bird Man. "Do your people like having roofs that leak?"
The Bird Man raised an eyebrow. "Would you like it if water dripped on your face when you were asleep?"
Smiling, Richard shook his head. "Then why don't you make roofs that don't leak?"
The Bird Man shrugged. "Because it ca
Richard took one of the pottery bowls and turned it upside down under one of the drips. "You have clay from which you make pottery."
"Our ovens are small, we could not make a pot that big, and besides, it would crack, then it too would leak. It ca
"It is a mistake to say something ca
The Bird Man considered this without showing any emotion.
"If you could do this, it would be a great benefit to my people, and they would give you many thanks. But I can make no promises beyond that.»
Richard shrugged. "None asked for."
"The answer may still be no. You must accept that, if that is the answer, and bring no harm to my people.»
"I will do my best for your people, and hope only that they judge me fairly."
"Then you are free to try, but I ca
"I will make you a roof for your spirit house that will have a thousand cracks, but will not leak. Then I will teach you to make more for yourselves."
The Bird Man smiled and gave a nod