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  Chapter 31: In the Garden

  Naomi and her mother slept in bunks surrounded by slumbering kids. The back door was open, so Naomi went out. The sky was dark but lit by stars.

  Sammy stood up from where he was laying on a sleeping bag. Some of his brothers slept around him.

  “Sorry mom and I took your beds. You okay out here?” Naomi asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I like sleeping under the stars. You can see more now since there ain’t any town lights.”

  Naomi looked. There were so many that they looked like wildflowers, like she could reach up and pick them.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said.

  “Yeah,” he said. They stood together, gazing up at the sky for a long time.

  “Naomi?”

  She turned. Her mom stood in the doorway. She looked startled. “I was worried when you weren’t in bed.”

  Her mother must have been scared senseless when Naomi had disappeared. And now she had disappeared again. “Sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “It’s okay,” her mom said. “Don’t stay up too late. You need to sleep.”

  “Okay,” Naomi said.

  “Your mom’s nice,” Sammy said.

  “I never understood her, really,” Naomi said. “But now I have a better idea.”

  They were together a bit longer. Finally it was Sammy, “You better git.”

  “Yeah,” she said. They smiled at one another, and she returned to bed.