Part of her was nervous again. She wondered if she could really help Clara with the horses. Her mom, seeming to sense something, said, “Don’t worry, it will come to you. Remember, it’s what is inside you that they like. Your father had confidence, and you have it too.”
“You think we’ll see him again?” Naomi asked.
“I hope so,” mom said. “But I’m afraid we won’t.”
“What do you think happened?” Naomi said.
“You were in there,” mom said. “You know what they do to people.”
“Yeah,” Naomi said, her heart heavy. Just when she was learning about her father, she was learning that the paste factory had taken him away. What pain mom must feel, she thought.
“Come on, guys,” said Clara. “We’ve got work to do.”
They came upon Town Hall, surrounded by big white tents.
Delivery trucks littered the road to the factory, pulled off to the side in a haphazard manner. Gypsies and townsfolk carried baskets around. Horses swarmed the field. People moved everywhere in a great swirl. There were gypsies running through tents, townspeople moving between buildings. There were policemen out, and farmers pulling wagons and other machines by hand past the useless trucks. Some people were looking at the horses, and others just sat around with no jobs to do. In that moment, Naomi realized the town was in utter chaos. Nothing was the same, and no one was in control.
“Naomi!”
She turned and Paster ran out from one of the tents with a big smile on his face.
“Paster!” Naomi yelled back.
Paster stopped right in front of her. He was wearing brown pants and a dark blue shirt. His skin had more color.
“You look like a gypsy,” Naomi said. “I hardly recognize you.”
Naomi saw a blush rise on his cheeks, and she knew that his de-pastification was complete.
“I feel much better,” he said. “You good? I wonder about you. Tanya say you break factory.”
“Well, I didn't really mean to,” she said.
“I glad you did!” Paster shouted. “We find mom! We find dad!”
“Oh, that's great, Paster!” Naomi exclaimed.
“You hero,” Paster said. “You loved by workers.”
“The workers?” Naomi asked.
“White uniforms, like me used to be,” Paster said.
Then Naomi's mom said, “Naomi, introduce me to your friend.”
“Oh,” Naomi said, “this is Paster. He was in pastification with me. Paster, this is my mom.”
“You mom pretty,” Paster said, and again his cheeks got red. Naomi's mom laughed.
“You're cute, Paster,” her mom said. “Where are your parents?”
“They tent,” Paster said. “They got out before the factory burn. Tanya say I could help and I find them last night. They getting better.”
“That's great, Paster,” Naomi said. “I'm so happy for you.”
“Me too,” Paster said. He looked back at the tent. “Me better go. We see you later?”
“Yeah,” Naomi said. “I'll see you.”
To Naomi's mom, he said, “Nice meet.” Then he ran back to the tent waving goodbye to them.
“Jessica!”
Naomi turned to look at the herd of horses. Adelaide moved through the herd, coming towards them.
“Jessica,” Adelaide said, and she embraced Naomi’s mother.
Her mom started shaking. Naomi looked toward the horses shimmering like water in the daylight, beautiful and big.
The women let go of each other. “I’ve missed you,” Adelaide said. Her mom nodded and wiped her eyes. “Naomi, I’ve been trying to get a couple to come with me, but I’m rusty. Can you manage?”
“I think so,” Naomi said.
“Tommy,” Adelaide yelled, “bring some leads. And Naomi’s bridle.”
A man trotted over to them. He carried a bridle, which he held out to Naomi.
Naomi said, “It’s mine?” Adelaide nodded. “I guess I dropped it.”
Tommy gave Adelaide a handful of ropes with metal clasps on them. “Thanks, Tommy,” Adelaide said. “You ready?”
“Yeah,” Naomi said.
“Take these too.” Adelaide handed her three orange sticks.
“Carrots,” Naomi said.
Adelaide smirked, “They love them.”
Naomi walked through the horses and they parted like grass around her. She could feel them breathe all together, like a heartbeat. She heard damp chewing. Her skin pricked with electricity. Then, the mare approached. “Bangs,” Naomi said, seeing the mare’s head obscured by little bangs. Naomi held a carrot out, and Bangs lipped her palm. Bangs chewed, then shoved her nose in Naomi’s neck. Naomi unraveled the bridle. “May I?” she asked. Bangs bobbed her head, and Naomi fixed the bit in Bangs’ mouth, looping the top over her flickering ears. “Thanks,” Naomi said. Her heart was pounding, yet she felt calm, like she had done this a million times before. She led Bangs from the herd to where the women stood, handing the reins to Adelaide. “I’ll be back,” she told the mare, and went to get two more. When Naomi came back with two males, one brown and one a crazy speckled gray, she took Bangs’ reins from Adelaide and gave her the leads to the other two horses.
“What now?” Naomi asked.
“We have to go to the factory and bring down the wagons. Remember that?” Adelaide asked Jessica.
Naomi’s mother said, “Remember Joseph mending the wheels?”
“I do,” Adelaide said. To Naomi, “I’ll walk these boys there. Why don’t you go ahead and we’ll meet you there.”
“You sure?” said Naomi.
“When I get there, I’ll help you get them on a wagon. We’ll have to do this slowly. I don’t want to startle them or put them in the hands of people who don’t know how they act. Till we figure this out, its you and me handling these guys.”
“Okay,” she said. “You want to come with me?” she asked her mom.
Jessica nodded. With that, Naomi mounted Bangs. She took her mom’s hand and yanked her up behind her. Naomi clicked her heels and Bangs took off like a thunderclap. Naomi’s mom grabbed her waist, holding tight. They shot down the road and people gaped as they galloped past.
Naomi pulled the reins as what was left of the factory came into view. Half of the factory had collapsed like a broken mouth. One of the smokestacks was gone, and the other one jutted like a wounded finger. Large chunks of debris covered the ground. Naomi had never seen anything like it before. Farmers were pushing their wagons to the far side of the factory, around to the greenhouse. Between the factory and the greenhouse rose the mirrored office building, shattered in the sun. Gypsies combed through the rubble. Up ahead they yanked something free. Naomi gasped as they pulled a white thing from the ground.
“Is that…?” Naomi asked.
“Yes it is,” her mom said. “Let’s go, Naomi.” Naomi sucked in a breath, and clicked, not wanting to look at the broken bodies the gypsies pulled from the debris.
When they finally got to the side of the factory, a bunch of wagons were already there. Naomi saw people coming out of a fissure burnt in the factory’s side. Some carried vegetables. Some were white people that ambled drunkenly on their own feet. Everything and everybody got loaded onto wagons.
“Naomi!” Sammy came towards them, carrying a basket of potatoes.
“Sammy!” Naomi shouted, happy to see him. A bit of her worry went away.
“A bunch of us pulled the thresher up here, but we can’t use it till there’re horses to pull it,” Sammy said. He patted Bangs on the side. “I been bringing food out since we got here.”
Her mom dropped from the horse. “How’s it going in there?” she asked.
“Okay I guess.”
“Have they found a lot of people?” Her mother asked. She sounded almost desperate, and in that moment, Naomi felt lost, too.
“Yeah, but they ain’t sure how many is still in there yet. The greenhouse is okay, but the
rest is a mess.”
“Do you think dad’s still in there?” Naomi asked.
With that, her mom looked right at her, eyes seared with pain. “I don’t know, Naomi, but we’ll find him if he is,” she said.
Just then someone yelled, “Get some stretchers over here!”
Naomi and her mom turned. It was Matt coming out of a hole in the side of the factory. He ran through the rubble towards a wagon laden with stretchers.
“Jessica,” he shouted. “We found Joseph! We’re bringing him out!”
Matt grabbed a stretcher from the wagon. To the men he yelled, “Come on. I need help. Get those stretchers.”
Then he ran back into the factory as farmers and gypsies took stretchers and followed through the debris.