68
Moonglow spent an arduous afternoon at university studying Sumerian history and cuneiform. Later she had attend a seminar on the legal code of Hamurrabi, which, she was interested to learn, was the first code of laws ever to be written down. After the classes and seminar Moonglow now knew that the largest city in ancient Sumeria was Ur, the penalty for adultery in the time of Hamurrabi was four goats, and cuneiform, a form of writing somewhere between hieroglyphics and an alphabet, was really difficult to learn.
She concentrated during her lectures as she always did, apart from one moment when she noticed that a girl a few seats in front of her was wearing a yellow blouse. It reminded her of the yellow blouse that she’d seen Markus put on. How peculiar that had been. Moonglow still thought he’d looked attractive.
The daylight was fading by the time Moonglow caught the underground home. Her shoulder was sore where Kalix had hit her. Every time Moonglow thought about that she became annoyed. After saving her life she deserved better than to be assaulted. She tried to banish her annoyance. ‘Kalix is only young. Her life is difficult,’ she thought. At nineteen, Moonglow was only two years older than Kalix, but Moonglow thought of her as much younger, somehow.
Daniel was cheerful after an afternoon sleeping on the couch. He offered to make Moonglow tea, as he generally did. Moonglow placed her bag on the table and sank into a chair.
“Cuneiform is just terrible,” she said.
“Of course it is,” agreed Daniel. “Only a mad woman would dream of learning it. Do you want some biscuits?”
Moonglow nodded and Daniel went off to the kitchen. He returned a few moments later, looking thoughtful.
“There’s a werewolf frolicking in the back yard.”
“Frolicking?”
“Yes. Well maybe not frolicking exactly. But definitely moving around with enthusiasm.”
Moonglow hurried to the kitchen. She peered out of the window. Their flat was above a shop, and the back yard was a small unused square of concrete, one floor below. There, in the dim evening light, a werewolf appeared to be playing with something. A tennis ball, perhaps. Moonglow tried to open the window. It was stuck where some previous tenant had painted the frame. After some effort she managed to wrench it open.
“Kalix?”
The werewolf looked up.
“Hello,” said Kalix. Then, as if it was quite natural for her to be in Moonglow’s back yard, she started playing with the tennis ball again.
“Have you come back to visit us?” asked Moonglow.
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
Kalix shrugged. She had of course come back to visit Daniel and Moonglow but was not about to admit it, even if it meant carrying on some absurd pretence that she had ended up in the yard by accident.
“I’m just wandering around.”
Moonglow sensed that Kalix didn’t want to acknowledge she had come back specifically to see them. She smiled.
“Would you like to come up anyway? We’d like to see you.”
Kalix pretended to consider it for a while.
“Well okay,” she said, eventually. Moonglow was expecting Kalix to climb back over the fence into the street before calling at the front door but Kalix simply scrambled up the fence then leapt for the kitchen window, grabbing onto the sill and hauling herself through. It was an impressively athletic feat. Once inside the kitchen, she attempted to look diffident, though this expression was difficult to pull off in werewolf form.
“It’s good to see you again,” said Moonglow, who had quite forgotten her previous annoyance.
“It is,” said Daniel. “Do you want some tea?”