"We've already come up with preliminary plans," Parisa said, producing a folder from beside her chair.
Kyra took it and flipped through pages covered in her sisters' neat handwriting.
"This is impressive," Max said, reading over her shoulder. "You've really done your homework."
"We had help," Soraya admitted. "The girls searched online for prices for us."
"You've been busy." Kyra flipped through the folder again. "What about the children?" she asked. "Running a store is demanding work, and you are in charge of homeschooling here. It's not like the kids are at school most of the day."
"That's part of why we want to do it together," Soraya said. "We can rotate schedules and share childcare duties. The older children can help after their studies are done. It will be good for them to have responsibilities and be useful."
"The older boys in particular need purpose," Parisa said. "Arman still has nightmares."
"They are angry," Parisa added quietly. "So much anger. For us, leaving our home, for the immortals, for not saving Uncle Javad."
"The children need purpose, routine, and a sense of belonging," Yasmin said. "That's another reason the store is important. Itwill give them something to be a part of, to be proud of, a way to contribute to their new community."
"Essa has been incredible with the younger children," Soraya said, speaking of Yasmin's eldest. "He's stepped into his father's shoes, perhaps too much so. He needs to be a teenager, not a surrogate parent, but the only boys his age here are Kra-ell, and he doesn't feel comfortable around them."
Kyra marveled at how her sisters had woven together all these threads into a single solution, but she feared their expectations for this endeavor were inflated.
"Donya has made friends with some of the Kra-ell kids," Soraya said. "Initially, that worried me because they look so strange, but so far, there have been no issues. Laleh decided she wants to be a Guardian when she grows up." Her sister chuckled. "It's your fault, you know. Seeing female warriors opened up a whole world of possibilities she never imagined. I'm not saying I want her to fight, but seeing women in positions of strength, treated with respect—it's good for her."
"For all of them," Yasmin agreed. "This place offers them futures we couldn't have dreamt of back home." She looked at Kyra. "I really don't want you to leave right now. We need you."
"I know." Kyra leaned over and took her hand. "It's not like I will be gone for long, though. For the simple reason that Kalugal will need to return sooner rather than later."
"What about security" Rana asked. "Is Egypt safe?"
Kyra shrugged. "It has to be safer than infiltrating Revolutionary Guard installations."
"Don't joke about it," Yasmin scolded. "We've lost enough already."
The reminder of Javad's death cast a momentary shadow over the room. They'd all lost so much. Their homes, their loved ones, the lives they'd built over decades. But sitting here in Soraya's living room, surrounded by her sisters' determined faces, Kyra also saw what they'd gained.
"The store will be good for the village," she said, changing the subject back to safer ground. "The immortals need what you're offering, and not just the groceries. It's the rhythms of normal life."
"That's what we hope," Soraya said. "To build something lasting here, something our children can be proud of. A bridge between the world we left and the one we've joined."
"Have you thought about what you'll call it?" Max asked.
The sisters exchanged smiles.
"The Pearl," Rana announced. "It's Parisa's idea. After our mother."
"It's perfect," Kyra said.
"We want to paint the door blue," Yasmin added. "Like home. To ward off the evil eye."
"I'm sure Kian won't mind that," Kyra said, though privately she wondered what the architecturally minded immortals would think of such a departure from the village's Mediterranean aesthetic. Then again, Kalugal had his red door, so a precedent already existed.
