Page 24 of The Mentor
He looked at the bacon in his hand and back to me as if he didn’t understand.
“It comes from a real pig,” I explained and complete silence fell around the table as everyone turned to look at me.
“What’s wrong with eating bacon?” William asked.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with eating bacon?” Marco chimed in.
“In the Motherlands, we don’t kill other species,” I said patiently. “What’s wrong is that in order for this bacon to be made, a pig had to die.”
“That’s so sad.” Victoria looked like she was about to cry again.
“What if that pig had friends and family?” Raven asked William, who had just stuffed his mouth full of bacon.
“If you don’t like to eat bacon or meat, no one is forcing you,” Archer said pragmatically.
“I like my bacon,” Solomon announced with a shrug.
“But what if…” Victoria didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence before Archer cut her off.
“Look, no one is forcing anyone to eat meat. At every meal there will be both vegetarian and normal food so everyone can make their own choices. Understood?”
“Vegetarian foodisnormal food for some of us,” I pointed out and noted how Tommy was still casting longing glances at the bacon.
“Finish your breakfast, you have about ten minutes to get ready for the start of school,” I informed them. “This morning Shelly will be leading you in your first meditation together.”
I waited for the kids to finish their meal and start breaking up before I tapped Hunter and Willow on the shoulder and signaled for them to come with me.
“There’s something special about you two,” I told them when they sat in front of me in my small office. “Can you guess what it is?”
Willow let her beautiful green eyes roam over Hunter and he frowned back at her.
“I don’t know what’s special abouther, but I’m the fastest runner here,” Hunter said proudly, and I didn’t bring up that Solomon and Storm had beaten him this morning.
“That’s not what I meant by special.” Giving them a minute to think, I asked them to stand up and face each other.
“Do you remember having met before?”
“No.” Hunter shook his head.
Willow on the other hand narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Does the name Jeremy mean anything to you?” she asked him.
“No,” he repeated.
She drew in a sigh. “I had a brother named Jeremy.” Her voice was soft and pleasant. “We grew up together until we were three years old and he was sent to the Northlands. I don’t remember much about him, but I imagine he would look like you by now.”
“Do you remember having a sister?” I asked Hunter.
“I don’t remember anything from my life before I came here.” Hunter turned to look at me. “What is this about?”
“Your name wasn’t always Hunter; did you know that?” I asked him.
Willow’s eyes expanded and she held her breath, turning her eyes to me expectantly.
I smiled at them both. “That’s right, you two are siblings.”
Hunter gaped while Willow impulsively flung her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. “I never thought I would see you again!”
“Wait, I have a sister?” he muttered.
