Then the atmosphere suddenly changed. Ma-ah sensed it at once, even before she realized what was happening. Some massive effort was lessened. A tension disappeared. The dwelling was completed. No—she looked again. A few gaps in the rocks still remained, by the doorway. She was watching the structure, so it was a few moments before she saw the group of children coming from the direction of the courtyard. They were all smiling, obviously excited, hardly able to contain themselves, but none of them spoke.

They made a circle in front of the adults, and as they did so the adults relaxed noticeably; their intense focus was gone. The children looked at the dwelling. Rampa and Orona stood in the doorway. Three stones, small in contrast with the others, still lay on the ground. Were they supposed to go into the gaps in the doorway? Ma-ah stiffened. The tension was building up again—this time she swore she heard it through her fingertips—into a high-pitched whine. Yet with her ears she heard no sound at all.

At first nothing happened. Then one of the smallest rocks rose slowly up but a few inches, wobbled, went up higher, tottered and fell.

The air was so full of extra tension that even Ma-ah held her breath. Then came a single audible sigh of disappointment—the first “real” sound in so long that Ma-ah was astonished. One small girl clamped her hand to her mouth. Those on either side frowned so deeply at the offender that Ma-ah almost cried for her, knowing exactly how she must feel. The girl was about half-grown, but smaller than the others.

Then the child put her hands back at her sides; the look of dismay left her face. Once more everyone was smiling, effortlessly it seemed. Almost at once the same stone rose, fairly steady this time, and flew through the air. It stopped, hovering. Ma-ah grinned herself. The children obviously were trying to move the stone into position. Would they?

A tiny frown began to appear on the face of the little girl who had gasped earlier. Ma-ah knew that in some way a frowning concentration was wrong. “You can do it. You can do it. It’s easy,” she told the child without thinking. And suddenly the girl’s brow cleared. The stone sailed across the ground, landing right where it seemed to belong. Now it was the children’s turn to relax.

The air of waiting diminished but did not disappear. Then Orona threw her arms out in a gracious smiling gesture, and the second rock rose and flew into place. One rock remained. Who was to … ? Suddenly Ma-ah understood. Rampa was to move the last rock. Of course. The man and woman put in the last two rocks of their own home.