“I’ll teach that fucking dog a lesson,” Rufus said, slamming a rock onto the ground. “Eye for an eye, man. Life for a life.”

Sero looked over at Micah, expecting him to defuse Rufus.

“Ah.” Micah pointed at Rufus. “The ancient Mesopotamian saying, from King Hammurabi’s Code: ‘to make justice visible in the land.’” He held one fist in the air. “I’ll tell you what I’m willing to do for our vision. I’m willing to work, night and day. To write as many letters as it takes and go to as many meetings as I have to. I’m willing to take on the worries and stresses for every person here, to carry them and solve them, so that you”—he pointed around the circle, capturing each of them in his sweep—“you can all focus on making the Sanctuary the best place it can be.”

“I’m going to make sure our new chicks are safe and grow up to be great layers,” Zoe called out, and Micah beamed at her.

“I’ll go to the farmers’ market twice every weekend,” David offered. “Different markets, Saturday and Sunday, to bring in more money for our produce and eggs.”

“Does it help, Micah, when we fast?” Ericka said. “It feels like we’re all in solidarity behind you, but does it help?”

Micah smiled at her. “It does, Ericka. It really does.”

“Let’s do it tomorrow, all of us. We can fast for twenty-four hours, until the welcome dinner,” Ericka proposed, and others agreed. “I might go for two days this time.” She beamed at Micah.

* * *

Sero moved restlessly around her bedroom that night. After dinner, Micah had said that group circle had given him another migraine, so she was alone in this room for perhaps the last time before her new roommates arrived. Sero hadn’t lived with anyone since Stephanie Cortez in her college dorm. She felt a small pang for their tiny room and the camaraderie they’d shared, eating bowls of spiced-up noodles and rice late at night as they shared stories of their families and lives. The last time she’d seen Stephanie was on that first visit to the community garden, with the windfall of poblano peppers. That moment, branching to her current life at the Sanctuary, seemed so long ago.

Suddenly, she remembered the fast she’d be doing the next day and realized she was hungry now. How was Ericka going to fast for two full days? She had the bone structure of a bird and was barely a hundred pounds as it was. In the last month, her face had been losing the apple roundness of her cheeks and had begun to look chiseled. But she seemed so happy and dedicated that Sero had refrained from saying anything to her.

She had mentioned to Micah a few days earlier that maybe Ericka was becoming too lean, but he countered her. “Sero, you’re just so used to seeing obese Americans. Eating fewer calories is actually better for you, helps you live longer. It’s been scientifically proven.” And it was true, Sero discovered when she later looked it up on her laptop. In many studies, calorie restriction was associated with increased life span and health. This discovery just increased Sero’s confusion and guilt over not fasting as often herself.