The girl did not answer. She crouched where she was and stared at Hesta, curiously sizing up this not entirely unfamiliar visitor. They looked at each other like that until her mother's threatening voice came from inside the house. The girl immediately picked up her vegetable basket, got to her feet, and jogged home.
Hesta watched her leave. Just as the girl was about to step through her front door, another little girl about her age opened it. The two children held hands and vanished behind the door together.
Hesta was still leaning against the fence in a daze. After a while, the girl's mother pushed open the door and came out. She held a large bucket in her arms and walked straight toward the well in the yard.
"...What are you doing there?" the middle-aged woman asked, looking at Hesta.
"Nothing." Hesta greeted her as well. "Just taking a walk... Uh, did you know we're planning to open a new school on the farm?"
"What kind of school?"
"One specifically for children under fourteen," Hesta said. "I've told a lot of people along the way—"
"We don't have money—"
"It's free."
"Huh?" The woman turned back, watching Hesta warily. "Then what do you want?"
"As long as they work on the farm, they can send their children over," Hesta said. "They can commute or stay with us. Construction on the new school building starts tomorrow, right next to my house."
The woman turned away and dropped the wooden bucket into the well. "...Our child has already registered in town."
"That's fine too," Hesta said. "I'm just letting you know. If you have any friends who need this kind of service, please pass the word along. We'll start classes as soon as the building is up. Oh, and we'll have