May the 18th

 

I am now aware of the danger of these people. And the other day, two more arrived. They weren’t willing to say how they knew of this place.

When the strange women came, we discussed allowing them to enter our cabal (it is not mine, of course). It will mean more work, more people to watch, but that means more information gathered. I took notes under the table and might have gotten forceful than necessary when it was suggested I might no longer be the cook. I hope I have established that I make the food without threatening my facade.

What came before was written the previous day and events have occurred that change my role in the group.

Now I am worried. I thought being the main cook would be easy, but it is much harder than I thought to cook for so many people. The others over-ruled me and dispersed the cooking duty. I think I will hang around the kitchen being helpful. I feel much more relaxed now that the duty is not all on me, but I am worried this is a ploy. I don’t know what is real here. The desert is so strange and glorious, with its own mysteries. The ground on which I walk and the air in my lungs is unfamiliar, dry and heady.

I do not know if what I saw that night was a dream. That might have been all it was. A waking fantasy. Or it might have been something real.