Picking up until
aella_irene can resurface!
( Chapter 11 )( Chapter 12 )The atmosphere of menace is somewhat lighter in these chapters. I did enjoy the description of the bath! And also all the flowers around the border post. Also nice to read about immigration officials who are, while not able to help Christie, also not bullying or unpleasant; of course, being an upper-middle-class white woman in the Middle East of this era probably helps a lot, but it's a bit of a contrast to most of the stories you hear these days - no one even handcuffs Christie and deports her to a random third country! Amazing.
Charles is still being mysterious, but actually I didn't think his letter was
too bad - I didn't blame her for being annoyed, but it felt like that was more about the situation than his specific choices. Her dad was also quite reasonable, and entirely willing to validate her annoyance even while he also wanted her to stay put! Something is Up, and I suspect he has guessed more of it than Christie has yet.
But what a frustrating cliffhanger! Tune in next time to find out more, maybe??