is a weekly serial. While it is a work of fiction, it has elements from both my own experiences and stories I’ve heard from various people. The characters, while in some cases inspired by real people, aren’t directly modeled on anyone in particular. I expect there will be inconsistencies and factual errors. I don’t know where it is going, and I’ll probably forget where it’s been. Why am I doing this? To give me an excuse and a deadline for some creative writing and because I thought people might enjoy it. Gozatu!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThere weren\u2019t many clothing options in his room, but Kepa had opted for a dark tunic and white pants. He felt like something out of a Star Wars movie, but he also didn\u2019t want to keep wearing the all-white uniform of everyone else in the baserri. He needed to stand out, to separate himself from these people, however good their intentions were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, he stood out when he approached Olatz. She called out to him as he got near. \u201cKepa!\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cCome, sit next to me. We have much to discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rest of the acolytes looked at this strange newcomer. There was an audible groan as they all dispersed, knowing he would have Olatz\u2019s complete attention. They all went back to their own tables as drones flew in carrying various breakfast items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen did you get here?\u201d asked Kepa as he sat across from her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast night,\u201d replied Olatz. Kepa could see Marina\u2019s face dancing on the edges of his vision, almost like a hologram that overlaid Olatz\u2019s face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do we do now, Marina?\u201d asked Kepa, cutting to the heart of the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olatz\/Marina sighed, the weight of a world seemingly on her shoulders. \u201cI\u2019m sorry for what happened, Kepa. I truly am. I should have done more to protect you both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is done is done,\u201d replied Kepa, a bit more bluntly than maybe he intended. \u201cThe question is what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight,\u201d began Olatz before pausing. \u201cNormally, prisoners taken in these raids are shuttled off to a secret prison on the outside of town. To be honest, we don\u2019t know what happens there as none of our people who have gone there have ever come back. But\u2026\u201d she paused again, studying Kepa\u2019s face for a moment before continuing. \u201cHow many of these\u2026 bubbles\u2026 have you and Maite visited so far?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d asked Kepa. \u201cWhat does it matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to get a sense of who you are out of all of the times we\u2019ve crossed paths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh. Well, this is our third.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marina gasped. \u201cSo young!\u201d she exhaled. \u201cLook,\u201d she continued. \u201cDe Lancre has an\u2026 obsession\u2026 with Maite. He\u2019s been trying for a long time to convert her to his side\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInola ere ez! No way!\u201d exclaimed Kepa, slamming his hand on the table, the sound echoing across the circular common room. Dozens of faces turned to look at them. Oblivious, Kepa went on. \u201cNo way Maite would ever join that bastard!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marina took Kepa\u2019s hand. \u201cAnd, in all of the bubbles I\u2019ve visited, she hasn\u2019t. But that hasn\u2019t stopped him from trying. All I\u2019m trying to say is that I suspect he\u2019s taken her to his place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. \u201cShe wouldn\u2019t. She wouldn\u2019t even go with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think she had a choice. You know Maite better than anyone. You know she wouldn\u2019t willingly go with him. But, I\u2019m sure he didn\u2019t ask her permission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa glared at Marina, a new resolve settling in his grey eyes. \u201cWhere does the bastard live?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you get this post via email, the return-to address goes no where, so please write blas@buber.net<\/a> if you want to get in touch with me.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a full day later before Kepa saw Marina \u2013 Olatz \u2013 again. She must have arrived at the baserri complex sometime in the middle of the night since she was holding what seemed to be court in the middle of the great room the following morning when Kepa woke up. She sat at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2640,864],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventures-of-maite-and-kepa","category-bubers-basque-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/maite-and-kepa-v2-01.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2sYNu-1sz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5616,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5615\/revisions\/5616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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