Green City in the Sun (111 page)

     "It was in a dream, Wise One. Was it a sign?"

     "A sign of what? Tell me your question."

     "I do not know where I belong, Wise One. My mother is Roman, my father German. I was born in Persia and have spent most of my life roaming with my mother, for she followed a quest. Everywhere we went, I felt like an outsider. I am worried, Wise One, that if I do not know where I belong, I will never know who I am. Was the wolf dream a sign that I belong in the Rhineland with my father's people? Is it time for me to leave Rome?"

     "There are signs all about you, daughter. The gods guide us everywhere, every moment."

     "You speak in riddles, Wise One. Can you at least tell me my future?"

     "There will be a man," the fortune-teller said, "who will offer you a key. Take it."

     "A key? To what?"

     "You will know when the time comes ..."