She was very grateful to Evelyn Ford and Wendy for giving her dignity and respect in the final stage of her life.
"What is the world outside like?"
"There are trees, rivers, mountains, and many people."
Leah smiled. "I still prefer it here."
She gave Evelyn Ford all the heirlooms passed down through her tribe. In the box were several yellowed books and scrolls made of animal hide, covered in their tribe's script written with colorful pigments. She also gave her the earthen bowl and the dried mouse meat that hung in the stone house.
"Evelyn, these colored pigments are so beautiful."
Evelyn Ford didn't let Wendy touch them. Instead, she quickly put the scrolls away. Leah and her family would never know that the true culprit that had made them all terminally ill was the colored pigment on the scrolls. It was made from radioactive minerals. With prolonged contact, the body's organs would fail, leading to a slow, chronic death.
