"Before the ceremony, I would like to meditate," Harrodean said to the Summer Wives. Harrodean sat with her legs crossed and her eyes closed.

"That's ok. It's your day," one of the summer wives said agreeing.

"Are you using the moka pot?" a second summer wife asked looking at the steam coming from the pot on the stovetop.

"Yes. Is it forbidden to use it?" Harrodean asked.

"No, we haven't used it since the last time the Senior Summer Wives rose from their graves. It was given to us as a gift from them. Since you're going to be a Summer wife there is no harm done," she shrugged.

"I finely ground some chamomile leaves and put them in the pot, I hope you don't mind," Harrodean said with a shy smile, her eyes still closed.

"We've only used it for coffee grounds in the past. We never thought about using it for tea," the third summer wife said sitting next to Harrodean on the floor. "Mind if we join you?"

"No, I welcome the company," Harrodean briefly opened her eyes.

The Summer wives crossed their legs and closed their eyes. Harrodean closed her eyes again. The hot water built pressure from the moderate heat forming steam as it passed through the funnel to the tea grounds inside the moka pot. The Summer wives inhaled and exhaled the vapor from the steam released from the pot into the room. The soothing scent of chamomile calmed them. Harrodean opened one eye, leaned forward and turned toward the summer wives seated next to her to make sure they were in deep meditative state. She opened her other eye and stood up slowly and quietly. She stood in front of them.

"You are at peace Summer Wives."

"We are peaceful," they spoke in unison.

"Good. Stay at peace. You will do whatever I say."

"We will do whatever you say," they said in unison again.

"Stay at peace."

"We will stay at peace."

"Give me your veil," she said to the first summer wife.

"What?" she shouted making the other summer wives shudder.

"Quiet. You are at peace," Harrodean said at a level tone of voice.

"I'm at peace," the first summer wife said.

"We are at peace," the other summer wives said in agreement.

"This is my day. The day of my ceremony, remember?"

"Yes, Harrodean. It is your day," they said with their voice lilting high and low and low and high again like a seesaw.

"Give me your veil."

"You'll be given your own veil during the ceremony," the first summer wife said.

"Don't argue with me," Harrodean said a bit miffed. She let out a breath sat on the floor and crossed her legs. She closed her eyes. "You are at peace," she said to the summer wives again and herself.

"We are at peace," she said with them.

"Where is my veil?"

"We can't tell you until the ceremony begins," the second summer wife answered.

"Since, I'm going to become a Summer wife I should know where my veil is," Harrodean said calmly.

"We must stay with tradition. You cannot see your veil or dress until the ceremony," the third Summer wife chimed in.

Harrodean rested her face in her hands and sighed. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"Much, much harder," the Summer wives said with a smile in a peaceful tone still in meditation.

"Stay at peace."

The Summer wives nodded.

Harrodean opened her eyes, uncrossed her legs and stood up. She turned off the stove to keep the tea from burning. She looked out through the window at the garden. She went into the garden through the back door of the bungalow. The Senior Summer Wives graves were on the opposite side. The Summer Wives' shovels were in the utility closet on the outside of the bungalow. It's locked. She ran back inside and carefully searched each one of the Summer wives' dress pockets while they sat meditating. She found no key to the closet. She left through the front door where the cemetery was.

"I can't shovel my way out of here through the ice cream den garden to get to the nebula of the city of Hargot. I'll have to find out how to get there through this cemetery," she thought.

The acoustic cleaning process had not yet ended for the garden despite it already had for other parts of Hargot. Regions of Hargot settled in several different hemispheres and time zones. The garden was in the Northwestern Hemisphere. The pulse wasn't so unnerving now, but it made her feel lost and scared. Something she knew the pulse was actually feeling and not exactly her. She walked behind the tombstones looking around for a way out. She sighed and looked down with a look of disappointment as she walked back behind the tombstones. On the back of each one of the tombstones she saw there was a glass case embedded in it with an article of clothing from each of the Senior Summer Wives stored and locked inside. She placed her hand over the glass and with a flicker of her power pulverized the glass. She took the red and black hood with the black lace veil attached to the front of it and put it over her head. She opened the second and the third tombstones in the same manner. She took off her clothes and put on the leather dress which had a red leather cowl, tan bodice and red leather skirt. She put on the black Adwar Glory Steel boots made of part metal armor starting above the knee and leather down the shin with a rounded steel toe. She touched her finger to the crown of her head taking in the whole outfit to flatter her shape. Harrodean flipped her head back and a ball of lightning popped her hair into a small Afro underneath the hooded veil. Harrodean sighed. "That's better."

The Senior Summer Wives graves and bodies disappeared into dust. The ground rumbled and shook. It opened wide but didn't swallow Harrodean whole. She walked through the wide crag of earth leading her to the nebula of the city.