for all and all for one. When one is sad, we're all sad. We all must be happy for one to be happy. We're
sisters. We will always be sisters."
Butterfly's eyelids fluttered.
"We're sisters," Crystal continued, and we
joined in once more. "We will always be sisters." Butterfly's eyes opened and her mouth moved
softly until she was into the chant with us. Then we
stopped and stood back. Butterfly looked from Raven
and me to Crystal.
"What happened?" she asked.
"You're all right now," I reassured her. "Let's
get dressed and get down to breakfast. I'm starving." It had been Crystal who had come up with the
joining and the chant and all because of Butterfly. It
was really Butterfly who had brought the four of us
together in the first place. No one was more
vulnerable here. Crystal was her first protector
because she was rooming with her and then Raven
and I came in to keep the older girls from taking
advantage of both of them. Crystal used her sharp wit
and tongue to put down anyone who ridiculed Janet
for her size and shyness. Eventually, the three of us
circled her like three protective sisters and inevitably
became closer to each other because of it.
Crystal labeled us the Four Ophanteers instead of the Four Musketeers. We were always saying, "All for one and one for all." For now and maybe forever,
we were the only family we had.
Crystal- Said the ritual and the chanting would
defeat our sense of isolation and loneliness. She really
was like a schoolteacher. "Man is a gregarious
animal," she lectured. "Religious and meditation
groups favor group recitations. There's security in
hearing other voices saying the same things or making