The village watched. At first, it was a spectacle. Children followed her, throwing pebbles or offering half-hearted help. The women shook their heads and muttered about the heat. The men said it was a waste of time, that she should be learning to sew or cook or pray. But Aïcha did not stop. She worked from dawn until the light failed, stacking stone upon stone, building a dry-stone tower that grew slowly, obsessively, like a prayer made of granite.
"Who is there?" she asked, her voice steady.
The Aïcha Lark's behavior is as enigmatic as its appearance. Like many larks, it is believed to be a ground-foraging bird, feeding on a mix of seeds, insects, and small invertebrates. Its social behavior is less documented, but larks are generally known to form flocks outside the breeding season, suggesting a similar pattern for the Aïcha Lark.