'Sometimes I think this search is hopeless. So much has happened since I last saw my friends. Perhaps they have died or the rebels have taken them away. But I know I have to find Laker. I know she needs me.' In a country torn by war, it is easy to stop hoping. All Atita has is an old photograph. She does not even know if she will recognize Laker after all these years . . . The stories in this volume of World Stories are by African writers Jackee Budesta Batanda, Jack Cope, Mandla Langa, and M. G. Vassanji. (2008-05-22)