Out of one of her school uniform pockets, Ayanami withdrew a small pocket calendar card she had found on the street one day.

It is a warm February afternoon and the sun is streaming through the open doors of a large, airy farmhouse set at the far end of a guarded estate outside Libya's capital, Tripoli.

Spotty followed Ted about, barking insistently, then darting toward a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, “Follow me!