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Authors: Jonathan Friesen
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on this garment for months. He received special permission to use the mark.” Lendi admires the symbol. “Father says it’s his finest work ever.” Lendi holds it up to himself. “Maybe someday I’ll make one for you.”
My mate is so proud; I can’t take that away.
“It’s handsome, and Father will be pleased to wear it.”
Lendi gently folds the leather. “I promised my father I’d passthis on, and report the look on Massa’s face when he sees it. I’ll be quick.”
“Wait, Lendi.” I reach for his arm. “Do you trust me? That there are times when my father should not be disturbed? This is one of them.”
Lendi thinks for a moment, grins, and pulls free. “Good to know. I will only disturb him a little.” He bounds down the stairs.
Five minutes pass, then ten. Finally, Lendi climbs the stairs, his face blank.
“Do I trust you, Luca? You can ask me this? You lied to me. You brought the cave to your home.” His chin quavers. “When they are found, and they will be found, what am I to do?”
“You were never to know, mate. They, like that coat, were to be a gift for Father. I never meant you harm.”
Lendi whips his gift onto the heap of musty clothes. “Don’t call me mate.”
In a moment, I am again alone, but this alone feels deeper. There is no father and there is no friend and neither will return.
There is only me.
And a turtle.
In time the revelry ends, and New Pert slips back into itself. Tight-lipped greetings and hushed talk blanket the streets. Occasionally a child, still loopy from Holiday, runs or hollers. Time will train this out of them.
I enter school the next day, and it feels different, as I feel different. I will climb to the top floor, but that isn’t it. It’s the weight, the sliver in my mind, the task I will perform not sometime, but next year. If I fail, every face I now see will perish of thirst.
Why did this curse fall to me?
I start the spiral, all the while thinking of Walery. There is no doubt I will see him soon — during the next march of the undone. This time, Barker will remain until Walery pushes off. I glance down, but see no doorway to the Below, no hidden entrance missed all these years, and I bump into a group of Twelves.
“I’m sorry. My fault,” I say. They cup their hands and back away.
Right. The separation between the world and me is now complete. I belong nowhere
.
I peek up and see a familiar figure. Lendi!
I push through the ascending crowd and reach his side. He clears his throat and cups his hands.
“Knock it off, mate. It’s me, Luca. To you, always just Luca.”
“Yes, Deliverer, as you say.”
He turns into the Fifteens’ room. I stand statued in the doorway and watch him take his seat. His gaze fixes on his dial. It wiggles, and he flashes a desperate glance my way. I have no words of comfort.
Emile does. “Calm now, Lendi.”
A pleasant Fifteen, she reaches over and strokes Lendi’s shoulder. He recoils at her touch.
I slump and traipse higher.
I have ruined his life.
CHAPTER
10
Y ou have attained the level of adulthood, memorized the codes and conduct needed for a waveless life in a great society.” Teacher speaks calmly. She has clearly mastered her own lessons. “Your parents have trained you, and your occupation awaits. Indeed, the next great moment in your life will be a Joining. As Sixteens, find assurance in the fact that your parents have relayed your personality information to the Joiners. These last three months are therefore a formality, a chance to fill in cracks that were missed in your formation. The exception is today.”
Teacher stands on the crumbling stone steps of New Pert’s only museum. The building, set back from the Swan’s inlet and surrounded by rubble, is unique in every way, from its creamy white columns to its marble exterior.
Children walk around it, wondering aloud. Adults are quick to respond, silencing all questions before they are fully formed.The museum is to be experienced
My mate is so proud; I can’t take that away.
“It’s handsome, and Father will be pleased to wear it.”
Lendi gently folds the leather. “I promised my father I’d passthis on, and report the look on Massa’s face when he sees it. I’ll be quick.”
“Wait, Lendi.” I reach for his arm. “Do you trust me? That there are times when my father should not be disturbed? This is one of them.”
Lendi thinks for a moment, grins, and pulls free. “Good to know. I will only disturb him a little.” He bounds down the stairs.
Five minutes pass, then ten. Finally, Lendi climbs the stairs, his face blank.
“Do I trust you, Luca? You can ask me this? You lied to me. You brought the cave to your home.” His chin quavers. “When they are found, and they will be found, what am I to do?”
“You were never to know, mate. They, like that coat, were to be a gift for Father. I never meant you harm.”
Lendi whips his gift onto the heap of musty clothes. “Don’t call me mate.”
In a moment, I am again alone, but this alone feels deeper. There is no father and there is no friend and neither will return.
There is only me.
And a turtle.
In time the revelry ends, and New Pert slips back into itself. Tight-lipped greetings and hushed talk blanket the streets. Occasionally a child, still loopy from Holiday, runs or hollers. Time will train this out of them.
I enter school the next day, and it feels different, as I feel different. I will climb to the top floor, but that isn’t it. It’s the weight, the sliver in my mind, the task I will perform not sometime, but next year. If I fail, every face I now see will perish of thirst.
Why did this curse fall to me?
I start the spiral, all the while thinking of Walery. There is no doubt I will see him soon — during the next march of the undone. This time, Barker will remain until Walery pushes off. I glance down, but see no doorway to the Below, no hidden entrance missed all these years, and I bump into a group of Twelves.
“I’m sorry. My fault,” I say. They cup their hands and back away.
Right. The separation between the world and me is now complete. I belong nowhere
.
I peek up and see a familiar figure. Lendi!
I push through the ascending crowd and reach his side. He clears his throat and cups his hands.
“Knock it off, mate. It’s me, Luca. To you, always just Luca.”
“Yes, Deliverer, as you say.”
He turns into the Fifteens’ room. I stand statued in the doorway and watch him take his seat. His gaze fixes on his dial. It wiggles, and he flashes a desperate glance my way. I have no words of comfort.
Emile does. “Calm now, Lendi.”
A pleasant Fifteen, she reaches over and strokes Lendi’s shoulder. He recoils at her touch.
I slump and traipse higher.
I have ruined his life.
CHAPTER
10
Y ou have attained the level of adulthood, memorized the codes and conduct needed for a waveless life in a great society.” Teacher speaks calmly. She has clearly mastered her own lessons. “Your parents have trained you, and your occupation awaits. Indeed, the next great moment in your life will be a Joining. As Sixteens, find assurance in the fact that your parents have relayed your personality information to the Joiners. These last three months are therefore a formality, a chance to fill in cracks that were missed in your formation. The exception is today.”
Teacher stands on the crumbling stone steps of New Pert’s only museum. The building, set back from the Swan’s inlet and surrounded by rubble, is unique in every way, from its creamy white columns to its marble exterior.
Children walk around it, wondering aloud. Adults are quick to respond, silencing all questions before they are fully formed.The museum is to be experienced
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