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T here
is a
reason
for
everything
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1980: Catherine, the tallest and wisest of the girls, had the idea
first, but that fact would soon be forgotten. Because the idea was
a little like a drop of ink in water, it spread quickly, dissipating
into each of the little girls in turn, until none of them could say for
certain who had thought it up in the first place.
Anne, the youngest, was the keenest of the three, desperate
for their idea to take shape and be made real.
Pamela was a little scared, and didnt want to go into the
woods at all, but she would never say so. She followed the eldest
and the youngest, like she always did, and was a buffer between
the two. She really ought to have stopped the whole palaver, but
she was swept along with the tide, a pebble skidding along the
bottom of the riverbed.
The three little girls gathered in the wood, knelt down in front
of the biggest alder tree, and pulled from their baskets the things
they would need to make a protector:
1. T he basic materials for a rag doll. Really, it was just a
stuffed head and a flap of material for the body. Genderless and featureless. (Anne was easily distracted.)
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2. Twine
3. A needle
4. S
trips of cloth (The only color left in Mothers old store of
material was black, so there was a lot of shadow in the
basket.)
5. Buttons (for eyes)
6. Clay
7. Candles and a box of matches
It was Anne who took the lead, even though she was the
youngest. She gripped her rag doll between her fingers and then
lit the candle very carefully. She lifted the open body of the thing
and stuffed it full of clay.
God made Adam out of clay, she said. So this will give
our protector life.
It was messy work, but Catherine and Pammy were nodding
their approval, so she kept stuffing and pushing until the doll was full.
Then she sewed him u
prather clumsily, for she really did get bored
very quickly in her sewing lessonsand put him down next to the
candle. She had managed to sew him two very long, thin legs.
Now his eyes, Catherine said. Give him eyes. This
seemed important.
Anne groaned, so easily bored of her own project. Im sick
of sewing. Cant we play hide-and-seek?
You have to put clothes on him, at least, Pammy complained. Otherwise hell be naked.
Fine, then. C
lothesquicklybut afterward Im playing. This
is dumb, anyway.
Cath sighed. You wanted to do it in the first place!
Anne shrugged, and as she worked, Pammy said, We sum-
2Dawn Kurtagich
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BOOK 1:
Sanguinem Terrae
Two little girls ran away
from the dark and stormy city.
they happened upon a manor one day
and the lady inside took pity.
in they flew and perched quite fine
and ate all but one juicy berry.
the little girls slept and sang and smiled
and the memories: they vowed to bury.
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THREE
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After a while, she gets tired. I lift her onto my back. Her good arm
strangles me, trying to hold tight. I grit my teeth and trudge on.
My feet will rot. Clean away, they will. The days of mud have
started to waterlog the flesh, swelling it to twice the size it should
be, cracking, soggy, raw.
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10Dawn Kurtagich
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I nod, once.
The door widens then, like a book opening on the first chap
ter, and there she is, standing in the gap to a warm, dry place,
stunned like she just saw a giraffe doing backflips in a tutu. I
can see her wanting to ask all kinds of questions, but her brain
short-circuits with all of them rushing at her, and all that comes
out is:
Oh my God. Oh, you poor thing. Why...why are you here?
I turn away to get Nori and she must think Im leaving cause
she reaches out a hand and says, Wait! like shes the one des
perate for us to come muddying up her carpet and not the other
way around. I didnt mean... She trails off when she spots the
lump that is Nori, in the mud, dead asleep.
Oh my God! Is thatis it
I haul my little sister up and stagger a little. The woman
Cathgapes at me but lets me pass. I drag Nori through and
dump her on the floor just inside. The dark beams of wood that
run the length of the entrance hall look older than Cath herself.
Cath shuts the door, leaning her head against it for a good
half minute before she turns around. I get that. Needing a
moment to gather strength. Though, when she does turn and see
us, its all too much, and she slides down the door onto her bum
and stares at us completely bewildered.
Presilla...Eleanor...
Its Silla now, I tell her. And Nori, shes called.
Silla, yes. Nori. Okay.
Hello, Aunt. Weve come to live with you.
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1
la baume
Welcome home,
warm and whole
to open arms
and healing balms
welcome child,
welcome, child.
Cath wore a blue-and-yellow kimono-style dressing gown, wild
hair hovering around her shoulders like a mane. She stared at
me with horror when Noris head thumped on the lip of the
door as I dragged her inside. She flinched and reached forward
like she wanted to lift Nori up into her arms. She didnt, instead
standing back, hand over her mouth.
My goodness, oh dear. She took a breath and straightened
her shoulders. Ill get a blanket. She turned away, and then
hurried back. Oh, dear. She cant come into the house dripping
like that. Cath leaned forward and lifted Noris shirt up to pull
it over her head.
I pushed her away. Leave it.
She blinked at me.
I forced a smile. I can do it.
Okay. Ill bring two blankets and we can get you both
cleaned up and warm.
12Dawn Kurtagich
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The tea was good, but that was about it. It was a touch snooty,
maybe, with weird flavors and a llno Tetley herebut that was
expected in a place like this. A manor like this. Thats where my
amazement stopped.
This wasnt so much a manor as a skeleton.
Where were all the baroque antiques? The oil paintings
of stern, proud old men, and the string of ancestors in suits of
armor? Wasnt there supposed to be a plethora of finery and
riches? I looked around with a sinking feeling in the pit of my
stomach and took another sip of fancy tea.
I was still wondering about the bloody color of the manor,
to be honest. Made Mams voice pop into my head uninvited.
Crazy Cath. Circling the loom.
Nori was dead noisy when she ate, for someone who couldnt
talk to save her life.
Shut your mouth, would you? I muttered.
Sweary word, mouths a turd. She made quick work of the
signs, despite the jam gooing up her fingers.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I no longer saw questions in her eyes, which was nice. The
quiet was nice. But she trusted me when I didnt have a clue or a
plan, and that really wasnt.
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So, said Cath, coming into the room with a new pot of
tea. Whats happened?
I shrugged.
(Crazy) Aunt Cath poured more tea. Take it from the
beginning. Because, I have to tell you, the Pamela I knew
wouldnt have let you come here. Not in a million years. And
I would never have... She laughed like it was a joke, a lit
tle game between her and her sister. But I could tell the laugh
was c overing up something else entirely. I sent letters asking
how you were. We both agreed never to let you...Well. Here
you are. She laughed again, shaking her head, and I noticed
that her hair, though long and quite wild, was the warm color
of wheat at sunset. Just like Noris. Just like Mams before it
faded into a pale gray. But her face was off somehow. A little
too old.
I got my looks from my father (lucky me), which meant I was
like the sunspot after you looked too closely at the sun. Black
hair, black eyes, too-white skin. A walking clich.
Cath sat down at the table, her face stilling when she spot
ted our bag dripping in the corner. I see. Well. Well, yes. You
werent joking about staying.
He got bad, I said, and its all I intended to say.
It was enough. Caths expression soured, then she nodded.
Im glad youre here, anyway. Ill have to make arrangements,
I suppose. School, clothing... For a moment, she seemed
overwhelmed.
Leave it to me, I said, even though I wanted to let the
silence draw out to infinity so I could see when it imploded.
The lights flickered at the same moment I saw the relief on
her face; she didnt know me yet. Nori didnt go to school, and I
didnt plan on going back either.
14Dawn Kurtagich
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When Aunt Cath said she would get us cleaned up and warm,
she meant it. We entered the only room she had made up, and it
smelled of sweet vanilla and roses.
Its so big! Nori signed, rushing up and down to look at one
object and then another.
Yeah, right, I said, lugging our bag onto the bed. A big
fat disappointment.
Nori stuck her tongue out at me and continued her explora
tion. I busied myself pulling out the remnants of our life:
Three shirts each
One pair of ratty jeans each
Six dresses for Nori
Three dresses for me
Underwear
A hairbrush
A hair dryer
My paper
My pen
I carried our clothes, which now seemed meager and pitiful,
to the chest of drawers in the corner and reached down to open
the top drawer. It was stuck, so I tried the next, and the next,
and the next.
Oh for heavens sake!
16Dawn Kurtagich
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I snapped awake.
I needed to pee.
Damn. I really needed to pee.
Nori had rolled over to her side of the bed. Dead to the
world. She would sleep through a tsunami if allowed to.
I squeezed my legs together and shoved my hand in between.
Nonononoooooo
I was too comfy to get out of bed. The air on my face was an
arctic blast, and the idea of pulling my duvet back was cringe-
worthy. But my bladder constricted, threatening me, and I didnt
dare call its bluff.
I left the bedroom on the balls of my feet, leaving the light
off for Noris comfort, but as soon as I was in the hall, my body
greeting a glacial wall of frosty air, I felt up and down the walls
for a light switch. Nothing.
18Dawn Kurtagich
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20Dawn Kurtagich
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22Dawn Kurtagich
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Cath had just put three teacups onto the kitchen table, along
with warm tea cakes, jam, and butter, when we came in. When
she turned to us, her face lit up. Oh, my dears! Oh, my good
ness. You look just like her, she said to Nori, cupping her smile
in her hands. She looked at me. Presilla...
Silla now.
She nodded. Silla, of course. You look
Like him. I know.
beautiful. Better than Clara.
I smiled and looked away. I did look like my father. But
he was not a beautiful person. Black hair. Black eyes. Pasty
skin. We were not beautiful. That was an impossibility. I felt
flawed. But Nori...Nori was perfect. Almost. Her teeth were...
bad. And that was his fault, too.
Still...Clara Bow. Inside, I glowed.
Cath noticed my stare leveled at the table. Probably noticed
my scowl, too. That was my most recognizable feature, and in
my opinion, my best. Yes, come noweat something. Have tea.
You look starved half to death. And, Silla, tell me everything.
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I sat down at the table and grabbed a tea cake for Nori.
Eat, I told my sister, and then turned back to Aunt Cath.
Like I said last night: Nothing to tell. He got bad. We had no
choice. Mum said this was a safe place.
Aunt Caths gaze changed. Not for long, but I saw it. It was
sharper. Really?
I shrugged. Yeah.
Ill have to phone her, she muttered, her gaze drifting to the
side, her fidgeting hand coming back up to squeeze her bottom lip.
No! You cant. Shes...shes busy. I swallowed. I mean,
he might...get angry.
Cath nodded. Thats true. Its impossible anyway. I cut the
phone lines years ago. Couldnt stand all the sales calls. If its
really very important, theyll write or visit. No, Ill simply have
to use your cellular phone.
No phone, I said, glad that this, at least, was true, and
took the biggest bite of the tea cake I could manage.
No phone. No one home.
24Dawn Kurtagich
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Still. All this space, all this room, and all I could do was
stare at the ceiling.
Is this what safety feels like? I wondered, because I was still
afraid and I was still alone. Nothing had changed, except now I
had more area to move in. An actual bed. Clean hair and clothes.
. ..
hi. me.
OK.
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Its bigger than youre used to. But, trust me. When you get
older youll be complaining that you have no space, just like we
all do.
The thought comforted me.
Her sleepy hands had more questions. What do you think
Mamas doing?
Go to sleep.
Silla?
Mm?
Are we safe?
The same question again.
Yes, I told her.
Are we? I thought.
26Dawn Kurtagich
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2
under the table
Lookie here, why dont you
you family all around
plenty of things to do
dangers lurk and abound!
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One night, after a long day tilling the soil, we sat in the library
together, Nori curled up on Caths right, asleep with her head on
Caths lap, and I on the other side, sitting close, but not touch
ing. I stared into the fire and felt my muscles begin to loosen. I
was dozing comfortably when the lights died with a thwack!
I sat up, startled. Nori slept on.
Dont worry, Cath said, her voice sleepy and warm. Lit
only by the fire, she reminded me of my mother. The way she
used to be before Nori came. Before Dad got bad. Its only the
generator. Ill see to it in the morning.
You run the power with a generator? I whispered.
The wiring here is old. Too old to be useful or safe.
I noticed my hair dryer cord didnt fit in any of the plugs in
my room.
Cath smiled. Sorry.
We fell into a companionable silence.
After a while, she turned to me with warm eyes.
Im so glad you came, Silla. The fire was reflected in her
eyes. Mams eyes. I looked away. It was torture. I didnt want to
think of her, or Dad, or Londonnone of it.
She took my hand, and the touch jolted me. So warm. So for
eign. I really am, she said. Things must have been...awful.
I nodded stiffly. What an understatement.
I want you to know, Im your family, too. And family isnt
always such a higgledy-piggledy. I stared at her, mouth open.
Hearing the words higgledy-piggledy coming from her mouth
anyones m
outhsurprised a bubble of laughter out of me. It
rose without warning and escaped before I could pop it.
I like that, Cath said, grinning down at me. Your laugh
is sweet. Did you know, I used to run an orphanage here, a while
ago? She stared deep into the fire. You remind me of those
28Dawn Kurtagich
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30Dawn Kurtagich
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The fire was burning low now, and we sat around it on the sheep
skin rugs, curled up in fleece blankets while it stormed outside.
The skylight above us was the deep black of nothing, but now
and again a flash of lightning revealed the raging rains and whip
lash winds.
Nori, wrapped up in Caths lap, sat staring at the night sky,
flinching with every rumble of thunder.
Its just God up there, Cath said. Hes moving his furni
ture around. Nothing to be scared of. It just sounds loud because
we live underneath him.
Noris eyes widened, and she looked up again.
A flash of lightning.
Hes taking photos of you! Cath cried. How wonderful!
He must think youre beautiful.
Nori grinned. She fumbled to get out of the blanket and then
ran to stand beneath the skylight, posing and smiling and spin
ning as God took photos of her.
I grinned at Cath, embracing the warmth in my chest and
wondering if this was what love felt like.
Time for a story, Cath said later, when we were all snug
gled close and sleepy. I had retreated to the armchair closest to
the fire, my legs dangling over the arm.
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Oh, bug, come here. Its all right. I held out my arms
for her and she crawled over to the foot of my chair, where I
lifted her into my lap and wrapped my own blanket tightly
around her. Its only a story, I said. Isnt it, Cath?
Cath smiled, a little too long. Oh. Oh, yes. Its just a story,
Eleanor, nothing to be scared of.
See? I said, and kissed her head.
So long as you stay away from the woods, Cath added quietly.
I kept kissing Noris head and staring into the fire.
Just a story.
Just a freaking weird story.
I like it here.
Sometimes I see Silla looking out the window
feeling bad.
But she shouldnt feel bad because I like it
here.
Its nice.
Auntie Catherine is nice.
I like the food.
Silla shouldnt feel bad.
She really, really shouldnt.
I miss them, too, but I like not being scared
and Im not sore anymore.
A nd the bad man is locked in the woods.
So thats why Silla shouldnt feel bad.
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