The Tinkerer's Daughter by Jamie Sedgwick Page B

dead,” I said bluntly. “Once I die, everything can go back to normal.”
    Analyn’s eyebrows shot up. Her face changed, and I saw then that she realized the grief she had given me. “Oh dear,” she said, throwing her arms around me. “Breeze, I’m sorry for everything that’s happened to you. I’m sorry that things are the way they are.” She let me go and saw that I had tears in my eyes. She handed me a handkerchief.
    “Why did they do it?”
    Analyn smiled. “Love,” she said gently. “What else could it be? Who would enter into such a tragic relationship for any other reason? It’s quite romantic really, if you think about it. The two of them, forbidden lovers from two separate worlds, no hope that they could ever truly unite. It must have been exhilarating and frightening all at once. They certainly must have known that if anyone found out there would be trouble. Your father would have likely been jailed and hanged as a traitor.”
    “My father was not a traitor!” I said.
    “Calmly, Breeze. I didn’t say that he was. I only meant that people would suspect. Humans are simple that way. Once they get a thought in their heads, there’s no changing it. Anyway, there is another reason that I brought all this up. I have friends and family up north. I was considering asking them if they knew your father, or had heard of him. I didn’t want to do it without your permission.”
    My heart skipped. “You would do that?” I said.
    “Of course. I’ll mention your father as a friend, and I’ll tell them I’d like to contact his family. Nothing more than that. That way we can discreetly find out if you have any more family, and hopefully learn more about your father, possibly even your mother. How does that sound?”
    I was crying again. I didn’t even have the words to thank Analyn for what she was doing. I threw my arms around her and wept, and she held me as if I were a human.
    How can I describe what it’s like, not knowing anything about your parents, or your heritage? A large part of me, the biggest part of me, was a mystery. What if I did have more family? Would they accept me, or chase me away? I hardly dared to wonder.
    “I’ll compose a letter this weekend. Perhaps in a week or two, we’ll know more.”
    “Thank you,” I said. “Thank you so much.”
    She patted me on the back. “You’re welcome, Breeze. Don’t worry. In time, all will be known.” She held me at arms length and gave me a wink. “Run along now, I hear the Tinkerman and that rattletrap contraption of his outside.”
    I thanked her again as I left, and she waved me off. On the way home, I told Tinker of our conversation. He too, was touched by Analyn’s generosity. “I never knew your father well, either,” he admitted. “I traded some horseshoes to him once, and some nails another time. He never had much to say. I guess he wasn’t too anxious to make friends. Now we all know why, don’t we?”
     
     
    The next few weeks flew by. Between my studies and Tinker’s glider, I hardly had a moment to think. In school, I didn’t make friends as quickly as I had hoped. The other children didn’t seem to suspect me, but they weren’t opening their arms to me either. I was learning however, and that was the important thing.
    Analyn had a library in the school room, and she readily let me borrow anything that I wanted. Needless to say, I spent many late nights reading by candlelight in my room. I had a voracious thirst for knowledge, and at last I had a taste of what I’d been craving.
    I studied the history of my world, and the history of the war. More than anything else, it seemed to be a study of fear, paranoia, and racism. Humans thought Tal’mar were arrogant and devious. Tal’mar believed humans to be inferior and barbaric. The generations of mistrust bred hatred and fear. The two people, it seemed, would never find common ground.
    I learned of another race of men who lived to the south, in the barren desert that