At the dinner table that night, Haerm took his portion of meat and passed the serving dish on. The older boys helped themselves, and Geldou served the four boys and herself. There was a tiny scrap on the plate for Syp, and she took it without complaint. When the vegetables came around to Syp, the bowl was empty. The child carried it to the stove and held it while Geldou refilled it. Geldou gave it to Haerm, and it was passed around the table. When two fruits were given to each person at the meal table, Syp was given a part of one. Syp slowly chewed every bite and finished when the rest of the family did.
After the dishes were washed and put away, the children scattered around the big table and did their homework. Syp retrieved her learning pad and stylus from her backpack and went to sit on her sleeping pad. She moved the electronic pad back and forth, searching for the right angle to hold the tablet.. Syp walked on the reflective stones that marked a walking path through the room, being careful to not touch anyone else’s belongings. In the eating room , Syp scooted behind the big blue chair that Haerm sat in and held the tablet at one angle, then another. She slowly changed the settings like she had at Eiske's.
It became clear! It had worked! She fought to hold back her excitement. The others would never know. Syp read the history lesson, then went to her mother to be quizzed.
Geldou shrugged when Syp got all the questions correct. She had been listening to Kryn, Thys, Teed and Nel and had heard the material four times. No wonder she got it right. Syp went back to the corner and studied the spelling words. Geldou quizzed her and was unimpressed. When Syp was finished with schoolwork, she asked her mother if she could play some word games. Geldou agreed to this, and Syp returned to the spot behind the chair.
“What are you doing back there? Come here!” Haerm’s voice boomed over her when she bumped the chair.
“Playing a game.” She showed it to him.
“You never play games on your device.”
“I know. I thought it would help me with my spelling.”
“I wouldn’t waste my time, if I were you.”
“Dad, how should I be spending my time?”
“You need to figure out how you’re going to live on your own.”
“Would you teach me please?”
“The first thing you need are some fire rocks.” He went to the fireplace. She knelt next to him as he carefully assembled the tinder, kindling, and bigger pieces of wood for a fire. He struck the rocks together and a spark flew. The tinder caught fire, and he showed Syp how to slowly add the sticks. “Tomorrow night, you will do it.” He turned away. “Geldou, do you have some soft puffs for us to brown? Also, a small kettle of water and some jerked meat.” He showed Syp how to tear apart the meat and soak it in the water. “We’ll let that sit in the fire for a while.” He put a puff on a wire poker and toasted it over the fire. He gave one to each of the boys. The next one he made, he offered to Syp then snatched it back and ate it himself. “You are too slow.” He made another. This time, Syp’s tongue shot out of her mouth and wrapped around the treat. It was already in her mouth when he reacted with a swift slap to her face. “Don’t be rude!”
She had no idea that her tongue would do that, or that she could react so quickly. When he made a third one, he held it in front of her. “Want it?” She shook her head. “A normal person’s tongue only goes to the edge of their mouth. You are a freak.” He held the treat in front of her, nearly four hand-widths away. “I will give this to you, if your tongue can reach it.” She looked at him and at the treat. She turned away and reached for more firewood. “He wants another chance to slap me,” Syp thought. She sat and watched as he chewed the treat.
“You are going to need basic supplies, and we don’t have any extras. I suggest that you steal them from the neighbors.”
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“Steal them?”
“It will be good practice for you. That’s how freaks survive. They are thieves.” She sat silently, contemplating what he was saying. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. “Say what you were going to say.”
“Who should I steal from? Is one place better than another?”
“I’m not going to give you lessons on thievery! Brons do not steal!” he said indignantly.
Syp studied her dad’s face. His bushy eyebrows were drawn together and his blue eyes seemed grey tonight. “Dad, you just told me to steal supplies from the neighbors. Then you said Brons don’t steal. What should I do?”
“You’ll figure it out,” he responded. “If you don’t, you’ll die. Where will you go?”
“I guess wherever my feet take me.”
“If you’re smart, you’ll leave the peninsula.”
“Oh?”
“There is a colony in the Northern Province of Trazene that is filled with freaks. You should go there.”
“The Northern Province? The winters are frigid there and are nearly year-round. I would need to get a transport there. Are you going to give me money for a transport?"
“No! You can walk. You need to be with your own kind.” She wanted to say that she had been born into this family, but she kept her mouth shut. “Say what you were going to say.”
“Why do you hate me?”
“You are a freak. You have these odd hands and feet. You walk with your feet turned out. Your knees are not put together correctly. Your eyes are evil. You will never have children.”
“Dad, what does ‘evil’ mean?”
“Wicked. Wrong. Bad. Nasty. Horrible.”
“What you are saying is that my eyes are bad.”
“No. I meant to say that you are evil.”
“I am evil?” she said to herself. She looked at him, trying to make sense of what he was telling her. “How can a freak that is evil come from someone like you? You have always been a good Dad. Mom has always been a good mom. I don’t understand why having this body makes me bad. I come from you. Maybe it is not who I am, but what I’ve done? Have I done something wrong? Maybe there’s a rule I’ve broken that you’ve not told me about?”
“None of that matters. What is important is that you go away, and don’t come back here, do you understand? You will infect your brothers.”
“Infect them? Like a disease?” He didn’t respond. “I’ve been here for five trips around the sun. How could I not infect them? I don’t understand.”
He scowled. “You don’t need to understand. You need to go. No amount of begging or pleading will change our minds.”
“I’m not going to beg or plead for anything. You think I am evil and if I go things will be different.” She stirred the soup. “I'm sure you have identification papers for me. I want them.”
He went to the desk on the far side of the room and opened a drawer. When he gave Syp the papers, he explained each of them to her. There was a birth record, copies of her school records, and a paper that he didn’t bother to explain.
“Thank you, Dad.”
“Eat your meat.” She moved the kettle away from the fire.
“I need to finish my schoolwork.”
“No. You have no more schoolwork. I have unenrolled you.” Geldou stood behind her.
“May I please use the tablet tonight?”
“It was given to you. It’s your tablet. Take it with you. Make sure you take your charging cord.”
Syp looked at her mother, confused. “Dad, you said that you weren’t giving me supplies and that I would need to steal them. Now Mom tells me to take the tablet. Please tell me which thing I should believe.”
“You need to prepare and gather supplies. I’ve decided to offer you certain things. It will be up to you to make the decision to accept them or not. If you steal from me, I will have you arrested and killed.” She blinked several times, and her chest began to hurt. He handed her a set of fire stones. “These are yours.” He went to the desk and came back. “Here is your grandfather’s old compass and a map of the island. This is Dagmon to the southeast. Here is Jakesh Sands. If you cross the sand bar at high tide, you will be fine.”
She looked at him but stayed silent. She knew that a person could only walk to Trazene when the tides were low. Did he think she was stupid? Her chest hurt again when she realized he had said it on purpose. “He wants me to die out there. Wouldn’t it be enough if I’m gone?” she thought.
Haerm continued, “You may take the clothes in your drawer, your winter gear, and your footwear. Take your teeth-cleaning sets. You’ll need a backpack. If you look in the repair shed along the back wall, there are three hanging from hooks. Choose one. There’s a big black case with outdoor supplies in it below the hooks. Take what you need. No one will be around to help you carry things. Do not ask your mother for food. We have none to spare.”
“Thanks for helping me, Dad.”
“Stop thanking me, Syp.”
“You could have loosed me with no warning and no supplies."
He asked her again, “Where will you go?”
“Wherever my feet take me. If there is a roadblock, I will have to change my plan. So, I won’t make one.” She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t like this answer.