lips to mine before this, but
“I wasn’t sure if you…” he started, then he shifted to, “I was afraid.”
“Don’t ever be. Not with me.”
That night, the original settlers decided we needed some rules to follow; each of us should serve a purpose. Austin was confident that night, possibly because of us. And so he said, “You should divide up jobs like an old- school tribe. Some people hunt, others build.”
Most people laughed, but the chief said, “What about the rest?”
“They breed to keep numbers up, naturally. But not too much. We want to survive, not overpopulate.”
To my surprise, they ratified his idea. And it worked well for a long time. My father lasted ten years down there; Mrs. Shelley passed on shortly thereafter. The Markowitz girls had sons and daughters. And Austin? He was a builder, even down here; oh, he crafted the most marvelous things. I helped him in that. Austin Shelley was also the love of my life.
I lost him two years ago.
And I am so very tired now. My name is Robin Schiller, and I have come to the end of my life. In this final recounting, I entrust my tale to you, my pupil; you are the first Wordkeeper. In this world, words matter. Sometimes they’re all we have. So I entrust mine to you. Let them be remembered.
Let it be so.
Copyright
Copyright© 2012 by Ann Aguirre
Art copyright© 2012 by Victo Ngai
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