alex shearer And this is for you also he said This comes with them He handed me a bag a kind of leather satchel I opened it up and inside was some money in notes a lot of money and a letter What’s this You’d better read it Have you read it I can’t read Kaleir said and without the slightest trace of embarrassment too just matter-of-fact the way somebody might have said I can’t swim or I can’t play the piano like it was no big commotion at all I took the letter and opened it up Dear Mrs Mackinley Well I resented that for a start Mackinley died sixty years ago and here people are still calling me by his name I told them around at City Hall that I was reverting to my own name Piercey but they never got the message or didn’t listen Of course the island with City Hall on it is several weeks sailing from here It’s the capital Biggest island largest population Anyway I won’t give you the whole blah-de-blah of the contents of the letter It went on for several pages and there were even further pages of supporting documentation along with a family tree lineage various social security documents copies of marriage birth and death certificates and the news that these two children in front of me had been orphaned by an unfortunate act of piracy on the high skies by persons unknown They had been found drifting on a life raft in the vicinity of 7
sky run the Isles of Night which is a shortcut you don’t want to be taking not unless you’ve got a large harpoon gun or a couple of Cloud Hunters with you for protection Their parents were missing presumed dead Extensive enquiries had been made throughout the islands and no other next of kin had been found So I’m standing there reading this still blocking the jetty which is starting to look a little crowded by now and looking up at me are these two faces which seem like they’re made out of unbaked dough with raisin eyes full of both fear and suspicion and strangely a kind of innocent trust too Kaleir makes a move to walk around me and go on land Hold it right there I say I’m still reading Reading seems to take a long time he says And thinking What’s there to think about Kaleir says You’re kin aren’t you So you take them and you look after them I’ll judge that I tell him To be honest what I’m thinking to myself is that first I don’t know if I believe this story supporting documentation or not and second even if it’s true I’m so removed in lineage from these two kids they might as well be strangers Not only do I not know them I don’t even recognize the names of their parents One of the names of the parents parents I half know But that’s a pretty tenuous connection But then you see that’s City Hall on City 8
alex shearer back Island for you If they can avoid spending a cent on welfare they’ll do it They push off the needy on even the farthest away relative and they’ll say just like Kaleir had that you’re a blood relation so it’s your problem Well Kaleir says You letting us come on land so we can stretch our legs And get something to eat maybe the tracker adds Hold on I say Why don’t you take them Kaleir looks at me and then at his wife and then Us Bring them up as Cloud Hunters I say Why not They’d look cute once you did the coming-of-age scars At which one of the kids winced and the other looked disgusted But Kaleir shakes his head We can’t he says No blood link Can’t be I don’t mind I say I’ll even sign the paperwork agreeing to let you have them And you can keep the money He looks at his wife then at the tracker I know he’s tempted Children are wealth to Cloud Hunters I don’t know why because kids are a big expense who keep you awake at night and they’re forever asking you how long it is until you get somewhere But she shakes her head as if to say it would be wrong It wouldn’t be right he says taking his cue from her They’re yours They should be brought up your way I don’t have a way I say 9
sky run You’re a land-dweller Peggy We’re nomads Makes no difference to me So I’m telling you that either you take them and keep them or you cart them back to where you found them Can’t do that Peggy Oh yes you can City Hall paid you to find me didn’t they So you just take them back and say I wasn’t at home or I died or my little island here got blown out of orbit and disappeared You needn’t even make a special journey Just drop them off next time you’re in the vicinity No problem And it wouldn’t have been No problem at all If the smaller of those two children with their straw-colored hair and their poor pasty faces hadn’t looked up at me and said Granma don’t you want us And started to cry And you know what he does then just to add insult to personal injury He reaches out with both his small arms and he gets me around the legs so I can’t even move or go a step away While his sister stands next to him looking up at me too but she’s dry-eyed and more kind of practical less emotional and a little older than he is Don’t cry Martin she says It’s OK We’ve got each other And so there I am with it all so sweet and just as I like it on my little island no responsibilities no serious worries just pleasing myself But what do I do about this There’s the small one got me around the legs crying his heart out And there’s his sister about a year or eighteen months older I’m guessing who’s all ready 10
