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"Follow ain to run, just as he alanted to do, right out in the open, down the streets of the town No Official stops hih the empty streets under a brilliant, careless sun

To my surprise, Bram takes me to the town’s tiny Museum, not to the medical center Inside the Museulass swept up Any artifacts that were stored are now gone; the map of the Society has been drawn on, altered I would like to look closely to see what is marked there now, but we don’t have ti on the floor throughout the room A few people look up e coht of Bras here

"They ran out of space at theher here I was lucky, because I had things to trade Other people had to do the best they could at their hos some of the time"

Her My mother But what about him? What about my father?

Braone I try not to panic Her face is so pale against her scattering of freckles; there iswith her eyes open like this, young and lost to us

"I turn her every two hours like they told me," Brah" He speaks very fast "But look She has one of the bags now That’s good, isn’t it? They’re expensive"

"Yes," I say "It’s very good" I pull hie it?" I ask

"I traded with the Archivists," Braone," I say

"A few came back," Braain" I shouldn’t be surprised Of course so back, seeing the void into which they could bring their trades and their trinkets

I lean closer to Bra her back with us," I say

"Is it safe?" Bra medic says "She can be transported She’s stable, and shows no sign of infection"

"Bram," I say softly, "we don’t have very ht be able to help thereed she could be one of the first to have it" I glance over at ained for hi here But where is he? Where is Papa?"

Bram doesn’t answer ain, "where is Papa? Do you know? He can come with us to have the cure--they promised--but we don’t have much time We have to find hi sighs "They bring the dead out to the fields," he says "Only those of us who are io out to check on them" He looks up atfor the Archivists," he says "I can go out and look for faces"

"No," I say in horror

"It’s better than selling the tubes," he says "That’s the other job that pays well" His eyes are different--soseen so lint that I knoell "I won’t do that Selling the tubes is a lie Telling people whether or not their friends or family are dead is the truth"

He shudders "The Archivists letall the ti information or tubes or to knohere the people they love are So I helped theave me a picture And then they paid me hat I needed forhe could to take care of our h What has he seen?

"I wasn’t in time for him," Bram says

I alht be wrong, but he knows He saw

My father is gone The cure is too late for him

"We need to leave," theofficer lift my mother onto a stretcher "Now"

"Where are you taking her?" someone asks from across the room, but we don’t answer

"Did she die?" someone else calls out I hear their desperation

We pass through the still and those who tend the them behind, and h cures for everyone, next ti through An Archivist "Do you have a different kind of medicine? How much is it worth?"

The officer takes care of hih the doors out of the Museum

On the ship, Bram climbs down into the hold with me and with the medic, who starts a line for my mother I pull Bram close and he cries, and cries, and cries, and my heart breaks, and I think his tears will never end And then they do and it is worse, a shivering and shuddering that shakes his whole body, and I do not kno I can feel this much pain and survive, and at the same time kno much I have to live Please, I think, let Bram feel that second part, soether, we still have each other

When Bra her the names of flowers, as I had planned, I say her name, because that is what my father would have done "Molly," I say "We’re here" I press the paper flower into her palers twitch a little Did she know this lily would cure us? That it was i a way to sendbeautiful?

Whatever the case, it worked