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"He’s staying with the Markhams, then," my father said

"They’ve adopted him," I told my parents "He cal s Aida his mother and Patrick his father I heard hilances Adoptions were and are virtual y unheard of in our Province of Oria

We heard a knock on the door "Stay here, Cassia," my father said "Let us see who it is" I waited back in the kitchen, but I heard Xander’s father, Mr Carrow, at the door, his deep loud voice booo into one another’s residences, but I could i like an older version of Xander Sa blue eyes

"I talked with Patrick and Aida Markhaht you’d want to know The boy is an orphan He’s from the Outer Provinces"

"He is?" My mother’s voice held a note of concern The Outer Provinces are on the geographic fringe of the Society where life is harder and wilder Sometimes people refer to them as the Lesser Provinces, or the Backward Provinces, because they have so little order and knowledge there There’s a higher concentration of Aberrations there than in the general populace And even Anoh no one knows for certain where the Anomalies are They used to be kept in safe houses, but many of those stand empty these days

"He’s here with ful Society approval," Mr Carrow said "Patrick showed me the paperwork hiht be concerned I knew you’d be worried, Mol y, and you, too, Abran"

"Wel , then," ed around the corner to look into the foyer, where my parents’ backs were to ht behind him

Then Xander’s father dropped his voice, and I had to listen closely to hear what he said over the low hum of the port in the foyer

"Mol y, you should have seen Aida And Patrick They seeain The boy is Aida’s nephew Her sister’s son" My esture she always made when she was uncomfortable Because we al remembered vividly what had happened to the Markhaovernment failure A Class One Anomaly should never have been unidentified, let alone al owed to roaovernment offices where Patrick worked and where his son was visiting him that day We al kept quiet about it, but we al knew

Because the Markhaone, murdered while he waited for his father to co Because Patrick Markha healed, since the Anomaly waited in the office, quiet, and attacked Patrick, too

"Her nephew," my mother said, her voice fil ed with empathy "Of course Aida would want to raise hiht feel like they owed it to Patrick to make an exception for him," my father said

"Abran," my reed "It’s logical An exception as recompense for the accident A son to replace the one that they shouldn’t have had to lose That’s how the Officials see it"

Later, my mother came to my room to tuck me in With her voice soft like the blankets she settled around ?"

"Yes," I said

"The Markhams’ nephew--son--starts school tomorrow"

"Ky," I said "That’s his na blond hair swung over her shoulder and her freckles looked like stars scattered across her skin She smiled at me "You’l be nice to hiht be hard to be nehen everyone else belongs"

"I wil ," I promised

As it turned out, her advice was unnecessary The next day at Second School, Ky said hel o and introduced hih the hal s; he told everyone who he was so that no one had to ask When the bel rang, he disappeared into the groups of students It was shocking how quickly he vanished He was there one minute--separate and distinct and new--and then he becah he had done it al of his life As if he had never lived anywhere but here

And that is how it’s always been with Ky, I realize now, looking back We have always seen hi the surface Only that first day did we see hi to tel you," I say to Grandfather as I pul up a chair next to hiah tirateful, because this is the second-to-last tiht makesgood?" He sits by the , as he often does at night He watches the sun out of the world and the stars into it and soain Is it hard to sleep when you know you are almost at the end? Do you not want to miss a moment, even those that would otherwise seeht, the colors wash away; gray and black take over Now and then a bright pinprick of light flashes as a street laht, look like beautiful glowing paths above the ground now that their evening lights have been turned on As I watch, an air train rushes past, carrying people along in its white and lighted space

"Soe," I say, and Grandfather puts down his fork He is eating a piece of so cal ed pie, which I have actual y never tasted, but it looks delicious I wish that it weren’t against the rules for hi’s fine I’m stil Matched to Xander," I say I’ve learned froive news; reassurance first, al else after

"But there was an error with my microcard When I went to view it, Xander’s face vanished And I saw someone else"

"You saw so not to look too hard at the food on his dish The flakiness of the sugared crust, which ree of snow The red-stained berries smeared across the plate, ripe and surely ful of taste The words I’ve said cling to my mind like the pastry does to the heavy silver fork I saw someone else

"What did you feel, when you saw that other boy’s face co his hand on mine "Were you worried?"

"A little," I say "I was confused Because I know the second boy, too"

Grandfather’s eyebrows curve in surprise "You do?"

"It’s Ky Markham," I tel hih, down the street froive you for the mistake?"

"It wasn’t a mistake by the Society," I say "The Society doesn’t make mistakes"

"Of course not," Grandfather says, his tone h"