The Vorrh

unease showing in white, fractured marks through her mother’s agitation. She looked older and worn. Her buoyant ease had disappeared, replaced with a distance and distress.
    ‘Mother, is something wrong?’
    The answer to her question chose that moment to walk in the door: her father was shrunken and hunched, his eyelids red-rimmed and his clothing dishevelled. Where had Deacon Tulp gone, and who was this poor imitation in his place? She looked on apprehensively as he waved them to the chairs.
    ‘Sit, sit down, please,’ he said, in a voice that had none of the stride or wit he was so famous for. ‘My dear child, you are shocked to find me changed so; you are not alone in that. Sometimes I shock myself.’ A weak smile flickered across his face and he looked at his wife, whose lips were pursed tightly together, squeezing the blood elsewhere.
    ‘The truth is, I am near the end of my tether. The business is dying and our savings have gone.’
    ‘Gone, father? Gone where?’
    ‘Gone with August Daren,’ Mrs Tulp interjected. ‘He has closed his bank, taken all the money and disappeared.’
    ‘He must have predicted the collapse,’ Deacon Tulp continued. ‘He saw the imminent destruction of the Timber Guild and the downfall of the city and he got out while he could, taking everyone’s savings with him.’
    ‘But father, why is this all happening?’
    ‘Because there are no trees, my dear. Without a workforce, there’s no one to bring the logs out of the forest, so they sit in desolate heaps, cut and rotting. No one will work there. We have tried everything!’
    Ghertrude had never seen him so despondent.
    ‘The only thing we can do is take what we have and leave,’ sighed her father.
    ‘Where?’
    ‘South.’
    ‘But where?!’
    ‘I don’t know!’
    They sat in silence for a long time, until Cyrena, uncomfortably intrusive in the unexpectedness of the family’s revelation, could hold her tongue no longer. ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’
    There was a glint of annoyance in the old man’s eyes, which smoothed out as he shook his head.
    ‘No, thank you, dear. You are very kind.’ And then, as if it had only just occurred to him to remember, he said, ‘You can do one thing for us: keep an eye on this little one. Always be her friend.’
    Cyrena nodded gravely and he brightened for a moment.
    ‘Anyway, my daughter, let’s talk about you. What is the important news that you have brought us today?’
    The three days since her visit should have given Ghertrude time to get used to the idea of her family’s upheaval, but she could not erase the image of her father’s anger at her news. He could not speak, and had left the room distraught and furious. Since her disclosure, she had slept soundly for only one night, and her dreams had been full of displacements and endings; this was not the nutrient she had intended to feed her child.
    She sat alone in the house, searching for a positive stance, when she heard a sound, something moving outside the kitchen door.
    ‘Sigmund!’ she called out, knowing that it was not he.
    She stood up and walked to the door, cracking it open to listen at its gap. Hearing nothing more, she stepped into the hall and looked around. Though she saw it on her first scan, she did not allow herself to acknowledge it. The second look, however, was more deliberate, and it could not be ignored: the white envelope had not been there before. She knew what it was, and was terrified of what it had to say.

G.E.Tulp

The period that has passed since I last addressed you has been much longer than I suggested; it was not necessary to contact you before now. You have performed beyond my hopes. Your conduct and intelligence in all matters has been excellent, and you shall be rewarded
.

Firstly, do not fear for your family. They shall be provided for, as will those who have assisted you in our quest, even Herr Mutter. No one will discover the fate of H, you may rest assured on this matter
.

You will stay in this house and bring your child up in its safe confines. Help will be offered to you, but you should consider all factors very carefully before making any decisions. Your child will be healthy and well, and somewhat different from others. This will be a blessing for all. Over the next few years, much will change around you. The city may fall and rise, but this house will remain the same; it always has, and always will
.

Ishmael now has his own life and will be left alone to