Page 20 of Mislaid in Parts Half-Known

Vineta continued anyway: “This is a Nexus. Worlds that have the strength to open Doors will open them here, as well as on whatever world waits on the other side. The travelers who reach this place can use it to move from world to world, with intent. Withpurpose. Doors that open here don’t require a perfect match the way they do when they open elsewhere. There’s no need to be sure. No need to be ideal. She could open Doors for every one of you, and send you onward to your heart’s desire, whether what you yearn for is your original destination, or another. Have you always yearned for a world someone elsedescribed to you? She could get you there, and as you would have come through a universal door, your conviction would have no power to eject you.”

“We already knew that she could find Doors before we came here,” said Emily, stepping forward, so that her arm was just brushing against Antsy’s. A show of support, a reassurance through presence. “She also told us what it costs to open them. I’m sorry, ma’am, and I was taught not to speak rudely to my elders, but I have no interest in someone else paying my debts. If Harvest wants to call me home, it’ll come for me when the time is right, and if it doesn’t, then I suppose it was never really home to begin with.”

“That’s a very indecisive way to plan a future,” said Vineta.

“Maybe, but it’s mine, and I know what I want. If the doors know our hearts enough to seek us out in the first place, I suppose Harvest’s going to know my heart well enough to know when to let me come back.”

“No support here, angry lady who steals from kids,” said Sumi.

Vineta wrinkled her nose. “You stink of gingerbread.”

“Biginsult. Was that one hard to come up with?” Sumi sounded genuinely curious. “I was born on Earth—all of us were, I think—and I died there, so they re-baked me on Confection. Dying was dull, though I gave it a whirl. You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Girl.” Then she laughed, as wild and unashamed as ever.

Antsy, meanwhile, had taken Vineta’s distraction as an opportunity to move closer to Yulia and crouch, putting herself somewhat on a level with the younger girl. “Hey,” she said. “I’m Antoinette. I’m from a place called Earth, and I had your job for a long time.”

Yulia eyed her warily. “You can’t have it back, it’s mine now.”

“I don’t want it back. I just want you to understand what you’re giving up by doing it.”

Yulia’s wariness melted into pure confusion. “I’m not giving up anything.”

“But you are. Every time you open a Door for her, you pay three days of your life. If you open ten Doors, that’s a whole month.” Yulia didn’t look like she understood, so Antsy tried again, saying, “They’re making you older.”

“Iwantto be older,” said Yulia.

“Didn’t you want to be all grown up when you first came here?” asked Vineta, apparently done trying to understand Sumi. “You lied about your age, told us you were older than you were, because you couldn’t wait to be adult and free to make your own decisions. Well, we only gave you what you wanted. We enabled you to grow up quickly, in a safe place, where the people who’d hurt you couldn’t hurt you anymore. That’s what the Store gives its clerks. Safety to grow up. The few like you who choose to leave, they go back to their worlds too adult for their tormentors to touch.”

“I wanted to be grown up because I didn’t understand what that meant!” cried Antsy. “I didn’t know it would mean my mother wouldn’t recognize me, or that I wouldn’t be able to ever, ever, ever go home!”

Vineta looked at her coldly. “It wasn’t our job to explain that to you.”

“But it was. You were the adult. You needed to tell me what would happen if I stayed here and opened doors for you, you needed to make meunderstand. You didn’t have to be my enemy, especially not when I thought you were my friend.”

“Bah.” Vineta turned away from her. “The Store dismissed you. Your services are no longer needed. We’re fully staffed, and you may go. Open your own door, or take three days off the child; either way, you’re not welcome here.”

Antsy’s hands opened and closed, flexing furiously with the visible urge to strike the old woman. Kade stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder and half-turning her to face him.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s the goal here? What did you hope would happen?”

“Before I left, I told them we had to start making sure the children who came here understood what the doors would cost them, and that they knew they’d grow up too fast if they were careless about the how many they opened. You can still open doors; you just need to be selective about it, not go opening them willy-nilly because you can.” She gestured to Vineta. “Shelikes novelty. She likes to go shopping in new places and taste new foods, but she’s almost out of time, and she can’t open the doors the way she used to. She needs someone else to do it for her. So she tells the kids who come here that they have to do it on her behalf. That it’s normal.”

Antsy’s glare was hot enough to burn. “She speaks for the Store, and she doesn’t tell us what any of this costs. The Storeusedto tell the children, but somewhere along the way, that stopped, and now all of us who come here do it without knowing what we’re being asked to give up so adults can live easier lives. Anything that’s lost anywhere else can wind up here. Anything that’s lost here is lost forever.”

“And you hoped…?”

“I hoped I’d find that they’d listened, and started doing the right thing, and I could go back to Earth and figure outhow to be happy where I came from.” Tears started rolling down Antsy’s cheeks. “But they didn’t. They’re still hurting kids, and now I have to stay here, even though I can’t open any more doors without hurting myself, to make sure theystop.”

“You keep saying ‘they.’ There’s only one person here. Antsy, who else are you talking about?”

“Hudson. He’s the magpie who keeps the books balanced and tracks the inventory. There aren’t any humans who came from this world originally, just magpies, but all the magpies everywhere came from here.” Antsy looked around, remembering the bird’s absence for the first time since she yelled at Yulia about it. “He should have come when I rang the bell. He has wings, so he should have come faster than the people.”

“The big black bird?” asked Yulia.

Antsy nodded.

“Miss Vineta said he was a busybody who told lies, so we put him away.”

“Put him away where?” asked Antsy, stiffening.

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