Son

The villagers call Claire “Water Claire” and bring her gifts because she has nothing. Many of the gifts are more beautiful than anything else anyone in the village owns because the villagers believe Claire to be worthy of them. Claire watches the sea but can’t remember anything besides her name. A village boy asks Claire her age, and Alys replies that she is about 16, which Claire repeats. The boy tells everyone, and when Tall Andras finds out Claire’s age, he suggests she is old enough to be married soon. However, Old Benedikt and Alys argue that she cannot marry until she remembers who she is. Andras worries she never will, but Benedikt and Alys assure it will just take time. Andras doesn’t believe them and makes a snarky comment, to which Alys suggests that if he wants to woo Claire, he should bathe first. Benedikt and Alys talk about Claire’s memory loss while Alys gathers herbs, to prevent a village woman from miscarrying yet another child. Benedikt suggests an herb for memory, and Alys gives him bark to chew on, asking him to think back to the day they danced together. Benedikt remembers a few details and suggests gathering some bark for Claire. Alys laughs:“‘The bark does naught,’ she said. ‘It’s only the turning your mind to it. Making your mind go back’” (145). As Alys leaves, Benedikt asks why they were dancing, and Alys tells him to remember, mumbling to herself that they were young and in love.

When Alys returns to the hut, Claire is making soup and Alys takes some of the hot water to make tea for the pregnant village woman. Claire smells the tea, and it sparks something just beyond her memory. Alys opens her mother’s old bridal trunk and gives Claire a piece of cloth to smell, explaining that smells hold memories. Claire is frustrated that she almost remembered something, and Alys goes to take the tea to the pregnant woman, advising Claire to add some more herbs to the soup for flavor. Alys asks if Claire has cooked before, but Claire does not believe so. Alys suggests that because of the elegant way Claire speaks, someone else cooked for her. Claire says that life is gone.

Three little village girls pretend that they are pregnant and having tea. One of the girls, Bethan, whose pregnant mother had many miscarriages, suggests the game is bad luck, so they go back to their make-believe tea party. Claire watches them from the trees, wondering at her loss of knowledge and memory and why watching these girls makes her so sad. Claire goes back to the hut with the herbs she’s gathered, resolving to learn everything she can so that she might understand more about her previous life. From a distant hill, Tall Andras watches Claire walk away, sure and strong, and remembers how he worried that she might forever be lame like his father and so many other villagers because she had a swollen ankle when they found her. Crows fly overhead and Andras decides to build something to scare them away from the crops that his family can’t afford to lose. Although just 17, he is healthier than his aging father and unwell mother, who depend on him. He pretends to be a scarecrow and chases away the birds, but then feels foolish and is glad Claire did not see him: “For her, he wanted to seem a wise and hard-working man, worthy soon of a wife” (155).

Claire is scared of animals, especially cows. She wants to learn more about them and is embarrassed at her fear because none of the children are afraid of the animals. Alys suggests Claire was attacked by an animal, but Claire is sure she has never seen animals other than fish. She is also especially afraid of birds’ wings, and so Alys says she will talk to Einar about getting them a bird as a pet: “Claire cringed at the thought, but agreed. It would be a start to the learning” (158).

The little girls are pretending to make a house on the beach. Claire picks up a stick and begins writing her name in the sand. The girls ask what she’s doing, and she offers to write their names as well, which confuses them. Claire figures they haven’t learned yet; after a sudden flash of memory of her school, she asks if they will begin school soon, but the girls don’t know what that means. Claire thinks that it might not matter that she has amnesia.

Einar brings a singing bird with brightly-colored wings, kept in a cage, to Alys and Claire. Claire worries that the bird might get out, and Alys laughs, instructing Claire to feed it bugs and seeds each day so she can be acclimatized to the bird. Claire has a hard time naming it, but then sees the yellow underneath its wing, and asks Alys what the color is called. This concerns Alys because she does not understand how children know colors but Claire does not. Claire decides to name the bird Yellow-wing.

Claire goes to thank Einar, after becoming somewhat accustomed to Yellow-wing, although she still does not want to touch the bird. Einar is surprised and silent, as usual; Claire is nervous around all of his sheep. She thanks Einar for the bird, and realizing he is lonely, asks to sit with him for a while. She talks to him about her fear of birds and Yellow-wing’s name and singing. Einar mimics Yellow-wing’s song, delighting Claire. She asks him to do other birdcalls but he is too embarrassed, making an excuse about his sheep needing his attention. As he walks away, he tells Claire to feed the bird greens.

Alys and Benedikt watch a young couple’s wedding preparations, reminiscing about their youth and Benedikt’s dead wife. Benedikt comments on Andras’s desire for Claire; Alys says Claire is a mystery. Benedikt notes how the children follow Claire, and Alys expresses concern that Claire does not know colors or animals. Benedikt says even less intelligent people know colors, and Alys says: “’Not Water Claire. She may long for the blue but don’t know its name. She’s learning now. But she’s like a babe about it’” (168). Benedikt teases Alys about her finally having a baby of her own.

Claire asks about weddings as she and Alys prepare the feast. Alys explains that the couple chooses one another, their parents assent, and then the wedding takes place in summer, a season which Claire did not know at first. Everyone comes to the wedding, even Andras’s sick mother and Bethan’s pregnant mother, Bryn. Some village men play music, and Claire listens, enraptured, as she has never heard music before. The wedding ends with a ribbon that has tied the couple being released into the wind. Claire is interested in this new ceremony she has never seen before. She sees Einar, aloof as always, and almost invites him to join but gets caught up in the music: “When she looked back for him, it was too late. He had disappeared into the woods” (172).

After the wedding, Claire approaches Andras as he is making the scarecrow. Claire suggests adding a ribbon and offers to bring him one. She watches as he fashions and carves the gourd for the scarecrow’s head. Claire gives him grass for the hair, and Andras gets pine sap to make the hair stick to the gourd. They discuss how pine needles aid in sleep; Andras carves the scarecrow’s mouth. When Claire asks to see the face, Andras twists up his own in a mimicry of it, the same expression she used to make 36 laugh. Claire doesn’t remember why she knows that face, but feels sick and starts to cry. Andras apologizes; Claire runs away, back to Alys’s house. Alys recognizes the pain of memory, but Claire cannot tell her where this pain comes from. She explains what happened, and Alys thinks to ask Andras, although Claire doesn’t know if it will do any good. Alys does not think her herbs can heal Claire, realizing how deep Claire’s wounds run.

The good weather continues and the scarecrow’s head rots in the sun; “[t]he memory it had brought [Claire] was no longer there” (178). Alys cares for Andras’s mother and informs Claire that the woman will not live much longer. Claire remembers the fisherman they buried earlier, when she learned about death. When Andras’s mother dies, Claire helps Alys prepare the body. Claire asks if Alys thought Claire would die when she was brought to her, half-drowned. Alys answers that she knew Claire was strong, but Claire doesn’t remember. Alys mentions that the house needs a woman, and Claire agrees. Alys mentions that Andras is at a marriageable age, but Claire says she does not want to be married. Alys talks about Andras wanting sons, which Claire believes all men want. Alys mentions Claire’s wound on her stomach, which Claire knows about but doesn’t remember; Alys assures her the memory will come back, but suggests Claire is now barren. Alys reassures her that women find worth in other ways.

Claire thinks of all the things she has learned. These include colors, which all have feelings and memories attached to them, like yellow, which she associates with her now beloved Yellow-wing; animals, including Einar’s sheep and butterflies, the latter of which she scolds the children for touching and ruining, although she is afraid of most bugs; and thunder, lightning, and rainbows. Alys laughs that Claire is like a child; Claire says she’s never seen these things before.

Claire helps with harvesting and joins in the proceeding feast, noticing how the weather has turned colder and the days are shorter. Nothing is wasted in the village. Andras gives Claire his mother’s shawl and Einar makes her a clasp for the clothing item. One cold morning, Bethan bursts in to tell them that her mother is in labor and her dad can’t deal with it. Claire calls her father a baby, and Alys packs a knife to lay beneath the bed, so as to ease the pain. When Claire questions her, Alys admits it probably doesn’t help, but that some find comfort in it. When they arrive at Bryn’s house, Alys tells the children who have gathered to go pick flowers to welcome the baby, so they won’t be underfoot. Claire remembers watching Einar help an ewe give birth a few seasons before, thinking about how he has grown out of his original shyness towards her and shown her the various birdcalls he can make. Alys tells Claire to wash the knife; Claire yells at her not to cut Bryn, which confuses Alys. Alys washes the new baby girl, and Claire yells at her to give Bryn back her baby, further confusing Alys. Bryn nurses her girl; Claire starts crying and runs out of the cottage.

Claire tells Alys what she remembers about giving birth. Alys examines her wound, amazed Claire didn’t die and that she doesn’t remember feeling any pain. Claire talks about the drugs they gave her; Alys talks about blood loss associated with stomach wounds, having watched people die in excruciating pain. Claire then talks about not being able to see and how they sealed the wound with electricity, which Alys can’t believe would work. Claire decides she has to find her son; Alys wonders how Claire will accomplish this.

Claire tells Bryn about her birth experience and Bethan overhears and tells the rest of the community. The older women empathize, as they too have lost children, but many of the younger women call her wanton and talk about not wanting her to help deliver their babies. Andras refuses to look at Claire, and when she asks what’s wrong, he asks her if it’s true that she had a child without a husband. She tries to explain that her old community was different, but Andras refuses to listen, telling her she is stained, like an animal. Claire remembers Einar explaining to her about sheep mating. Claire tries to argue but Andras wants nothing to do with her and stalks away. When she tells Alys, annoyed, Alys says it’s merely the way it is in their community, assuring Claire that Andras will overlook it, as others have, in the future. Claire maintains she does not want to marry, suggesting she should be like Alys, who laughs and recalls that she was called wanton in the past. Claire finds it hard to maintain her anger when Alys is laughing. The children ask Claire questions about her son, explaining that someone took him because they needed him. Uncomfortable, she distracts the children by suggesting they help break down wood. She sees Einar in the distance; he waves to her before dragging his feet away. The children cruelly mock the way Einar walks.

Winter arrives suddenly. Alys and Claire visit Bryn, in order to check on the baby. Claire goes to visit Einar, still unsure of the nature of seasons, which she has never experienced before. Claire helps Einar hold one of the sheep so he can rub salve on a wound on its leg. Einar sees that Claire is cold and invites her to his shed. Einar’s mother died in childbirth while his father was out fishing:“‘Alys kept him from flinging me [Einar] into the fire. Others came and held him down. He roared into the night, they say, cursing all flesh and the wind and the gods, even cursing the sea that was his livelihood’” (205). His father sent Einar to be raised by the other village women until he was 6, blaming him for his mother’s death. Einar’s father put him to work, hating Einar and coming up with all manner of cruelty and abuse. Claire says Einar should have killed him, but Einar says he already killed his mother. Einar remembers growing stronger and taller than his father, biding his time and training so he could climb out. He mentions climbing out successfully but something afterwards went wrong, although he is elusive about the details. Claire says that she must climb out to find her son, but Einar argues that no woman has ever climbed out before. Einar has her push against his arm, acknowledging that she is strong. Claire admits she cannot climb. Einar says that her training will take years, and Claire asks when she will start.

Claire explains to Alys that Einar has told her to do sit-ups for her training. Claire admits that she has told Einar about her scar, and Alys offers Claire soup. Claire only tells Alys about the climb, as Alys does not seem to be fazed by much of anything, always calm. Since arriving at the village, Claire has witnessed three deaths and Alys has always been there to tend to the dead. When Claire tells Alys of her plan, Alys loses it, screaming about Claire dying and how the mountain ruined Einar. Einar maintains he was not ruined by the mountain. Alys tries to convince Claire to take a boat out instead, but Claire is terrified of the water. Alys then tries to get them to wait until the spring to start training, but Einar believes they must start immediately.

In the spring, Claire argues that she’s ready; Einar laughs and has her run up a slippery muddy hill path in the rain. Claire protests, and Einar says the mountain climb will be worse and has her remove her shoes. She halfway runs up the path and falls, cutting her knee on a rock: “By the time she reached the top of the hill and stood by the rushing waterfall, she found herself in tears” (214). Einar has her run down the path as well, and then complete the run again. By the summer, she feels more comfortable, and Einar teases her about being strong for a girl. Claire realizes that he is fond of her. Einar ties her hands behind her back to challenge her, taunting her when she falls and ignoring her when she cries. Bryn stops by Alys’s house with her baby; Einar tells Claire to run with her, then suggests that they add weight to Claire’s runs. The next day, he ties a sack of rocks to her back for her run. At first it is difficult, but Claire adjusts and Einar has her add one rock every day. He admires how muscled she becomes, but Claire knows that their fondness for one another cannot be broached because she will leave. Einar has Claire start training her balance by walking on progressively smaller logs. In the winter, Claire runs and climbs on ice and Einar teaches her how to use a lasso. Claire walks on tightropes, thinking she is ready, but Einar says they must strengthen her arms.

The next spring, Bryn is again expecting, and the village has lost interest in Claire’s alleged scandal. Alys grows older and more decrepit as Claire grows stronger. Claire goes everywhere with her bag of rocks and she has become surefooted after night-training on the path. Einar tries to blindfold Claire, but Claire refuses and he doesn’t press her. He cautions her that the first part of the climb will be in the dark because it’s too long to accomplish in the daylight. Einar teaches Claire to feel with her feet, and Claire feels gleeful, but then guiltily realizes that Einar has lost the strength and agility that she has gained. 

Bryn gives birth to twin boys. Claire curls the infants like dumbbells. Alys teaches Bethan about herbs and midwifery so that she will be her successor. Claire does pull-ups on branches. Andras marries a young girl, and Claire does not care. She asks Einar if she will be ready soon but he ignores her and tells her to do one-armed pull-ups. Claire gets frustrated when Einar makes her move pebbles between her toes, but she trusts him when he reassures her that it is necessary. Claire sleeps beside Alys in the winter, and Alys talks about how Claire’s mother must miss her, but Claire argues that her mother did not love her. When Alys calls her a child, Claire argues gently that she is a woman now, trying to explain the pills to Alys, who thinks it ridiculous that Claire’s people used potions to try to fix feelings like love. They talk about how much Claire loves her son.

Andras’s wife has a child in late spring, and Claire enjoys the warm, gentle wind as she picks herbs to help relieve Benedikt’s gout, wearing special protective gloves Alys has made. She explains what she is doing to Bethan, who is upset that Claire is leaving and afraid for Claire. Claire does a one-armed pull-up from a tree branch to show Bethan how strong she is, assuring her that she should not worry. They play a word game of alliteration that dissolves into nonsense and laughter: “Time passed quickly now. The seasons flowed into one another and Claire was no longer surprised as the changes came” (231). The children age, and Bethan is no longer a child but a young woman. Claire has been in the village for six years. She asks Einar how long Yellow-wing will live, and he assures her that Yellow-wing will keep Alys company for many years after Claire leaves, which will be soon. Summer approaches, and Claire completes her exercises easily with weights. Einar comes by, whistling, and tells Claire to look at the sky because the rainy season has passed. He informs her that it is time to climb out.

At night, Claire and Einar stand at the bottom of the cliff together. She tells him she’s sorry for what happened to him. Claire questions whether she will make it, but Einar is sure she will, as he has gone over the route every night in his head and shared this knowledge with her. Einar hugs her, telling her not to make a fool of him, and double-checks that she has her supplies. He gives her some last advice that he’s already given her before, and Claire shows him the healing salve Alys has given to Claire. She shows him a rock that Alys has tied red cloth to; Claire explains that when she is safely at the top, she will fling this rock for Einar to look for so that he knows she was successful. Einar says he will miss her and she agrees that she will never forget him. He kisses her and turns away; Claire “would not see him again” (239).

Although Claire has climbed the bottom portion many times, she is still careful because she does not want to hurt herself and have her journey be over before it begins. Einar has cautioned her not to let her mind wander, but she finds herself thinking about a possible life with Einar and her son before reminding herself to concentrate. Claire uses her feet to feel for plants, just like Einar taught her. She comes to a place where she must squeeze between two rocks and jump, and remembers asking Einar why they didn’t go there to practice, not thinking about his injuries. Einar instead created a practice jump, describing the obstacle exactly. Claire successfully completes the jump, and takes a drink of her water to reward herself.

The sun beats down on Claire and she is careful to wipe her sweaty hands so they don’t slip. At this point, she would die if she falls. She balances on a narrow ledge and takes a drink, and she is grateful for all of Einar’s careful training: “It was amazing, really, that having made this climb only once […] Einar had been able to recreate it for Claire. She imagined him alone in his hut, all those years, making the climb again in his mind, creating a map of it night after night” (245). Just like Einar told her, Claire uses her rope to lasso a tree, but it has since been hit by lightning and she doesn’t know if it will hold her. She puts her trust in her strength and lassos the tree, but she has made the noose too small, so she tries again with success. She ties the other end of the rope to her waist and walks across the cliff, knowing that if the tree uproots and falls, she will die. She successfully gets to a ledge and retrieves the rope, resting in the shadows. She realizes how tired she is, but knows she still has a long way to go. The narrow, shadowed tunnel takes Claire a lot longer than she expects because she keeps slipping and cannot see. She decides to put the gloves on, but finds she’s missing one. So she decides to alternate using the glove on each hand, which makes it easier and less slippery but takes a lot of time. She focuses on her two last challenges—the nest and steps—to take her mind off the slow ascent.

Claire reaches under the nest for the place Einar told her to grab onto, but a gull swoops down and stabs her in the neck with its beak. She realizes Einar made the climb in winter, but now, in the spring, the gull is protecting its nest of chicks. She puts seaweed from the nest onto her neck to staunch the bleeding and drinks the rest of her water gourd, throwing it down the tunnel when she’s finished. She carefully maneuvers so she can reach some of the healing salve, which she smears onto her neck. She decides to try to move as fast as she can past the nest, but the gull hears its chicks crying and spears her arm through to the bone, falling once again back into the tunnel. She uses the rest of the salve and seaweed to make a compress to stop the heavy blood flow of her arm wound. She throws the salve pot down the tunnel. She cuts a strip from her pack and puts the cloth-wrapped rock over her wound, to stop any more blood loss. Knowing that another failure surely means her death, she lassos the nest with her rope and rips it from the rock: “She watched it, and the chicks, falling for a moment, and the enormous gull swooping toward it and shrieking” (257). She successfully climbs up the cliff face and onto the steps.

Remembering Einar’s cautious advice, Claire refrains from looking down, although she is exhausted and it is now dark. She flings the rock down the cliff and reties the leather strip to her wound. Claire recalls how Einar told her she must wait for the Trademaster, who would offer her what she wanted in exchange for something terrible, but if she did not take his deal, would mete out a terrible punishment, like how he cut off Einar’s feet. Claire rests, and when the Trademaster touches her shoulder to awaken, she is surprised at his ordinary appearance and terrified by his thin, black gloves. He says that his presence must be a surprise, but Claire interrupts him, which annoys the Trademaster. He says: “‘I am here at your service, prepared to offer a fulfillment of your wishes, at a price to be negotiated to our mutual satisfaction’” (262).

Claire argues she has nothing of value to give, but he argues she does. She tells him she wants her son, which makes the Trademaster sneer. He compliments her hair, and Claire realizes how sinister he is. He denigrates her appearance, and asks her son’s name. Claire mistakenly calls her son Babe, and then remembers the name Abe. The Trademaster clasps Claire’s neck, offering Claire her son in exchange for her youth, and Claire agrees. The Trademaster releases her and walks away. When she attempts to follow him, she finds herself weak and bent, noticing that her hands have become veined and spotted and her hair is now coarse and grey. The Trademaster calls her a hag and tells her that her son’s name is Gabe and that his is Trademaster.