Before Violet

Home

Even with the stiff west winds, I sat Swallow gently onto the dirt runway of Ecarte Island, only a quarter mile or so from the lighthouse and Grandmother's post office.  Although Swallow and I had only been gone for a couple of days, it had felt like a lifetime.  That would stand to reason, I suppose. There was a lifetime of days I did not know of my grandmother.  And Leon was right. Now that I did know them, I could never not know them ever again.
          Would she look different? Act different? Probably not, actually. Her level of emotional neutrality, practicality, and self sufficiency now made more sense than ever.  Such was the training of a child born to be a perfect soldier.
            I jumped down from the cockpit and busied myself detaching the celestial document still safely strapped beneath.  I heard Leon finally jump down.  I came out from under my plane with the document case. 
            "Was that a better experience? Flying back?" I asked.
            Leon looked a bit pale this time around. Perhaps four hours all in one go may have been a bit much for him.  He merely nodded. "Yes, I am well.  A very good landing.  Thank you, Hya."
            "You are welcome, Leon."  I replied. "We'll need to walk it from here."
            "I'm good for a walk. That cockpit is awfully close quarters. My legs need stretching." he answered, taking up both the knapsacks, and falling into easy step beside me.  "We were in the air for quite some time. What are your thoughts now that we are here on the ground?"
            "I tried not to have too many. I did come to the conclusion that I now understand my grandmother's behaviors more than I ever did."
            "Yes." Leon replied, thoughtfully,  "When we were together, I did not know how to approach someone so, well, pretty, as most Dolls tended to be.  I feared she would act as she looked, cute and flirty.  The other boys who were scribes there with me really wanted that kind of Doll to work with, but I found that behavior to be irritatingly annoying.  But one afternoon we were in the library and I overheard a couple of other boys talking to her about me, and how she deserved to be paired with someone better. She shut them down with reasons why I was the best partner for our task."
          "Oh. . . Well, that was kind."
          Leon shook his head. "It was not out of kindness. Kindness is many times associated with pity. I could not abide anyone feeling pity for me.   She was only telling them what she believed was true. I'll never forget how much more confident I felt after that."  Leon stopped short, and kept his eyes on the ground. "I love her, Hya, because of how very honest she is with people.  Emotions give us a reason to not always be truthful. It is the human in us.  However, although honesty and control of emotions are good attributes, it is not worth the cost of losing one's  fundamental ability to know what loving and being loved by someone means."
           Leon turned his face up to the sky.  "I spent the last four hours up there thinking little of how much I hate to fly and more time contemplating what to do with all this found information. Violet lost her embedded chip. It is the reason she was never labeled as 'Discarded'.  Losing it saved her, giving her the ability to live, find her talent, find her true love, to have a son and to have grandchildren. It is almost too fantastical to believe.  My question is, are there others who were able to escape as Violet had? Somehow losing that chip in their hands and living on somewhere.  There were plenty of files that abruptly ended as Violet's ended, incomplete.  I want to find them if they are alive.  If they are not, and died with the others, then I want to seek justice for them. They shouldn't be a secret anymore."
             I touched his sleeve, and he stopped. "That would be wonderful, Leon. How could I help?"
           Leon shook his head. "I don't know, Hya. I fear this could be the most dangerous of all things to delve into."
"Even after all these years??"
"Yes. Even after all these years. When it comes to the military, their secrets need to be buried for at least a thousand years before they are truly safe to uncover. While anyone who fought in this most recent war still lives, it will not be safe."
I did not doubt his reasoning. Military might was far reaching in every aspect. It hurt my heart to think my grandparents were a part of such a thing.
The celestial document case was slung onto my back. Having it in our possession had its own issues.
"And what of this?" I asked shrugging my shoulder with the cumbersome case.
Leon laughed sardonically. "Its own can of worms. . . Or cylinder, as it were.  I'm going to take it to Master Hollenburg. I have permission from the commissioner for him to break the seal.  We spoke of it after supper the other evening. "
           "Oh? Brilliant!"
           "Yes, your 'uncle' Petrich is world renowned for his expertise. His name is mentioned most anywhere I travel.  The commissioner was only too happy to have the likes of him see to it.  He will most likely be commissioned to restore the document, if needed."
           "Gracious! That could cost a pretty gil."
           "Best believe that." Leon agreed, "Enough for another wing to be built onto the observatory and expand the school."
            We were happy to finally be at the door of my grandparent's home, the same home where they began their life on Ecarte Island.  Grandfather had several times over offered to build a bigger home for them if Grandmother wanted it, but she had refused each time. 
           She made him see reason that the construction of the winery and the observatory were structures of enterprise and higher learning. She felt no need for opulence for her family, as long as it was well crafted. Again, showing undeniable signs a trained soldier, but perhaps it was all a part of her stoic nature. 
            Grandmother Violet was not even home.
            "She is working with Jenna." my grandfather Gilbert informed us, "There is a large shipment going out tomorrow. She serves as Jenna's calculator.  She knows your grandmother can figure the best shipping rate for the lowest price.  Drives your great uncle Dietfried mad. Says she uses sorcery!" Grandfather shook his head and chuckled. "I was in my study going over accounts myself. Care to join me there with some coffee? Just made some. Shouldn't drink it this late, but knew you might be needing some by time you got here."
              Once we were settled with our warm cups, Grandfather Gilbert linked his hands together on his desk, and our expression made him frown and his brow furrow in concern.
           "What is it?" he asked, "Did you not find what you were looking for, Leon?"
             Leon looked at me, and then back at my grandfather. "We did find what I was looking for. . .and, through many years of research and a few leads, we found. . ." He retrieved the old file out of his knapsack, and laid it in the desk. "This. . ."
             My grandfather looked at it where it sat, the emblem of the wolf's head with the words Sicard Bio looking back at him.  He then leaned forward and reached for it. 
            I shot out my own hand and captured his so that our hands were stacked on top of each other on the wolf's head. I bit my lips, then said, gently, "It's Grandmother's personal birth file."
             Grandfather stared at our hands in the file for a few seconds, then nodded. "I know." he said softly.