The morning before my tenth birthday, Papa called for me while I was rolling around in bed.

  “Helian’s here to see you, sweetheart! Get out of bed.”

  “Yes, Papa!” I shouted as I frantically dug a shirt and pants out of the pile of laundry I had neglected to fold.

  When I arrived in the main room, Helian was sitting comfortably at the table, swinging her legs back and forth while she hummed a familiar tune. I was sure I’d heard it before, but didn’t know when or from where.

  “Good morning, Helian.”

  “Good morning, XXXXX!” she replied, grinning from ear to ear as she stood and took my hand in hers. “Let’s go take care of the goats!”

  As we carried water from the well, Helian leaned over and whispered into my ear. “I’ve got a present for you! But it’s a secret.”

  I nodded. “I won’t tell Papa you gave me my present early.”

  “No, I mean you can’t tell anyone about it at all.”

  “Okay, Helian. I won’t tell anyone. It’s not a sword, is it?”

  Helian had recruited me to join her “fencing club,” which in practice meant swinging wooden sticks at each other in the afternoons. She was very good at it, and she wanted to be a traveling swordswoman once she got older to go on adventures like the heroes in storybooks. I thought that sounded fun, so I did my best to learn from her.

  “No, it’s not a sword. Your papa would kill me if I got you a sword.”

  I nodded. “That’s true. He’d probably kill me if I got you a sword, too. That’s why I haven’t gotten you one for your birthday yet, Helian.”

  She smiled radiantly. “That’s okay. I’m looking forward to my next birthday present even if it isn’t a sword.”

  ------

  After we fed the goats, we went back to Helian’s house where she led me to the bedroom. “Mom’s not here, so this is the perfect time.”

  “We can’t show my present to your mama?”

  “She’s seen it. That’s not what I mean.” Helian knelt and removed the stack of papers from its hiding place.

  I did my best to act as if I didn’t know where they’d been hidden.

  “These aren’t practice sheets, XXXXX. You’re clever, so you’ll understand if I tell you what they really are. I thought about buying you something with my pocket money, but I remembered how curious you were… I hope you’re not disappointed?”

  “Of course not!” It was easy to smile. I didn’t have to hide my excitement because I really was excited. Helian was going to tell me her secret, and I would finally learn what those strange written words meant.

  My excitement faded, though, once she began to explain.

  ------

  “So… this story is about you, Helian?”

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  “That’s right.” She nodded enthusiastically, happy that I was following along.

  “It’s a good story, right?”

  “It’s a very good story. The writer tried very hard to make it.”

  “But if it’s a good story, why do so many bad things happen in it?”

  “XXXXX, would you say this is a good world?”

  “I don’t know, Helian… Papa is here, and you’re here, so I think it’s alright. But I wish people didn’t get sick, and I wish we had water pipes so we wouldn’t have to go to the well.”

  She nodded. “It’s just like that. The bad things and the good things are all a part of the story, just like how good and bad things are all natural parts of the world. If I try to get rid of the bad things, the good things might go away too.”

  “Does that mean I can’t do anything, either?”

  Helian tilted her head. “What?”

  “What if I want to help, Helian?”

  “Well… I don’t know. You’re the first person I’ve told about this other than Mom, and she didn’t believe me.”

  “You said you can’t get rid of the bad things in the story. But that seems wrong to me. If something bad happens to people I care about, I want to help them.”

  She nodded. “I understand. You’re a good person, so if you see someone get hurt, you want to help them.”

  She always acted like she was guilty of something, like she had broken her mama’s favorite plate or stolen a toy from Julian. But every time I asked what was wrong, she never answered me. Now I understood.

  “You want to help them too, don’t you? But you can’t.”

  She nodded again. “That’s true. I do want to help them. I’m worried, though.”

  “Why is that?”

  “You’re not part of the story, XXXXX. I don’t know what will happen if you try to become part of it. So, you must promise to be careful when you try to help, alright? We’ll both be very careful so that nothing bad will happen.”

  I’m not part of the story. Who else? “Is Papa part of the story, Helian?”

  She frowned. “Yes.”

  “What about your mama?”

  “Yes. Mom is also part of the story.”

  “But I’m not?”

  “As far as I know, you’re not.”

  As far as she knows. “What does that mean?”

  She narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment. “Did your dad ever read you a bedtime story when you were younger?”

  I nodded. “Yes, many times.”

  “Did he always finish the story before you fell asleep?”

  Oh, I see. “No, sometimes I fell asleep first. Did you fall asleep while someone was telling you this story?”

  She smiled bitterly. “Yes, it’s something like that. So, what I’m saying is I don’t know how the story ends. You could be part of it later… but I don’t think so.”

  “Then Helian, why are you so certain that it’s a good story?”

  “That’s too hard to explain. I’ll tell you later, OK?”

  “Alright, Helian. Can you tell me something else?”

  “I’ll try.”

  I picked up one of the pages of the “Novel.” “Are these written in another language?”

  Her expression brightened. “You’re right. That’s the language that’s used where the writer and I are from. Do you want me to tell you more about it?”

  ------

  The early birthday present had ruined my day. Helian seemed confused by my bad mood, but she often struggled to understand me. I knew now that it was because of how different we were. She was special, and she knew lots of things I didn’t know, and she was able to do lots of things I couldn’t do. I wasn’t part of the story, so I would never be special the way she was special.

  But I knew her language. How was that possible?

  When I returned home, Papa could tell I was in a bad mood, so he patted me on the shoulder and let me go to bed without asking questions. I opened the drawer in the bedside table.

  The drawer was padded, which made it ideal for storing precious items. Our village wasn’t prosperous, so I didn’t have anything fitting that description.

  I pressed down on the rear left corner of the drawer, then pulled the front right corner to reveal the hidden compartment. Papa said it was important to be able to keep secrets.

  I removed my copy of the Novel and looked through it with fresh eyes. There were important things in here that Helian hadn’t told me about. Very bad things were going to happen.