Chapter 154
The Child with the Paper Cup
The child gave the cup to Aster.
“I found it under the hospital,” she said.
The cup held no liquid. Inside was a folded photograph of a woman Claire did not know.
“Who is she?” Claire asked.
“My mother.”
The child said her name was Wren.
Her mother had been listed as a failed witness and disappeared from the hospital archive.
“I remember her,” Wren said. “But the record says I invented her.”
Aster opened the new archive.
The system searched for Wren's mother and found nothing.
Wren placed the photograph on the scanner.
The machine created a provisional record.
WITNESS STATEMENT — CHILD CLAIMS MEMORY OF MOTHER.
Claire stopped the process.
“Do not label her claim before asking her what she wants.”
Wren looked at the form.
“I want her name back.”
The archive accepted the request.
The mother's name appeared in a blank field.
Room Twenty-Four opened below the library.