Dear Wanuye

Oz wraps her cloak fruitlessly against the strong wind and snow, praying that the fabric bundled in her bag won't soak through entirely on her trudge back home. She'll leave the letter another day, she reckons... Before she knows it, she finds herself on Coran's doorstep. Her wanuye's house, her childhood home... Help. She barely resists the urge to look through the window, the inside of the house lit by a gentle fire.
Instead, she takes a deep, fortifying breath, wads up the letter, opens the door, throws the letter inside, and finally - just as abruptly - slams the door and runs for her life.
Coran rushes to the door, but Oz is already long gone in the thick sheets of snow falling from the sky.
"Was that the Thief?!" Seri asks, spooked.
"Fucking yes it was," Coran curses.
"You're not going after them, are you?"
"Fuck no. Fuck this blizzard."
Coran stoops down to pick up the crumpled, wet letter.
"What does the note say?"
Gravely, Coran hands the letter over to Seri.

Dear Coran,
I have failed my child, and I don't know where to go from here. I don't know how to do better, how to make amends, how to apologize. Do you know how? You're an experienced wanuye, I'm sure you've made mistakes. Do you, or maybe Seri, have any books, any advice to help me? I'm all out of options. Please, help.
Your Scrap Thief
P.S. Before you ask, my child is not a Yashelin mali. I dare not go into more detail or reveal myself. Any scrap of information you might spare, please share it with me .

Tears well up in Seri's eyes, and when they meet Coran's tired ones, they scramble for a pen and paper as one. When Petal comes home, they drag them into it as well. For once, neither of them speculate on the Scrap Thief's identity.
Oz is shocked at the huge stack of papers on the fabric scrap bin when she returns a week later.

Purpose

In this letter, Oz is looking for help from her parents without revealing herself as the Scrap Thief. She still fears that if they finally find where she's hiding, they'll trap her on Aravu for the rest of her eternal existance, but she can't deny any longer that she needs help. At the time this letter was written, Oz's relationship wtih Esther and her adopted child, Kiana, is incredibly strained after an agregious misstep taken in the name of domesticating the Sikna.

Historical Details

Legacy

This document - the first letter sent by Oz since her disappearance - set the precedent for Coran, Seri, and Petal to stop actively trying to discover the true identity of the Scrap Thief, despite their gut feelings to the contrary. From this moment on, Coran and Oz will begin to regularly exchange letters back and forth.

Type

Text, Letter

Medium

Paper