Sect Year 1 · tenth month · day 10 · Orrow Field, a barn at the first Qingliu village
Su read the entry aloud at dawn, as she did every morning, standing in the barn doorway with the grey light behind her and the book held open at the ribbon.
“Slept in the loft,” she read. “Barley and salt, no meat. Said a name in his sleep.”
She looked up.
Lin was sitting on the edge of the loft ladder with his boots in his hands. He had been awake for some time. He had listened to the cows shifting in their stalls below, and to Pei’s breathing by the door, which had gone slow and even long before the light. He hadn’t wanted to get up until he had heard the entry read. He had found that he wanted to hear what she would say about him, and what she would leave out.
“Whose name?” said Su.
“I said something.”
“You said a name. It’s written.” She tapped the page with the brush. “Whose was it?”
