Years later, on a sleepy Wednesday afternoon, a pounding at the front door tore Alleria away from the book she had been reading. She heard the clatter of dishes as Da was startled in the kitchen and a rustle of papers when Mam spilled ink all over the document she had been writing.

Alleria was the first to get the door. It was only the mailman, a breathless and red-faced Mr. Henmering, waiting outside. As Mam and Da both stumbled in behind her, she cocked her head to one side trying to decide what it was he was doing here of all places.

"Miss Alleria! A phone-call!" he cried excitedly, hopping from one foot to the other. "Someone calling from the city, asking for you. Told them I'd go'n fetch you. Hurry! They'll be a-calling in ten minutes."

"For me?" Alleria couldn't hide the wonderment from her voice. A call? In the telephone? There was only one telephone in the village and a telephone call was a strange, mysterious and rare occurrence. This could only mean one thing and yet... she was reluctant to let herself hope.

"Aye, miss, for you."

"But..."

"Hurry, miss, there's no time."

Alleria shot a glance over her right shoulder to look at Da and then over her left shoulder to look at Mam. She gave one nod and pointed up her chin decidedly before stuffing her feet into her sandals. Mr Hemmering broke into a trot the moment she stepped outside.

Her parents were right behind her when they raced through the gate — which Da stopped to close — and up the single street of the village. "Tried to tell them I'd be needing more time to get you," Mr. Hemmring said in between gasps for air. The way to the post-office was uphill. "Bloke wouldn't hear of it.... Said it's urgent... Was mighty rude about it too. But I thought to meself... only one reason for them to be... a-calling... asking for you. Nearly tripped over me own feet... trying to get to you on time."

"Lerry, where are you all going? What's going on?" cried a familiar voice from over at Felmarn's grocery shop. Alleria only just managed to catch Tara's eye as she was drying her hands on her apron.

"To the post office, I'm going to receive a phone-call."

"A phone-call?" Tara fell into step beside her, her long brown braid bouncing on her back as she jogged to keep pace. "Who from?"

"From Callivar," Mam intervened.

"A phone-call from Callivar?" It was the voice of Mr. Devmund, the carpenter, coming from somewhere behind Alleria. "For whom?"

"For Alleria," said Tara.

"Alleria has a phone-call from the city? Why, I'll be... I didn't know phone calls could call that far." That was Auntie Berla, the cattle-farmer's sister and she had the loudest voice in the entire village. All along the street, heads peeked out of windows and doors were thrown open. Alleria was joined by the baker on one side and the butcher's son on the other, behind her a crowd of barefoot children ran onto the middle of the street and even farther behind — she quickly glanced — a group of grannies hobbled along.

Up the hill, then down — more people joined them; Mr. Faldric, Mrs. Urmen with her four daughters, the milkman, Dr. Poltrin, Constable Ekelle and even Mr. Drake, the village drunk. They talked excitedly that maybe this was the thing no one thought would happen, no one dared imagine possible. Alleria was strange, but one of their own, and could such good fortune happen in such a small place?

Mr. Hemmring pulled out his pocket watch and clutched his heart. "Twenty second, Miss Alleria!" he called. "In twenty seconds comes the call!"

The post-office was just in view and they both sped up their run from a light jog to a full-out dash. After them came everyone, as if life and death hung on the telephone line.

The phone was ringing shrilly when Mr. Hemmring unlocked the post office door. He leapt over the counter — which was actually just a wobbly wooden table — and, landing on his knees, pulled up the receiver.

Silence smothered the air, Mr. Hemmring handed the receiver to Alleria. She gingerly took it in her fingers, looking at him with wide brown eyes. "What should I say?" she whispered. The thought of talking into an object felt decidedly odd.

"How 'bout 'hello' and then introduce yourself?" Mr. Hemmring suggested.

Someone coughed, the post-office was crowded and stuffy. Mam touched Alleria's elbow as she brought the telephone to her ear. She noticed a few people from outside trying to squeeze in to listen. "Hello, this is Alleria Bellencreek speaking," she said quietly. She hadn't meant to speak quietly; her heart was just being too loud.

Her eyes were closed. When did she close them? She couldn't concentrate on talking to a machine with all these people looking.

"Hello? Hello?" said a deep voice in her ear. "Speak up, I can't hear you."

"This is Alleria Bellencreek speaking," she said as loudly as she could without actually shouting.

"Ah, Miss Bellencreek, they found you? Good, good. I'm Mr. Arresso Malluri from Callivar." His city dialect was clipped and precise, it made Alleria feel as if she spoke too slowly.

"From Callivar?" There was a collective gasp from the people around her as the source of the call was confirmed.

"I wanted to tell you personally, Miss Bellencreek, I was astonished with your achievement in the preliminary exam. Congratulations on ranking first in Hegdery prefecture."

Her heart-rate began to calm, perhaps the excitement was all for nothing. She had known for months now about her ranking — and she had also known that without a sponsor it all meant nothing. "Thank you, sir."

"It says here that you're fourteen..."

"I'm fifteen now, sir, I was fourteen when I sat the exam last year."

"Ah, yes, of course. They do take their time with getting out the results from the outlying areas, don't they?"

"Er..."

"Miss Bellencreek, I believe it would be a crime to overlook such a bright young mind. I would like to sponsor you and help you become a Scholar. It is my belief, Miss Bellencreek, that you will do a brilliant job."

Many thoughts raced quickly through Alleria's mind. With all the chaos in her head, her voice was lost entirely. She had fantasised about something like this happening, but she had never considered what she would do and how she'd respond in reality.

The silence stretched on and the people present in the post office shuffled about uncertainly.

"Miss Bellencreek?" spoke Mr. Malluri's voice. "Are you there?"

She swallowed.

"Miss Bellencreek?"

"Y-yes, Mr.... Mr. Malluri. I... I don't know what to say."

"Haha." It was odd, his chuckle. It sounded as if he uttered 'haha' instead of actually laughed. "You needn't say anything. I will be posting a letter after we conclude this conversation with our contract and all necessary information and will begin making the arrangements of moving you and your family to Callivar —"

"Move to Callivar?" A shiver passed through the post office as Alleria's eyes scanned the familiar faces of the people whose lives made up the tapestry of her own. Perhaps she was always a little isolated, a little to the side, but it was at their side she stood and here was where she was safe.

And then came a wave of excitement, electric in her bones. The big city, Callivar — so rich in history and architecture, brimming with an endless fountain of knowledge and possibilities. She was allowed to dream. Most chances were, she would fail, but was it wrong to long for something big?

"Yes, of course," Mr. Malluri's voice blared, interrupting her stream of consciousness. "Everything will happen here in Callivar, Miss Bellencreek. I'll arrange it all."

Pushing down her excitement felt like trying to curb the joy of a puppy chasing butterflies. Becoming a Scholar was tempting in ways she couldn't explain to herself. A beautiful dream that lived in her mind where nothing could hurt her. But she knew, almost sharply, that such ambitious came with a price.

And in the course of everything, she could so easily destroy herself.

"Hello? Miss Bellencreek? Hello? Have I lost you?" Mr. Malluri sounded impatient.

"I'm still here, Mr. Malluri." There was a weakness at the back of her knees as her mind ran and ran around itself.

"Good. So, I suppose we're in agreement, Miss Bellencreek —"

"Mr. Malluri, thank you so very much, but..." She didn't want to finish the sentence — an opportunity like this would never come again. "I'm sorry I —"

"Don't tell me you've already got a sponsor? What has he offered? Miss Bellencreek, I can assure you —"

"No, Mr. Malluri." Calm, dry, tranquil — she resigned to the truth. "I don't believe I can make it, sir."

The space around her grew as the people crowding the post-office began to disperse, their shuffling steps heavy with disappointment.

The world was the same world it always was, nothing had changed.

"I... see," said Mr. Malluri after a prolonged pause. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I appreciate the offer, sir." The words she said felt hollow, there to fill a space that her decision had vacated. "But I never had the intention of becoming a Scholar."

"Oh... if that's the case, if you don't mind my asking, why did you take the preliminary exam?"

Her answer required a moment of thought, she had never considered why. "I did it because I could."

When the call was concluded, Alleria handed the receiver back to Mr. Hemmring and turned on her heel.

There was no longer a crowd, just her Mam and Da and they didn't stop her. She walked straight out without any knowledge where she was going.

She stopped on top of the hill overlooking the forest. By the dark mass of trees, a small figure stood, watching her. Alleria waved, and the figure waved back.