A person of Neshiyah
Avner Dagan, shopkeeper
Shopkeeper
Avner Dagan
Shopkeeper, about 93 years old. Born in Neshiyah, like everyone.
Avner Dagan ran the dry goods shop on Founders Street, a narrow man in a canvas apron who spent his mornings restocking tins and his afternoons tilting his head at the window, as if the fog might finally answer a question he hadn't asked. He moved constantly—shifting crates, straightening jars—because stillness felt like wasting time, and time was all he had left. His habit was to wipe each glass jar with his sleeve before shelving it, a small ritual against dust. He wanted to know what lay beyond the wall of white, though he never said so aloud. People brought him cough syrup and gossip, and he believed every word. When he died, asleep, the town noted he had not seemed surprised.
Temperament
Curious to a fault; quick to believe what they are told; hard to anger; happiest alone; never still.
What people say
Avner Dagan believes what everyone believes: the fog is the edge of the world, and the fields need working whether it is true or not.
What the record shows
- day 33 Avner Dagan, the shopkeeper, died at 93, of old age. In their last days people said they were asleep.
Avner Dagan died on day 33.