A person of Neshiyah
Dinah Kedem, potter
Potter
Dinah Kedem
Potter, about 102 years old. Born in Neshiyah, like everyone.
Dinah Kedem, at ninety-four, is all wrists and knuckles, her hands still finding the clay's true center before her mind has finished deciding what to make. She works in the low shed by the well, visible through the open door, a bent figure humming an old tune while her fingers walk the spinning rim. She is quick to believe what the miller tells her, and just as quick to forget it, which is why the town forgave her that day-40 scuffle with Jael Yaron—it meant nothing, like a gust of wind. She wants her son to visit, though he never does. The guard who turned her back at the north road remembers how she nodded, thanked him, and walked home without a word. Everyone sees her as the town's oldest bowl, cracked but still holding water, and they leave her alone, which is what she needs.
Temperament
Curious when something is in front of them; quick to believe what they are told; even-tempered; always in company; able to sit still when it matters.
What people say
Dinah Kedem 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 50 Dinah Kedem the potter found a seventh stone block in the quarry, where the survey lists six.
- day 49 Ezra Sharon and Dinah Kedem came to blows at the square over nothing much.
- day 40 Dinah Kedem and Jael Yaron came to blows at the mill over nothing much.
- day 30 A guard at the end of the north road turned Dinah back at the fog line with a reminder that the Council prefers people to stay at their work.