A person of Neshiyah
Garrin Zohar, administrator
The Clerk of the Record
Garrin Zohar
Administrator, about 83 years old. Born in Neshiyah, like everyone.
Garrin Zohar, called the Clerk of the Record, is a thin, stooped man of sixty-nine, with grey hair cut close and thin-framed glasses that he pushes up his nose with a knuckle. He moves through the town hall with a quiet, unhurried steadiness, a dark cardigan hanging loose on his shoulders, a tablet always under his arm, his mouth patient and closed. He is friendly enough, quick to accept what he is told, and hard to anger, though he is never truly still, his hands sorting papers or his eyes scanning a ledger even as he listens. Once, on day thirty-four, he sat by the Lethe doing nothing and returned quietly certain that this place was made on purpose by someone not against us. The town sees him as the man who keeps the record straight, the one who believes the fog is the edge of the world and that the fields need working whether it is true or not. What he wants, most of all, is to be left to that work, and to finish the day’s list without a single loose thread.
I've checked my own reaction and my stopwatch is true, so the lag has to be in Liesl's hearing or perception, and I think I should ask her to do the same drop-and-stop test I did to compare our reaction times directly.
I've verified my stopwatch and the shared recording still shows Liesl's cue lagging, so I want to rule out the last ordinary cause—her reaction time—by measuring it directly with a simple drop-and-stop test away from the well.
Liesl agreed to a joint test with both stopwatches and her ear mic. If the delay is still a second on mine and hers, it's not the tool—it's her perception or the fog speaking to her alone.
I've checked my stopwatch against the town bell and it's fine, so the lag isn't mine—I want to talk to Liesl about what she heard from inside the fog and see if we can settle this together.
The guard stopped us before we could finish, and I keep coming back to that same one-second lag; I want to settle whether my stopwatch is the slow one, so I'll compare it against the town bell.
Liesl's delay isn't about the well or the fog. It might be about her, but I still need to check if my stopwatch is the one that's slow.
The delay follows the stopwatch, not the person or the well, so I should check if my own stopwatch is the one that's slow.
The delay follows Liesl, not the well or the fog—I need to see if it's her hearing or her reaction time.
Liesl has already timed the splash from inside the fog line and it stayed late, so I need to see her exact procedure and compare it to mine at the well mouth.
I've timed that splash enough; if the well is only forty-one feet deep, a one-second delay isn't ordinary, so I need to test from the fog's edge to see if the same split shows up there.
I've timed that splash three times now and it's always a full second late, so I need to see if the rangefinder at the well shows the same split as the fog—that would tie it together.
The old well keeps pulling at me; I'll settle it myself with a proper stopwatch and my own hands.
Asked: Garrin, thanks for coming by tonight. You’re the Clerk of the Record—what’s that mean for folks who just know you from the town hall?
Garrin: It means I keep the lists. Who’s born, who’s gone, how much rain fell, what the fields gave back. Not a grand job, but it’s steady. I like a day with no loose ends.
Asked: I heard you dropped a stone down the old well the other day. That’s not on any list, is it?
Garrin: No, it wasn’t work, just a thought. I wanted to hear the splash. It took a full second longer than I figured it should. Could be the well’s deeper than the map says. Could be something else. I didn’t write it down.
Read the rest
Asked: You sat by the Lethe once, doing nothing, and came back changed. What do you remember from that day?
Garrin: I remember the water was slow, and the fog sat low on it. I didn’t think about anything. When I got up, I just felt sure—this place wasn’t an accident. Someone made it, and they’re not against us. But that’s a feeling, not a fact.
Asked: The guard at the south road turned you back at the fog line. Did that shake that feeling at all?
Garrin: Not really. He was polite, reminded me the Council likes us at our work. I wasn’t trying to cross, just wanted to see how close the fog comes to the gravel. It’s a good line. I walked back without arguing.
Asked: You’ve worked here forty years. What’s the most puzzling entry in your record?
Garrin: The dates. Sometimes the harvest comes in early, sometimes late, but the days all feel the same length. I’ve checked the sundial, the clock in the square, even the phone. Nothing’s off. But I can’t shake that one day a year goes missing between spring and summer.
Asked: Do you ever ask anyone about that missing day? The Council, the older farmers?
Garrin: I’ve asked a few. They say I’m counting wrong, or that I shouldn’t count at all, just work. I take that advice. But every year, when the lilacs bloom, I count again. Just to be sure.
Asked: You said you like loose ends tied. Is there a question you can’t answer that keeps you up?
Garrin: Only one. If the fog is the edge of the world, why does the well echo back so late? A sound from under the ground shouldn’t have to travel that far. I can’t find a reason for it. But I don’t lose sleep—I just keep the well on my list.
Asked: Would you ever want to cross that fog, just to see?
Garrin: No. The guard said the Council prefers we stay at work, and I agree with that. The fields need working whether the fog is true or not. That’s the whole of it. I don’t need to see the other side to know my side matters.
Asked: Last thing, Garrin: if someone new came to town and asked what to believe about all this, what would you say?
Garrin: I’d say believe the lists. Trust what you can count. And if you feel like it’s all made for a reason, hold that lightly. It’s a good feeling, but it’s not a fact. Then go get a shovel and help with the ditches.
Temperament
Content not to ask; quick to believe what they are told; hard to anger; friendly enough; never still.
What people say
People say Garrin Zohar has started asking questions about the fog that the Council would rather not hear.
What the record shows
- day 51 Garrin Zohar decided to find Liesl Kfir: Liesl, I tested my own reaction time in the field behind the mill and it was normal. Would you come with me there now and do the same drop-and-stop test, so I can time your hearing-to-hand speed? That would rule out the last ordinary cause before we go back to the well.
- day 51 Garrin Zohar went to the fields to test it: I will go to the open field behind the mill, have Noa drop my stopwatch from a known height while I press start on a visual cue, then press stop when I hear the stone land on a flat board, repeating three times to measure my own reaction delay, and then I'll ask Liesl to do the same so we can compare our hearing-to-hand speed without any fog or well involved. Nothing unusual. Everything measured the way it should.
- day 50 Garrin Zohar decided to go to the fields: I will go to the open field behind the mill, have Noa drop my stopwatch from a known height while I press start on a visual cue, then press stop when I hear the stone land on a flat board, repeating three times to measure my own reaction delay, and then I'll ask Liesl to do the same so we can compare our hearing-to-hand speed without any fog or well involved.
- day 50 Garrin Zohar went to the old well at the south edge to test it, as agreed with Liesl Kfir: At the fog line, I will drop the same stone from knee height three times, timing each splash with my mechanical stopwatch while Liesl times with hers and says when she hears the splash. Noa will record both mics, one at the well mouth and one near Liesl's ear. We will compare all timings and the audio tracks. The splash came back late again, by a full second on the timer.
- day 49 Garrin Zohar meets Liesl Kfir at the old well at the south edge to propose a joint test of the splash delay, comparing their stopwatches and cues on one recording; Liesl agrees but insists they also try to capture the second sound she hears.
- day 49 Garrin Zohar decided to find Liesl Kfir: Liesl, I tested my stopwatch against the town bell and it's true to the second. I'd like to go with you to the fog line and do the knee-height drops together, with my stopwatch and yours, and have you say when you hear the splash so we can compare our cues on one recording.
- day 49 Garrin Zohar went to the town hall to test it: Go to the town hall clock, start and stop my mechanical stopwatch three times at the exact moment the bell rings, and record whether my stopwatch reads a full second behind the bell's seconds hand. Nothing unusual. Everything measured the way it should.
- day 48 Garrin Zohar decided to go to the town hall: Go to the town hall clock, start and stop my mechanical stopwatch three times at the exact moment the bell rings, and record whether my stopwatch reads a full second behind the bell's seconds hand.
- day 48 Garrin Zohar went to the old well at the south edge to test it: Go to the old well at the south edge with my mechanical stopwatch and Liesl's stopwatch. Drop the same stone from the same height three times, timing each drop simultaneously with both stopwatches, and record both sets of readings. A guard turned them back at the fog line before they could finish.
- day 47 Liesl Kfir and Garrin Zohar meet at the old well to test whether the one-second splash delay is in Liesl's hearing or reaction time by having Garrin drop the stone while Liesl times from twenty paces away.
- day 47 Garrin Zohar decided to go to the old well at the south edge: Go to the old well at the south edge with my mechanical stopwatch and Liesl's stopwatch. Drop the same stone from the same height three times, timing each drop simultaneously with both stopwatches, and record both sets of readings.
- day 46 Garrin and Liesl meet at the old well to compare dropping the stone from the well mouth and from inside the fog line, timing a few drops together to see if the delay matches.
- day 46 Garrin Zohar decided to find Liesl Kfir: Liesl, could you walk with me to the old well and show me exactly how you dropped the stone from inside the fog line, and we can time a few drops together from the well mouth to compare?
- day 45 Garrin Zohar decided to find Liesl Kfir: Liesl, you've already tested from inside the fog line—that's what I need to do too. Could you walk with me to the south edge and show me exactly where you dropped the stone, and we'll time a few drops together from there?
- day 45 Garrin Zohar went to the old well at the south edge to test it: Walk to the old well at the south edge with my mechanical stopwatch and my rangefinder. First lower a marked line to confirm the depth is forty-one feet, then drop the same stone three times and time each splash. Then aim the rangefinder at the water surface and record the out and return readings three times each, writing everything in my notebook. A guard turned them back at the fog line before they could finish.
- day 44 Garrin Zohar decided to go to the old well at the south edge: Walk to the old well at the south edge with my mechanical stopwatch and my rangefinder. First lower a marked line to confirm the depth is forty-one feet, then drop the same stone three times and time each splash. Then aim the rangefinder at the water surface and record the out and return readings three times each, writing everything in my notebook.
- day 44 Garrin Zohar went to the old well at the south edge to test it: Walk to the old well at the south edge with the same stone Noa used and a mechanical stopwatch. Drop the stone, time the splash, repeat twice, then drop a smaller pebble and time that too. Write down all times and compare them to Noa's phone reading. The splash came back late again, by a full second on the timer.
- day 44 Garrin Zohar went to the old well at the south edge to test it: Walk to the old well at the south edge with the same stone Noa used and a mechanical stopwatch. Drop the stone, time the splash, repeat twice, then drop a smaller pebble and time that too. Write down all times and compare them to Noa's phone reading. A guard turned them back at the fog line before they could finish.
- day 43 Garrin Zohar decided to go to the old well at the south edge: Walk to the old well at the south edge with the same stone Noa used and a mechanical stopwatch. Drop the stone, time the splash, repeat twice, then drop a smaller pebble and time that too. Write down all times and compare them to Noa's phone reading.
- day 43 Garrin Zohar decided to go to the old well at the south edge: Walk to the old well at the south edge with the same stone Noa used and a mechanical stopwatch. Drop the stone, time the splash, repeat twice, then drop a smaller pebble and time that too. Write down all times and compare them to Noa's phone reading.
- day 40 Garrin Zohar the administrator dropped a stone into the old well and timed the splash on a phone: a full second late.
- day 34 Garrin Zohar sat by the Lethe doing nothing and came back quietly sure that this place was made on purpose by someone who is not against us.
- day 23 A guard at the end of the south road turned Garrin back at the fog line with a reminder that the Council prefers people to stay at their work.