Lina gaped. “Never tell,” she said to herself. “Nevertell. Svetlana, what does it mean?”
“It means fairy stories. Folktales. Ghosts and spirits. People like us. It means ‘Don’t imagine,’ I suppose. Imagining tends to give people inconvenient ideas, and those with power don’t like to be inconvenienced.”
Lina nodded and folded her arms. “Ideas like escaping from a labor camp or crossing all of Siberia. Where would we be without ideas?”
“Before I met Anri, I lived alone in the mountains to protect myself from this sort of curiosity,” said Svetlana. “I’ve seen how it can destroy the object of its fascination — or fear. I don’t know which is worse. Humans kill what they think is most terrifying and what is most precious — you cannot deny it.”
“Not Natalya,” said Lina. “Not me or Bogdan or Tuyaara.” So much of what Svetlana said was true, but together they could do better. People could do better. She believed it so much that it burned.
Svetlana walked around to stand in front of Natalya’s desk and folded her arms across her stomach. “Right before I bound her, she swore she’d never tell . . .” Svetlana broke off and put her hand across her own mouth.
“Would you like to leave now?” Svetlana asked shadow Natalya. “It will mean no more of this half existence. It will mean peace.” Her eyes glistened.
Natalya’s shadow nodded.
Svetlana stood up straight in an instant, snapped the heels of her boots together, and raised her chin high. “In that case, I release you.”
Natalya let out a long sigh, like a sudden gust of wind.
Lina reached out for her. “Goodbye, my friend!” she said. “And thank you. Thank you for everything.”
Natalya’s silhouette fell to the floor like a heap of abandoned clothes, which then too disappeared. The vision faded. Lina and Svetlana were back inside the grand Georgia pavilion. This time, they were alone.
In the depths of Siberia, in the harshest cold, a forest grows. It’s a forest like no other in this part of the world, because it’s made up of peach trees. The fruit from these trees is self-replenishing. Pick one to eat and, by the time you’re done, a new peach will have grown.
No one here knows hunger. At least, not anymore.
Once, the forest was a labor camp. Lina was born there. Her father was a vicious commandant who treated the prisoners with cruelty, while demanding respect in return. But respect isn’t what grew in their hearts.
In the forest, they now have happiness and safety.
There are growers, harvesters, cooks — and everything in between. Including a teacher — Tuyaara. She splits her time between studying in Yakutsk, seeing her family, and being with her love, Keskil, in the peach forest.
They have Nadezhda the moth too. She flies around the forest’s perimeter, keeping watch, but always comes back to Lina. Already she’s grown to be the size of Lina’s palm. It’s the magic, making her bigger and prolonging her life.
True to her word, Svetlana and a network of informers seek those most in danger of arrest. She visits the peach forest rarely, but when she does, it is with important news from the outside, or with people in desperate need of protection. Lina enjoys her visits. Her favorite times are when they can all be together — Katya, Svetlana, Bogdan, and brave Tuyaara with her Keskil — to share a meal around a campfire and tell one another their stories.
A huge, visible-from-space THANK YOU in flashing lights to:
My agent, Bryony Woods, for taking a chance on me in the first place and for being utterly fantastic.
Every other professional who’s worked on this book to make it what it is, including Sandra Dieckmann and Rovina Cai for their beautiful artwork. And the whole team at Walker — especially Annalie Grainger and Emily McDonnell for their amazing editing.
The Literary Consultancy for the Free Read, and the WoMentoring Project, which set me on course to getting my agent. Mslexia, which longlisted Nevertell in its Children’s Novel Competition, and novelist Rosemary Dun, for teaching me what I needed to learn.
Everyone who believed in me and shares my excitement about this book. And, quite frankly, anyone who’s put up with me this far — Charlotte Godfrey, Clare McMillan, and Siobhan Cole being prime examples. Not to mention those who took time out of their busy lives to give me feedback on parts of this story: Sarah Louise Robinson, Thom Axon, Susan Angoy, and Rachel Knightley, that’s you! Amazing writers, every one.
All those who helped in other ways. Alvaro Sánchez López and Firuz Ozari, as well as Herself and her marvelous blog, Kiddingherself.com, for the insight. Ayar Kuo for the inspirational photography. The editors of Inside the Rainbow, in the pages of which I learned of “Never tell a child about things he cannot see.” Authors Sarah Baker, for coffee, chats, and writerly advice, and Stefan Mohamed — who was generous enough to read my first attempt at a novel.
To LW, PJ, Mandii, Codex, Holly, Kate, Flo, and Ken. I give praise to Britney every day for your friendship, solidarity, and humor, which has kept me sane.
My parents, Simon and Lisa Orton, for bringing me up around books and for always nurturing my passion for writing. And my parents-in-law, Linda Wilding and Jon and Jane Pullara, for all their encouragement along the way. All the rest of my family, who are just awesome. In particular, Nan Axon, who was a sheer force of nature.
Matt Pullara for always being such a rock. And Isaac Pullara for being an inspiration.
KATHARINE ORTON has an English degree and a master’s in creative writing. She worked for Barefoot Books in Bath, England, before leaving to focus on her writing and her young family. She signed with her agent after taking part in the UK’s WoMentoring Project, which pairs female writers with professional literary women. Nevertell is Katharine Orton’s first novel. She lives in Bristol, England.
Text copyright © 2019 by Katharine Orton
Cover art and interior illustrations copyright © 2019 by Rovina Cai
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First U.S. electronic edition 2020
First published by Walker Books (U.K.) 2019
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2020902274
The illustrations in this book were created digitally.
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