Melanie's eyes widen. 'Artist' is a profession that suffered after the Breakdown. Teachers might read or tell stories, but that was only part of their job, and they didn't write the stories they were telling. Art survives; artists, she tends to assume, are long gone.

"I've never heard a ballad before," she says. "Well, I've heard of them, but never actually heard one. What sort of stories do you tell?" That was always her favorite part of class; she loved it when Miss Justineau would sideline whatever the lesson was supposed to be and tell stories, instead. "I like the Greek myths best so far, but I'm sure there are lots of stories I've missed."