Words in the Margin

Lekun finally found the guard who had recorded the cart's arrival. The guard was soaked to the wrists and finishing her shift. Asked where the cart had come from, she named one of the inland roads but admitted that she had not recorded the precise place. Reka wrote down only what had been stated. “Where will you put that?” Lekun asked. “In the margin I'll note that the information is incomplete. That's something different.” When the report reached Gammar, the Commander of the Guards noticed the qualification and placed it among verified documents, not completed ones. The distinction was small and stubborn, which was precisely why it mattered. Lekun learned that a register did not grow more reliable when every space was filled. It grew more reliable when somebody had the courage to leave one open. On the desk remained a small white rectangle, more truthful than a guessed answer.