"Will I remember him less?" she asked.

"You will remember him fully for three turns of the moon." Tabootubexx’s eyes glinted. "After that, memory frays like string left in the rain. But the harvest will be full, and the bell will sound for work again."

"Then keep the balance," she told Tabootubexx. "But tell them — tell our children — that names are bargains."

Asha held the bargain in her hands like a live coal. "Do it," she said.

"A favor of forgetting," Tabootubexx answered. "When I give what you need, you must forget something you love. Not immediately, but over seasons. A face. A flavor. A song you used to hum. These are the coins I keep, so the river keeps answering."