When she'd written her father back in September, it had seemed like a great idea — she was at Hogwarts now, her own person, and everyone around her had fathers. It no longer felt like a betrayal of her mother to talk to her father, or it felt like less of a betrayal — because if Mama was still alive, surely she would have introduced Kaatjie to her father by now. Even Ana could not hold a grudge forever. (Presumably.)

But now it was December, and she had to write her father to nail down the details, and she wasn't sure what to do. How did she avoid telling him too soon? Should she tell him before they met in person?

"Mo," Kaatjie said, looking up from the blank letter. "Can I ask you for advice?"

This went against everything her uncle taught her, but she had to set up a time to meet her father and didn't know how — not just how to nail down the details, and how to keep it a secret from her guardians, but also how to talk to him.