Margaret. To my astonishment, both had vanished. Margaret? Ulfred? Had they perhaps returned to their own flat now that the cold had abated? I started to dial their phone number when I noticed a large but gentle white wolf gnawing on the phone cord. The wolf was trying to say something but all I could make out was the word "name." It wasn't until I noticed a fat round gooseberry smack in the middle of my table that I realized what had happened: names themselves were reverting to their roots, not just words. Sure enough, Durril was gone, Durril the gypsy gooseberry. I popped the berry into my mouth but it was so sour I tossed it to the pigs, one of which swallowed it whole. Just why names were disappearing I couldn't figure ...Thank god, my parents had the good sense to name me Howard. Though I knew almost nothing about derivations, I remembered my mother telling me that Howard meant watchman, he who guards and observes. And slowly I began to remember a book she kept by her bedside, The Book ofNames. Given their eleven kids, always she and my father had to scrounge around for names ... Yes, it all came back. Like a root in reverse, rising from its earthy origin to the fresh air above. Indeed, so many memories began to return I was convinced my amnesia was cured- as mysteriously as it had begun. And I realized I had much to be thankful for. At least Ulfred had become a friendly, peaceful wolf; what if his name had been Ulger, a sporting wolf, or Ulrich, the supremely powerful wolf, or, god forbid, Adolph? True, I didn't know what to do with the pearl that had once been Margaret. Perhaps I'd have it set in a ring to surprise her when she emerged from her root? But I couldn't bear to see my poor Melissa buzzing around the room as if in pursuit of pollen. If only I'd named her Yolanda or Corrinna. The moment she uprooted herself from Melissa, the Greek word for bee, I'd change her name. Until that time I'd busy myself unnaming everything I could, giving objects names so new they could not possibly put down roots. Whatever sounded good to me... The prospect was exhila-
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