Dov gave Freyja a hint during their first meeting,* and there will be more hints later in the story, but Freyja is too trusting or naïve to be suspicious. I also crafted an experimental chapter (for a university project) where Freyja is told by Dr Lander (her creator) that she is a clone. Out of either shock, bewilderment, a desire not to distance herself from Dov and Krista (or just bad authorship), Freyja dismissed Lander’s title within seconds in favour of Dov’s descriptions of her…a unique gift…
*Extract from Dov and Freyja's first meeting, a Tel Aviv beach walk at night
Dov clutched the bedsheet-cocooned Freyja against his chest as they descended the promenade’s steps with a smiling Krista tiptoeing down an imagined tightrope beside them. Dov gave a grateful sigh as his hiking boots crunched onto the soft dark sand, then he glanced along the beach. ‘Judging by the surf, there is going to be a king tide tonight. Maybe that is why the beach restaurants are empty.’
‘We are lucky,’ Krista said as her balancing act entered a circuit around Dov. ‘Freyja can play and explore without distractions.’
‘King tide?’ Freyja twisted towards the low rolling waves. ‘Royals…in ocean?’
Krista laughed. ‘If you believe the Greek myths, or the Disney movies.’
‘A king tide is higher than a normal tide,’ Dov said. ‘Most nights we would find less water here, and more sand and people.’
‘A mistake?’ Freyja asked. ‘I sorry.’
‘Mistakes are normal,’ Dov said as Krista patted Freyja’s shoulder on her second lap. ‘They are how you learn, if you remember the lessons.’
Freyja glanced up at Dov. ‘I remember car. Dov, Krista, Polanski. No remember…before car…Is normal?’
Krista stumbled and crashed against Dov’s side. ‘Uh…Well…’
Dov sighed. ‘Freyja, you are different from everyone in the world. This is why you cannot remember, why you have no memories, before Polanski’s car. But this can be good for you. Many people have memories they do not want.’
‘Not only the adults,’ Krista whispered.
Freyja slouched against Dov’s chest. ‘Memories hurt Dov? Hurt Krista?’
‘Some cause pain and some haunt,’ Dov said.
Freyja flinched. ‘Memories…hurt Freyja?’
‘Maybe, one day,’ Dov said as Krista crept into view. ‘But maybe we can protect you from memories that have no benefit, only cause pain and sadness. Or at least reduce their effect.’
Freyja gazed up at Dov. ‘How?’
‘Krista and I create many good experiences for you, some with important lessons,’ Dov replied. ‘Tonight’s first lesson you should remember when you are hurt, sad or confused.’
‘What lesson?’ Freyja asked.
‘It’s simple.’ Dov gave her a brief squeeze. ‘You are never alone.’
Freyja’s olive features twitched with a smile. ‘Dov, friend.’
Krista coughed. ‘Forgetting someone?’
‘I remember,’ Freyja said as she turned to the blonde girl. ‘Krista, friend. Like Dov.’
Oh, Krista is a teenage girl, Polanski’s daughter, Freyja’s new roommate, and Dov’s new aide tasked with helping Dov to teach Freyja how to live / act as a fourteen-year-old Israeli.
There are also going to be times where Dov and Krista avoid the ever-curious Freyja’s questions either because the answers serve no benefit, such as why Dov and Krista sometimes have nightmares (lingering PTSD); or because no one knows the answer, such as if Freyja is fertile. A downside to Freyja’s lack of memories (and of Freyja being a hybrid clone) is no knowledge of how her body works, or if she can be assessed by the normal standards for working / not working.
Makes me want to cheer their little group on. At least Freyja has good support around her.