Nate’s secret was connected to his unique ability to determine how objects worked, both internally and according to their function. It made him really popular with the people trying to scrape a living from the land, using tools that might break and with no replacements available beyond what might be found.
The witch girl’s secret seemed even stranger. Unlike everyone else I’d ever met, she wasn’t interested in finding a name that would explain her place in the world. I don’t know whether she ever shared her given name with Nate; she never did with me.