What's in a Name?
One ought to begin a tale with an introduction of oneself. This I would happily do if I were able. It pains me to admit that there is little I could tell you of myself which I know is true.
I do not know my name for sure. Had you but asked at the beginning of the adventure that I am going to reveal to you, I would have thought that I could tell you with certainty. I would have been sorely mistaken.
Why, you might ask, is this issue so important to me? After all, as some might say… what's in a name?
What is in a name?
Everything. Identity. Distinctiveness, character, unique nature. Self.
So, then, who am I?
I am the only daughter of privileged parents in a land of rolling green hills and politics. I am also the walker of a city's midnight slums, bequeath to the wishes of a hoodlum who hates me and his girlfriend who can't let me go. I am a bright-eyed student who is just a little too nosy to be who she claims. In my clearest recollection, of course, I am Rebecca Calleigh Rider, beloved only child and youngest trainee of talented British MI6 agent Ian Rider.
As you may be able to perceive, I am perplexed by my own past, still trying to puzzle through who I am and what is my place in history. Fortunately, I have heard it said that "it is not who you are, but your actions that define you." These actions, at least, are certain to my own mind. Perhaps no one else will ever know of all the things I have done—the secrets I have harbored, the guilt, the pride—no one, that is, but for you, avid reader. Perhaps, if I relate to you in fullness the story of my self-discovery and self-loss, who I am will become clear and unambiguous, even if it is only to you and not to any other.
You, then, and you alone, shall know the truth of my identity, reader. I will speak to you through my actions and hope that you can define me in the ways that I have never been able.
Then, perhaps, you can give me a name.
