Alcatraz vs. the Shattered Lens by Brandon Sanderson

how he didn't live up to my expectations. It wasn't actually cold out - Mokia is in the tropics, unlike Denmark. My stomach rumbled; the others were eating some bread and cheese that Kaz had brought, but I didn't feel like eating.
    A rustling sound came from behind, and Bastille walked up to my rock, Warrior's Lenses tucked into her jacket pocket. Below, the besieging army was getting ready to camp for the night. I was wearing my Oculator's Lenses - which were also called "Primary Lenses," I'd come to learn.
    They had a reddish tint, and allowed an Oculator to do some very basic things: see auras around types of glass and fight off other Oculators. Sometimes they let you see other kinds of auras as well, little hints about the world. I wasn’t good at using them for that sort of thing yet, though.
    Right now, they showed me that the dome around Tuki Tuki was made of a very powerful type of glass. It was in even worse shape than it looked; my Lenses let me see that the aura was wavering. It pulsed with an almost sickly glow. Whatever the Librarians were doing to break down the dome, it was working.
    "Hey," Bastille said, sitting down. "What's reflecting?”
    "Huh?"
    "Free Kingdoms phrase," Bastille said. "It just means 'What are you thinking about?’”
    I shrugged.
    "It's your parents, isn't it?” Bastille asked. You always get the same look in your eyes when you think about them.”
    I shrugged again.
    “You’re wondering what the point was in rescuing your father, since he didn’t end up spending any time with you.”
    I shrugged, my stomach rumbling again.
    Bastille hesitated. "I'm not sure I understood that one. My shrug-ese is kind of rusty."
    "I don't know, Bastille," I said, still looking at the city. "It's just that . . . well, I've lost them both again. For a few moments, we were all there, in the same city. And now I'm alone again."
    "You're not alone," she said, sitting down on the rock next to me.
    "Even when I was with my father, I wasn't with him,” I said. "He practically ignored me. Every time I tried to talk to him, he acted like I was a bother. He kept sending me off to enjoy myself, offering to give me money, as if the only thing he had to do as a father was provide for me.
    "And now, they're both gone. And I don't know what any of it was about. They were in love once. When we were captured a few months ago, I watched my mother talk about me to the other Librarians. She said she didn't care about me, but the Truthfinder's Lens said that she was lying."
    “Huh," Bastille said. "Well, that's good, right? It means she cares."
    "It's not good,” I said. "It's confusing. It would be so much easier if I could just believe that she hates me. Why did they break up? Why did they think a Librarian and a Smedry could marry in the first place? And what made them change their minds? Whose fault was it? They were together until I was born. . . ."
    "Alcatraz," Bastille said. "It's not your fault.”
    I didn't respond.
    "Alcatraz . . .”
    "I know it's not," I said, mostly to get her to stop prodding me. Bastille fell silent, though I could tell she didn't believe me. She shouldn’t have.
    I continued staring out into the night. W hat is it you're really after, Mother? I thought. What is in that book you stole? And why did you lie to the other Librarians about me?
    I'm sorry. Did that last part make you a little depressed? Someone needs to say something funny. How about this: By the end of this book, you'll see me realize that everything I thought I knew about my life was a lie, and I'll be left even more alone than before.
    Oh? That wasn't very funny, you say? That's because you didn't hear the joke. I hid it in the sentence, but you have to read it backward to get it.
    Did you get it? You might have to read it out loud to sound it out right, if you want to see the joke. Give it a try. Sound out every word.
    How was that? What? Oh, that wasn't supposed to make you laugh - it was supposed to make everyone around