"And who might that be?"

Edgar pointed to a long-haired stranger, eyes framed in tinted spectacles as he wove slowly and menacingly through the crowd in his almost thespian attire.

Guadalupe turned to see. "Ah, he's a real character," she said. "An American jeweler; apparently he just came back from the Philippines."

"What's his name?"

"Sam. No, wait, Si— something exotic. Simoun. Yes, that's right. Simoun."

"And his company?"

Guadalupe's forehead wrinkled upon seeing the lady at Simoun's arm, matching raven hair tied up in a bun with a golden comb. The shimmering blue-green of her Oriental-style dress made her look like a dragon in comparison to the man beside her who wore a very Western ensemble of a copper vest and red cravat.

"Oh," said Guadalupe. "I… I'm not sure."

The curtains waved slightly in the cold air. The windows were opened only a crack, letting in a silver strip of moonlight that cut into the bleak darkness of the room.

He'd been used to this kind of dark. His time in Europe had seasoned him that way after a youth lived in the sun.

"Crisostomo," a sigh, tired and cautious, called out to him for help as it tried to grip through the shadow. It was help he had forsaken her for so long and now would do anything to repay.

He called back, "Maria," And navigated the space to find her out of the washplace, thin as a bird and draped in a nightgown she managed to swipe from the convent.

Simoun led her to the bed, seating her carefully as if she were to break any moment now. He knew now, however, she was a lot more than that.

"I'm sorry," she said, suddenly.

He knelt at the foot of her bed, encasing her face and shoulders in his wiry grip. "Whatever for?"

"I shouldn't have called you that."

He shook his head and reassured her, "You can call me anything."

"I know how it feels to be made to remember things," she said, shaking. "I've been made to do… many terrible things at the convent, Simoun…"

"No need for that…" he whispered, holding her close.

"I didn't think you would forgive me…"

Simoun took her face again and kissed her forehead as she began to weep. "I will forgive you whatever you do. I have done many terrible things myself… and I have waited so long to hold you again, and I will not let anything keep me from being with you as I loved you years before."

She told him she loved him and he replied that he loved her back. He didn't wish to let go; not for a while.