Merle was delighted with her presents. She would have put all three dresses on at once if Van had let her. She was twirling the length of the long verandah along the east wing of the castle, holding out the skirts of her new blue frock in the early evening lamplight and calling to Van to look at her, look at her, when Celena came running out. She spotted Van where he was sitting in the old basket chair with the prolapsed feather cushion, darted over, and hugged him so tightly that he gave a sort of inadvertent squeak as the air was forced out of his chest.
Thank you!' she said. Such lovely things! Oh, he got you something too, Merle just look at this!' She skipped away from Van, who was trying to get his windpipe uncrushed, and twirled to show Merle the dress she had on. It was one of Sylvie's recommendations, soft white stuff printed with strawberries and their flowers. Its buttons were strawberry-shaped. Someone somewhere really liked making buttons shaped like fruit and nuts.
Oh!' she said, and thank you particularly for the undies. I felt all wrong and itchy wearing borrowed things. Even if you know they're clean you don't want them on you. I was wondering if that's why you didn't change, you were trying to make a pair that actually belonged to you last longer.' She was using her matter-of-fact voice again, as though she thought there was nothing remotely embarrassing about discussing one's underwear in mixed company. Van's feelings could not have been more different, and Merle's eyebrows were heading for her hairline.
You didn't give me undies,' she accused Van.
You don't wear undies!' he hedged desperately, trying to keep her at bay while he dealt with Celena. Look, I didn't choose any of those things, I hope you realise, I just asked Dryden's partner to work out what underclothes you would need and put it in with the rest. I don't know what you got and please don't tell me.'
I wasn't proposing to tell you,' Celena said, in a tone which rather suggested she found the idea funny. It was thoughtful of you, that's all.'
Are you going around not changing your underwear?' Merle demanded, frowning. What's wrong with you?'
I'm not going around not changing my underwear! I couldn't get changed with her there, could I? I felt cruddy all day. It's not fair.' Van took refuge in sulking, which did not exactly get him the moral high ground but at least offered a fair chance of getting them all off the subject of underwear. He slumped down in the basket chair, causing a bunch of down to flop out of the split in the cushion and spill on the verandah floor, folded his arms over his chest and glowered at a point somewhere beyond his knees.
His Majesty is angry,' Celena said archly, in her eldest voice.
Van-sama,' said Merle softly, creeping up to crouch beside him and putting one hand on his knee, don't be cross. It's a silly thing to get upset about.' She laid her cheek against that hand and looked up into his face, trying to get him to smile. I'm sorry I was bossy.'
And I really was just trying to tell you how much I like the things you gave me,' Celena said, abruptly becoming humble. Perhaps she had decided to follow Merle's example. I'll try really hard not to annoy you. Look, there goes a moth, and I'm not even going to try to catch it.'
That's not a moth, it's a bit of feather out of the busted cushion, floating about,' Merle pointed out.
Celena plucked the fluffy light-brown scrap from the air and looked at it closely. So it is.' Van gave her a Look. I said I wouldn't try to catch a moth, and this isn't one!'
Merle had become distracted by the other feathers, scudding across the boards of the verandah in a light evening breeze. With an expression of fierce concentration on her small features, she stalked a puff of down to a standstill, held herself motionless for a long, tense moment, then shot out a paw to strike it down. The gust of air disturbed by her movement blew the feather just out of her reach, and she lunged forward and struck again with the other paw, repeating the error, repeated the manoeuvre, and ended up pursuing the feather right across the verandah with a series of staccato thumps. The last of these blew it out between the railings to drift away into the darkness, leaving Merle awkwardly poised with her face up against the rails, one outstretched hand still swatting at the air.
Van tried not to laugh loudly, because he knew how it offended her if anyone noticed a thwarted attempt at hunting, but he could not hold it back entirely. He put a hand over his mouth and tried to keep his eyes serious. A sort of half-smothered fizzle of mirth escaped from Celena, who had not had as much practice at living with cats.
I meant to do that!' cried Merle, scrambling to her feet and dusting herself off. It was part of the trick! I did it to cheer you up!'
Of course you did,' said Van, and made the mistake of making eye contact with Celena. She had followed his lead in covering her mouth with a hand, but above that her eyes were very bright, and her shoulders were shaking with the effort of holding it in. Laughing and yawning are both contagious. A positive snort slipped out while his guard was down. That set Celena off with a full-fledged fit of the giggles. Merle glared at them both, and her ferocious expression made it worse. Van could feel tears in his eyes, and he finally gave up and laughed for all he was worth, bent double with his head hanging. Merle punched him in the shoulder, which meant he was more or less honour bound to catch and tickle her, tussling up and down the verandah until she managed to escape and flit away over the railing and up the outside drainpipe, laughing and sticking her tongue out at him.
And let that be a lesson to you!' Van called after her. He shook his head and turned back to ask Celena if she didn't think Merle was mad even by cat standards. He lost the beat somewhat when he found her sitting in the basket chair, her chin in her hands and her eyes bright with tears that did not seem to come from laughing. It seemed as though she had been gazing at the two of them wistfully the whole time.
What's the matter?' he asked. You're not feeling faint, are you?'
No,' she said, no, I'm fine in myself. I just feel lonely, because you're such good company for each other, and I know I haven't any right to attention like that, but it doesn't stop me feeling well, I miss Allen, and I worry about him being sick without me, and well, Merle is fun for you, isn't she? I suppose I'm unhappy because I know I'm no fun for Allen. Even when he's feeling better all he's going to do is worry about me, and I can't stop his worries because I'm all over the place and don't know how to pull myself together. I truly do try but I don't know what I can do. Even the doctor doesn't know. He thinks maybe it'll come right if we wait. He's one of the cleverest doctors and he can't think of anything to do but wait and see, and I don't know what will ever make me better!' She lowered her face into her hands and her shoulders shook once more as she wept.
Please don't cry,' Van said. He crossed over to her and patted her shoulder awkwardly. Come on. I'm sure it will be all right. You've seemed better every day. Seriously, you're not nearly as much away with the fairies as you seemed that first night. I probably made that worse being mean to you. I've told you I'm sorry for that. I've tried to show you I'm sorry for today too. I'm glad you like the new things. Don't they cheer you up a bit?'
Celena sniffed and raised her head uncertainly, blinking the tears off her dark eyelashes. Even when she had been crying she was pretty; it just gave a sort of tremulous flush and shine to her cheeks and mouth. Do you want to be friends now? Will you let me try to make things better?'
I think' Van said slowly, I think you need to be better yourself before you can start making anything else better.'
In other words, never!' Celena wailed, and burst into fresh tears.
No! Look please' Van knelt down beside her, trying to get a look into her face. I've thought of something that might help. I can't do anything for you, but I think I could teach you something you could do. If you don't calm down I can't teach you anything. You've got to be able to concentrate to do it. Now are you going to be sensible? Have you got a handkerchief? Good. Blow your nose and listen.'
Celena blew her nose quite loudly, scrubbed at her eyes, and took several deep, hiccupy breaths before pronouncing herself ready to hear what he had to say.
Do you remember,' he began, still kneeling, looking up at her tearstained face, how Hitomi could see invisible things? She could tell where a cloaked Alseides was, so she could tell me when to dodge, and where to strike. You should have some memories of that from Dilandau.'
And after a while you could see them too,' Celena said, nodding. They couldn't think how the hell you were doing it! It seemed demonic. And I don't think you are a demon but are you going to tell me there's something not-human about you that lets you do that?'
There is something not-human about me,' Van said, but that's nothing to do with it. Anyone can learn this. Some people have more of a natural aptitude for it, but if you're patient and you practise, and you believe it can work, it'll come to you. Hitomi calls it dowsing, and I'm not sure where that word comes from, but what it means is seeing what's really there, not just what's visible. You learn to focus your mind's eye, and you can find directions, and hidden things. It's not the same as trying to see the future, so it's not dangerous the way fortune-telling can be. Well, it can be dangerous, it nearly killed me once, but that's because I was using it a risky way and didn't understand what I was letting myself in for.'
Celena nodded again, politely but with a certain lack of comprehension. Van realised he was not making himself entirely clear.
I'll give you an example. Say I have a bow and arrow, and a target. If I know where the target is, I can close my eyes, and focus on it in my mind, and shoot and hit it without looking. I don't need a visual image because I can locate the real thing. I've never tried it this way, but it seems to me that you might be able to dowse inside yourself, and find the real you, the one who should be at the top and in control. Do you want to try? I can't do it for you, but I'll help you as much as I can. I'll come with you, if I can, when you go inside.'
Is this a risky way?' Celena asked in a whisper. Like what you did?'
I don't know,' he admitted. The way I tried before was something no-one had done before. That was why I didn't know how it could go wrong or rather, work too well. My idea was to synchronise myself perfectly with Escaflowne, so I could fight better in it. That meant that whatever damage the armour took was done to my body as well. I was only healed when the armour was repaired. Do you know what it feels like to be welded? You don't want to. But no, I don't think this will be physically dangerous. It's all in your mind. So all you have to worry about is what's in there.'
It probably couldn't get much worse,' she said with a half-laugh. I'll try it if you think it could help. I'm having to try so hard to keep the sensible Celena at the top to listen to you! I can't keep trying like this every day. I'm not that strong. What do I have to do?'
Van had to stop to think about it. Well, I think it will work better if we're on a level. There's only one chair, so come on and sit on the floor like me.' He backed away a little and sat down cross-legged, and Celena followed suit, nervously smoothing her strawberry-spotted skirts. Their knees were almost touching; not quite.
All right now hold out your hands. Your blister's looking better again, by the way.'
Aloe's marvellous stuff,' Celena said. Isn't it funny how it makes you feel better to say something that doesn't count for anything?' She watched cautiously as Van reached to his neck, where the pendant Hitomi had left with him hung, and took the necklace off over his head. That's very pretty. I wanted to ask about it in the morning but I forgot. The rest of the time it was under your shirt so I kept forgetting.'
This is Hitomi's,' he explained. She used it whenever she was dowsing, although she said that once you learned how to do it with the pendulum you could make it work without. That's how I did it, but I think for you it would be easier to begin with something to help you focus. You'll sort of be doing a cross between the with and without methods, because we'll have the pendulum out here in the real world, but you need to imagine it working inside your mind.' He was holding the pink teardrop of a jewel in the open palm of his hand, the chain lying in a golden puddle around it. Celena reached out to touch it with her fingertips, and he instinctively drew his hand back, half-closing the fingers. You've got to understand before we start that I'm not giving this to you. It's Hitomi's. I'm not even lending it because she's just lending it to me. This is not yours, okay? I'm just letting you use it with me.'
All right. I understand.' She nodded solemnly. It must be very precious.'
Yes, it is.' Van felt a little embarrassed at how emphatically he had just spoken, but it was only how he felt. Even when he wanted to be kind to Celena he had some reservations. He took hold of the end of the chain and held the pendant up with his right hand, hanging freely, then gave the stone a little tap so that it began to swing. Whether because of the angle of the tap he had given it, or because they were not yet focusing on anything, its motion described an oval, round and round off-centre.
Put your hands on mine the one holding the chain,' he instructed Celena. She obeyed, and he laid his left hand over the top of them. She looked so tense with concentration that he gave her a brief smile and said One potato, two potato,' thinking of the children's hand-stacking game.
It is like that,' Celena agreed, relaxing a little. What do we do now?'
Close your eyes. Let yourself relax as much as you can. Don't think about anything except what I'm saying to you Pretend you're in a dark, quiet, still, safe place. You're not afraid. You're quite comfortable. All you hear is my voice, and all you feel is the motion of the pendulum, coming up through my hand into yours. Can you feel how it swings?'
Yes,' Celena murmured. Somewhere out in the darkness, an owl called, a mournful request for more pork.' Van watched her closely to see whether she was distracted, but there was no reaction in her face, only a very pure, clear intensity of purpose that struck him as a little Hitomi-ish. He hoped the next part would work. If it didn't work with Celena they would both have a much more difficult job, but Hitomi was the only person he had ever tried it with, so there was no way to tell.
Now I'm closing my eyes too. Don't open yours to see. Whatever I tell you is the truth. Do you trust me?'
Yes, Van, I trust you.' She said it so easily. Van had to take a moment to carefully put his incredulous feeling away. Something that often helped him was to imagine smoothing a bedspread, flattening the sheets and blankets beneath so there was no interruption to the soft plane of the upper surface. The bedcover might be all made up of disparate things, like a patchwork quilt, but they were united in purpose.
Now my mind is going to try to touch your mind. This might feel strange, but just try to let it happen. I can't think of a better way to show you how to do this quickly. Ready?'
Ready.'
Celena?
Silence of the mind.
Celena, can you hear me? Speak to me the way I'm speaking to you.
Am I is this how?
That's just right. Just think what you want me to hear.
Can you hear everything I think?
Only what you aim at me. I can't look anywhere private. Same goes for you. All you can see is what I show you. There are other ways to do it that are more invasive, but that's not what we're interested in. Are you still feeling the pendulum move?
It's dancing in a circle.
That's changing. Because we're concentrating. Help me change how it moves. See it in your mind, as it swings. The circle is flattening out. It's growing longer and thinner. Now the pendulum swings in two long curved lines. You could draw a point where it stops at the peak of each swing. Mark those two points for me, the two points it swings between.
Like this?
That's very good. Nice and clear. Now the pendulum swings in a straight line between those two points, like the pendulum of a clock. Can you hear it ticking? It ticks like your heart beats.
Like a butterfly's wings beat.
A slower rhythm than that. Stronger. We're going to keep feeling that beat all the time. It's our safety line. It's the gold chain, and I hold the end, and you hold on to my hand. You and I are standing together at the top of your mind... What's it like? Describe it to me.
I can't tell you in words
Can you show me in pictures? Don't try to hurry Take the time to make the picture clearly. Fill in all the details you can. Do your very best. You have as long as you need to do it. When you think you've got it ready, show me.
Van waited in the darkness behind his eyelids, floating on the tide of his breathing. He could faintly feel the effort Celena was making to marshal her impressions and put them into a form he could understand. She was having to work extremely hard. Gradually, something began to come through, every bit of information hard-won. It was not really a picture, more of a feeling, a raw thought-perception. As it entered Van's mind, it swum into a certain context in his memories, finding a way to show itself to him.
It was a day when he was very young, maybe four years old, when Merle was a roly-poly two-year-old. It was morning and they were in his mother's dressing-room, playing on the floor while she put on her makeup and dressed her hair. The two children sat on the blue and grey rug, legs splayed, opposite each other, and rolled a red ball back and forth into one another's laps. It was a very easy game to play, but Merle laughed with surprise every time she caught the ball, and laughed again every time she managed to roll it wide so Van had to move to retrieve it. They were very happily occupied with this game when they heard a sudden tinkling crash, and Varie's voice say Oh dear! Oh dear!'
Van turned to see his mother gazing at the floor and biting at her lower lip. He saw the worry on her face, and turned again to look where she was looking. Her silver-backed hand-mirror lay face up on the boards, and its face was shattered. She must have dropped it by accident. Van hitched himself closer over the rug and stared in fascination. The cracks radiated from a point slightly off-centre, reminding him of a spiderweb.
This is very bad luck,' Varie was saying. Don't touch it, Van love, you might get a cut.'
Why's it bad, Mother?' he asked. I think it's pretty.'
It's pitty!' Merle agreed, stretching out a soft little paw to touch the glass. Van pushed the hand back. He knew it was his job to stop Merle doing anything silly and hurting herself, because he was the bigger one.
Breaking a mirror is very bad luck,' Varie explained. We'll have to be very careful for at least seven years.' She tried to pick up the mirror by its handle, but her fingers were shaking, and it dropped again when she had only lifted it a couple of feet in the air. There was another smashing noise, and new lines raced through the spiderweb. Oh dear!'
Let me, Mother,' said Van, eager to be helpful. He was sure he could hold the mirror steady, and the silver handle could not possibly cut him. When he lifted the mirror and saw his own reflection in it, he laughed with as much surprise as Merle. It was only embarrassingly recently that Van had learned there was not a little boy living behind the glass who matched him and walked into place when Van stepped in front of a mirror. If there had been a little boy back there he could have gotten out between the cracks now. He saw only his own face, but such a funny jigsaw face, some bits reflecting bigger than others, none of the lines quite matching up. It was as though there were a lot of different mirror-Vans and he could see a bit of each of them at a time.
This was the kind of picture he gained of Celena's mind. He looked into the glass and saw her face reflected, shattered, crazed with cracks, like smashed ice on the surface of a puddle.
Van, I'm getting scared. You haven't said anything for ages.
It's all right. I was just thinking about what you're showing me. I'll try to come closer.
You can come right in if you want.
Are you sure?
Yes. Please. I don't know what to do by myself.
Now they were together, it seemed, in a sort of hall of broken mirrors. Van was surprised to find that he was holding a golden chain in his right hand, not the slender jewellery chain of the pendant, but a sturdy ring-linked thing that you might have used to tether a big dog. His left hand was being held by Celena in both of hers. She was clearly imagining this very literally. The hall did not hold its shape; now they were at the centre of a globe whose inner surface was cracked mirror-glass, now the globe was expanding outward in shards. But Celena and Van remained themselves, the chain snaking away into the darkness towards light.
Can you hear the others? Celena asked him. Now that he was in her mind with her, there was a new quality to her voice. It seemed to have acquired multiple echoes, some of them echoing her words slightly before she spoke them. They spoke the same words, but in different voices, different tones, different attitudes.
I can hear them when you speak. Is the one who's speaking to me the real Celena?
I don't know. I think I'm just the Celena who was at the top when we started this conversation. Do you want me to get the others so you can try and pick out the real one?
No, that's not how it works. I don't know the real Celena. Only you do. Look in your right hand. What do you have there?
Celena kept a tight grip between their left hands, but lifted and opened her right. It's the pendulum!
It's time for you to use it. Hold the end of the chain in your hand and let it swing. It's going to swing in the direction of the real Celena. It's going to show us where to find her.
Do I have to close my eyes?
For this part you need to watch the pendulum. I'll watch too. Don't be scared. I'm right here and I know what I'm doing.
Van thought Celena gave him a slightly sceptical look at that, but she didn't say anything. She raised the pendulum and set it swinging.
Concentrate with all your might on finding one big, strong Celena, one Celena who should be on top in charge.
The pendulum swung in a circle. They were sliding now between sheets of glass, canyon walls of it, impressions fleeting by. They were going down through layers, strata; they were ascending into an atmosphere where the clouds were crystals of glass and water vapour. They were doing all these things at once, as Van's mind tried to translate what was happening into a coherent visual metaphor. They were going deep into the dark, carrying a little light before them.
Different voices spoke to them.
Want to go home want to go home want to go home!
Jajuka, where are you? Jajuka! I can't find you!
Forgive me forgive me
Mother! Why didn't you wait for me to come home? Mother, where did you go?
Am I still breathing? Does my heart really beat? Am I dreaming all this, and when I wake up I'll still be Dilandau?
Allen, why are you angry with me? Cuddle me up and tell me you're not angry.
I've done it again I've done it again
The Celena by Van's side sighed and shook her head. I don't think any of these is right.
Keep looking. Go deeper. The chain will pay out as long as we need it to. We can go anywhere we have to to find her.
The voices whispered on, growing more distressed, more distressing.
Stop hurting me! Why does everyone hurt me?
It's not fair!
JAJUKA!
What's he doing in here? He's not one of us.
Van Van, won't you please be my friend? I'm so lonely without you
He burned my hand! He spoiled my new body! I only just got it back and he messed it up!
VAN!
He cut my beautiful face.
Celena gave a little gasp and her left hand tightened its grip convulsively on Van's. Dilandau's here! I didn't know he was down here! What are we going to do? Van, help me!
Van? Van! The cities burned because of you! My scar ached because of you! I'm dead because of you! I'll never let you out of here. I'll hold you down in darkness. I'll burn you down to nothing.
Celena made a high, panicky noise in her throat and threw herself against Van, pressing her face against his chest, refusing to look. That was a strange thing; here he was bigger than she was. He was the bigger one, the stronger one, the one who had to protect, because he was bigger and stronger and had the power to hurt. He put one arm around her shoulders, careful not to lose hold of the golden chain. It looped around their bodies.
Ignore him, he said boldly to Celena. Ghosts aren't even real. He's just a memory that thinks it's a person. And he won't touch you, because you're with me, and he's scared of me.
Scared of you!? Didn't you hear what he said?
He's scared of me. Aren't you, Dilandau? You know what I could do. You know what I've done already.
Shut up! I'll make you wish you were dead!
Celena's not afraid of you.
I beg your pardon!
Celena can beat you hollow. There's only one of you, and there's only one of me, but there's lots and lots of her. Celena? Do you know what to do?
I I think so Celena stretched out her right hand, uncertainly, letting the pendulum swing, and closed her eyes to concentrate.
When he was four, Van had not understood why his mother was so upset about the mirror being broken.
We'll just get someone to fix it,' he said reassuringly, stretching up to put the mirror on the dressing-table.
You can't fix a broken mirror,' she told him.
Yes you can! Just glue the bits together.'
They'll never reflect a whole image again. There'll still be cracks between them. No glue can fix that. It's very bad luck to keep a broken mirror, too. We'll bury it in the garden.'
Is the mirror dead?' Merle asked, fascinated. Somehow that idea upset Van.
Of course it's not dead! We can fix it! I'll fix it!' He snatched the mirror again, ready to run out of the room with it.
Stop it, Van! You're being silly and naughty,' Varie said, and gave him a little slap on the wrist to make him let go of the handle. She took the mirror away from him with the firm hand of the adult world, the world where so much is impossible.
But nothing was impossible in pure imagination. If Celena could only imagine herself whole, in this place, at this time, it would be so. Van tucked the end of the chain through his belt and put his right hand over hers as she held the pendant.
All the pieces come together. All the Celenas fit together.
Van! We were thinking about it the wrong way! It's not that there's one real Celena! There was one real Celena and she got broken! All these are her pieces! I'm a little piece and I can pull all the rest together!
That's right. Go for it! Don't be afraid!
Like hell you shouldn't be afraid! B e VERY afraid!
Dilandau, go away.
You can't say that to me. I'm part of you! I'll always be in you! I should be in charge. You make me sick, you're so weak. You can't do a thing against me. You couldn't even stop him hurting you.
If I'm weaker than you, why are you down here at the bottom of my mind? Go away, Dilandau. You don't even belong here. Go away.
Her voice had that strange echo again, many voices speaking as one, a syncopated chorus, the echoes coming into focus.
The mirror-shards came together, joining up like blobs of quicksilver, the cracks filling and sealing together, seamless, whole, beautiful. They formed a great parabolic mirror into which the heat and light of Celena's determination shone and focused, and were thrown back out as a pure beam of force.
In the same instant, the pendulum swung outward, straining at the end of its chain, disregarding the law of gravity, standing out horizontally from Celena's hand to show the way to Dilandau, and the beam leapt along that golden line, a single sizzling stroke.
Go away, Dilandau! The patchwork choir of Celena spoke in perfect unison. The darkness became light. Van was almost afraid, but did not waver from adding his will, his purpose to the goal.
I want you to be all right. I don't want Dilandau to be able to hurt you. I want it to be possible to mend broken things, to restore them, to make them heal without a scar. What do you know anyway, Mother? You told me to hide my wings. You made me feel ashamed of them, because they made you sad. You got married because a prophecy said you would. You left me alone when I was five years old! I'll always love you, but damn, you were wrong about some things!
Celena you're so very strong you had to be, to survive this long, even in bits and pieces. You don't need me to protect you, to stand in front of you. But I'll stand beside you.
Are you my friend? Celena turned hopeful blue-grey eyes on him, shining with their own light.
Yes, I'm your friend.
And Dilandau is gone?
Gone for good. You wasted him. All of you together. You were great!
I'm I'm not having one of my funny spells I'm just very tired. She slumped against him, and he bore up her weight as his wings opened and lifted them. They rose to the surface along the strong golden chain; the doors of perception opened and let them out.
Van felt the boards of the verandah beneath him. He had been sitting still so long his backside was numb, and his left foot was asleep. His eyes were still closed, but his mind and Celena's were separate once more. In the trance, they had both unconsciously leaned forward until their foreheads were touching, leaning head to head, brow to brow. Nothing felt quite so real and solid as the bony pressure of her forehead on his.
Van,' she whispered hoarsely, as though her mouth had grown dry, the pendulum's stopped.'
That's all right.' His own voice was a little rusty, and it seemed right to speak softly.
Have you ever noticed how if you fall asleep when you didn't mean to your teeth taste bloody afterwards? What makes that?'
I don't know. It's metallic, isn't it?' They still remained motionless, hands clasped between them. Do you feel better now? All one piece?'
I feel a bit better but I think I need to put the pieces together in a different way not to be a weapon will you come back and help me? You help me focus.'
Of course I will.' A slight motion was enough to set the pendulum swinging once more, and this time it was all easier. The reassembly was gentle, because the parts understood the purpose of the whole and found comfort in union. It was still draining work, and they grew steadily wearier. Finally the job was done, and they lapsed together into deep, quiet sleep.
To Be Continued