It seems like she's been there for centuries, but it's just been three decades. Elijah is still punctual, he stays longer nowadays. Elena is thankful. She feels like she's lost. He's like a compass she can almost feel in the dark. She's barely slept in three decades. She vows when she wakes to go as long as possible without sleep. Elijah keeps her informed, and he's published a few more books. He doesn't mention their contents to her.
She wants to blink. She misses it all. She misses blinking, and the feeling of breathing. She even misses drinking blood, she misses sensations. She misses feeling. She misses hugging and running and laughing and talking, she misses talking the most. She's glad she's a vampire, because when it's all over, she'll spend a few straight weeks remembering everything and writing it down. Elena wonders where the digital copies of her diaries are. Elijah tells her more stories, and she feels terrible this decade that he's wasting part of his life away for her. She doesn't see him look at her like she's more valuable than anything he's ever seen.