Reprise

by solitaris

In which Sasuke rediscovers living. A reprise of an auld lang syne melody. SasuSaku. Canon compliant.

In which Sasuke rediscovers life. A reprise of an auld lang syne melody. SasuSaku. Canon compliant.
Musical inspo: Revival - Echoes

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 1
Surroundings seem dreamlike; they're muffled, air is stiff and sound escapes him. Somewhere to the right he can hear a steady song of machinery, consistent and maybe the only thing piercing through the unreality of his current predicament. When he opens his eyes with great difficulty and grime and heaviness, it's a watercolor ocean, containing pink and green, and white and yellow and grey. There's black, too, in random ink splotches across his vision, but they make everything else easier to see.
Focus is fleeting but he tries to pinpoint the pink, and it tickles his face. He hears a familiar voice, feels his body respond, feels the energy seep into his corpus. There's a prick and he can't really do anything but feel it, let it wash over him. His reflexes are close to dead and all he can think is - I have to be dead, right? And there's a peaceful feeling in that, the realization, as it ripples through his nervous system. He's not fleeing, like when he was nine, or fighting, like when he was seventeen. He's just existing, and he must've lost quite a lot of blood, to think that this was okay; this state is tranquil and calm. This must be home, whatever this is. He can be here for all eternity - Naruto will take care of the rest.
Only it doesn't last. However many, and probably many, moments later, first on the return is his hearing. And there's Sakura's voice, unmistakable. Shaky and worn, but confident, throwing commands at somebody. And pink still hasn't left his periphery. She must say something because there's a question on the end of it, maybe his name, but he's not certain. There's not much he can do about it, anyway, with sand in his throat.
He's exhausted, like this was the hardest thing he's ever done, to exist, so he closes his eyes and stays in the dark for a long time.

Watercolor is confined now, familiar in its shape. This time, when he opens his left eye, he's aware of the imperfections of the ceiling. His right eye seems impossible to open. He can't discern depth much, but he distinguishes the changes in color, lines and shape. He knows it's daylight, and there's a light breeze on his toes. A slight movement awards him with the presence of a door, and a bit further left he sees a mop of blonde, reflecting the sunbeams. The machinery still cries to his right, and now he's certain it's ticking down his heartbeat.
So he lives. He remembers apologizing to Sakura on the field, laying down, after a lost fight that changed everything. Can't remember much afterwards, only glimpses of a towering green gate and the feeling of support on both of his sides.
It's summertime, he's sure, or something far along, maybe whispers of September. It's not the famed Leaf winter, yet, he knows. Must be a couple of months into his stay, then.
And for all that time, he was away, somewhere, not present. He wonders if things have changed drastically. He's sure the Leaf will confine him in some way, once he's recovered enough to be stuffed into another, more uninviting box.
He's thinking of something and nothing, mostly scraps of what feels like a past life, one almost unknown to him. He remembers his mother's hands on his face, and feels a tug at his heartstrings. He remembers, for the first time after a long while, his father's stern voice over rivulets and smoke. He remembers the feel of his brothers calloused fingers over his forehead and now there's a set to his brow. He thinks of a picture day he wasn't inclined for; the rivalry, Kakashi's reprimands and Sakura's laughter.
His thoughts take him near and far in time before there's a crack at the door and the surroundings are colored orange.
He can see Kakashi and Sakura walk in tow, approaching and settling beside him.
"Can you hear me, Sasuke?"
He manages some sort of sound.
"It's alright. You don't have to talk," and he can hear a whisper of a distant fond smile in his voice. He shuffles onto what must be a stool next to his bed frame. The wheels cry, but Sakura keeps standing. She's immovable, with a faraway look in her eyes. He's unfamiliar with it. With all his strength, he
focuses on his former teacher.
"Sakura told me you're recovering well. I don't wish to scare you, but it's pertinent we lay out all the facts as fast as possible. People on the council move quick," and here he finishes with a laborious sigh.
"And that's why I'm here. Don't panic; your Rinnegan has been sealed. I'm sure you've noticed you can't see through it", he hasn't but it doesn't surprise him, and when he tries to slowly open it, he finds only darkness. "Right. Well, after all of what's going to happen," he positions his elbows onto his knees, voice growing serious, "which you will find out in due time, I promise to fight for you and your eventual reinstatement."
He takes a breath and continues, "Sakura will speed up the recovery process. It won't be pretty, but, again, time is of the essence." Sasuke looks at her then, and as if she feels it, she shuffles on her feet, nervous; her eyes are hidden beneath her hair, hands behind her back.
There's a moment of silence in which Kakashi straightens his posture. "Naruto is recovering fast due to the nine-tailed fox. We want to make sure you're on your feet as fast as he will be," and now there's a soft countenance to him. "Don't make it a competition, now." He breathes a laugh through the mask and closes his eyes; a very familiar and nostalgic reaction, Sasuke thinks. He'd huff a laugh of his own, if he could.
"We've got it under control, until then. But," he shifts to stand, weary, "there will be some precautions we need to take. It's all for show," sounding confident, Kakashi turns to Sakura, "Sakura will explain everything. Listen to your medic," he takes to fully turn, putting a hand on her shoulder. There's a silent understanding between them, and she finally turns to address Kakashi's gesture, one of her eyes finally visible.
Without anything else, Kakashi walks out the door.
Sasuke watches her for what feels like a long moment, and she's rooted in her position, looking back at the door. He notices there's no injury on her. For some reason, he relaxes.
When she finally moves, she's to his right, next to all the machinery, and the orange glows in her outline. He's finally noticed something in her hands; a pair of shakles.
"... This doesn't bring me any joy," she manages, quiet and rushed, before slowly and carefully clasping the iron around his remaining wrist and the bed frame. She continues, unhurried this time, "Sasuke," there's no honorific, "there are ANBU stationed outside this room, as well as on the outside of the hospital. This room will be monitored until further notice", she tries to find the strength, "so this is mostly for appearances, I promise."
He doesn't pretend he's happy about the shackles, but in his newfound
understanding, he knows it's the way things need to be, for now. Even in this state, he understands the weight of the situation.
She's still not looking at him.
She pockets the key, taking her time, as if it weighs a weight she can't possibly lift.
Standing there a moment, her eyes finally meet his lone one, and there's vulnerability he's seen time and time again. Something about it makes his gut churn. Never fails to.
A moment passes, then two, and then she tears away her gaze, somewhere further down his right, and tinkers with machinery and the IV drip.
He follows her with his gaze, not knowing why, mostly because there's nothing else to do, to chase away the heavy feeling of her here, next to him, without any animosity. Somehow it feels nostalgic, relaxing and foreign at the same time. He struggles to remember the last time they were fighting on the same side, and what that was like. Must be eons ago, feels that way.
She's back to his left, putting away her hair, a determined set to her brow. She places her hands on his missing one, and begins her work.
She notices his study of her, doesn't say anything, but returns it once in a while, whether to reassure him or herself, between long stretches of mending, and he falls asleep at some unknown point.

Days pass, in which Sakura does the same thing, over and over, mending to their mangled limbs. Through the days, he hears Naruto's voice, at first quiet and content, and afterwards increasingly animated, his characteristic.
Sometimes he talks to Sasuke one-sided, as he in turn can't find the words to say back. Never was one of his strong suits. Fluent in a language spoken through actions, Sasuke can't really do much of any, so he mostly stays quiet, carefully contemplating both his teammates. There's a familiarity and closeness between them, he notices, when Naruto tires of innocently goading Sasuke on, speaking with Sakura. She's tired and weary and exhausted, but returns his questions with an answer, or fills him in of the mundane happenings outside of the four walls, in a sisterly way he feels is characteristic of her. He wonders if the same would be between the trio instead of the duo, had he stayed all those years ago. He doesn't dawdle on the thought, else he might shut into himself again. He doesn't know any other course of action, though. He can't do anything else but think.
There's a point never to talk about the pressing situation about him in his presence, he notices; Naruto seems to be in the know, somehow, he's not surprised. Sakura is a closed book on that front, this time.
And then a new day starts, and Naruto shoots jabs and sentences at Sasuke again.
He relents, and a day comes where he huffs and groans in response to his best friends' benign jabs.

"Well," Sakura sighs through her nose, "that's just about as much as I can do, now." She looks at him, finally smiles; he didn't know he was waiting for that. He doesn't think he'd seen her smile truthfully like this in all his time since waking. "Now, it's all up to you, Sasuke." The honorific has been gone for a while.
She's settled into the room throughout her work here, sleeping on the chair, sometimes next to Naruto, and cleaning their wounds, leaving through the door occasionally for supplies and whatever else. When Naruto childishly comments "you've been gone for a long time" after she returns, Sakura exasperatedly reprimands him that she needs to shower and get a change of clothes. When she wakes up from her restless naps, she brings them warm miso soup, occasionally some fruit to gnaw on, cut to pieces for convenience, to "speed up their recovery", never lingering on the memories of the gesture.
Presently, the smile disappears as fast as it came, and she's focused onto the shackles again, threatening them, as if her focus can pulverize them away.
A minute or two pass, and she's looking at him, determinant again. Then she looks at Naruto and back again, addressing them both. "The hard part begins now," she releases her posture, runs a hand down her face, exasperated. "I'll be gone a while," and after Naruto's whine, she presses on "I need to take care of things. There will be an assigned nurse to both of you." And her gaze is gone, somewhere far away; Sasuke imagines her bite her nail as she used to when they were kids, but instead she turns and walks away, putting her hand on the doorknob.
"I'll track your progress. Please remember, there are eyes everywhere and at all times."
Sasuke realizes why Naruto wanted some semblance of normalcy, throwing mock insults at Sasuke, pestering Sakura for a conversation. Because once she's gone, true to her word, she's gone for a while and doesn't come back, least not when they're both awake. If she can't come during their waking hours, she's probably taking care of whatever looming situation about him there is outside the door, taking time outside her work to check in on them, a silent support. He knows this, because his hair is out of his eyes every
morning, his duvet smooth, and fresh daffodils next to both of them. He can't think of anyone else caring as much.

"Have you seen her", Naruto asks, oddly quiet, for the umpteenth time in the days since her absence.
In the mean time, Sasuke has found his voice, and surprises Naruto with an audible response. "No," he says, and it's the truth.
Naruto feels enboldened, "hey, when this is all over, we're gonna have the biggest feast of ramen, all three of us. And you can't say no!"
Sasuke feels a tug on the corner of his mouth, but doesn't look at him or shoot back a response. It doesn't matter, Naruto smiles anyway, as if he said anything. It's oddly calm, being this way, with him. No animosity, anxiety or rage between them. And though he finds a muted sort of contentment in the present moment, Sasuke knows it's only a calm before the storm.

"You've been staring at that thing for a while now, kid," came the commanding voice of her teacher, front side of her desk, surely here to deliver some debilitating news. Sakura feels like she can't rest at any moment; the situation feels too dire, too clumsy and fragile. If she looks away, she fears it all may crumble into the worst possible scenario.
Lady Tsunade is reffering to the brass key inside her palm. She's been staring at it, trying to will its existance away. She imagines a world where it doesn't exist, that none of what's happening is real, that she can sit in the field with her teammates and friends, eating lunch or doing some other mundane activity, heart full and posture easy. She tries to will it away, for all its symbolism, because it feels like she's tying Sasuke down - to her mind, what she's been trying to do all her life. And it was never the right thing to do. She doesn't have that sort of influence, and somehow, after all this time, she never wishes she had. It feels wrong. She wishes she could turn back time, will herself to be different. She cares for him, always has. Doesn't know how not to. But Sasuke is his own person, faults and all. She wishes nothing but the best for him, and Naruto and Kakashi sensei, and everyone else, for that matter.
The world is against her, however, increasing talks of trials and murder and massacres and death-sentencing. She feels sick to her stomach; she doesn't believe she can live through any of those scenarios.
Kakashi has promised to work in tow with Lady Tsunade to prevent any but the
most favorable outcome for Sasuke, and she's thankful, because they've been making strides, until her teacher strode through the door of her office, an angry set to her jaw, surely with bad news; she's already deduced as much. "Listen to me, Sakura," Lady Tsunade wasn't a woman of patience, she's felt that on her skin many times, and that's where she reasons to herself enough to pull away her gaze.
"I felt like you should know; Sasuke is to be sentenced to jail until further notice. No trial," she crosses her arms, annoyed with the situation. Sakura knows how much the council grates on her, had listened to many drunken monologues about it, so she doesn't find her countenance too surprising. And one she stands strongly behind, herself. Lady Tsunade isn't partial to the Uchiha either, but she knows her teacher isn't malicious; she feels seen, in that revelation.
Sakura never was one to question authority, and when she did, she ventured to kill the love of her life, almost ending in tragedy; most of her friends, deep down, she knows, took effort into trusting her and her abilities again after the fact. She felt weak, sheepish, embarrassed, but most of all hurt - and she doesn't even blame them. But they don't know things like she does. They never will. The council is the same.
"I felt like I should be the one to tell you, soon as I heard. Don't make me question my judgement", she releases her hands, plants one on her hip, and continues, "I know how much he means to you," she says, and Sakura's head feels hot, whether she's angry, embarrassed or anything else, she doesn't know. Lady Tsunade doesn't say anything else, and promptly walks out the door with haste.

It's sometime in the night, way past the end of her shift, when she decides to put the key to use. Tired of staring at it, white-knuckled, she drags herself down the corridors of her almost-home, occasional nurse greeting her on her walk, the echoing of her sandals exacerbating her headache. She stops before the door, takes a few strained breaths, in and out, before stepping past the threshold. She's been here, somewhere around this time almost every night.
She couldn't help herself; she had the instinctual need, after every shift, to check in on them. They're recovering well; Naruto will be released soon. Lady Tsunade has a replacement arm for him in the making. She hasn't told Sakura if she plans to give the option to Sasuke, but knowing her teacher, she wasn't sure if she would. As much as she thinks that she knows Sasuke, she isn't sure if he would take the offer.
He's recovering extremely well, but she's very worried about his eyes and
whether or not the Rinnegan's eyesight will ever return. Lady Tsunade said there might be consequences to using the seal. Sakura whole-heartedly hopes that he can see on both eyes again. Then she remembers his fate, and that he's to be boxed in a jailcell, possibly for the rest of his life. She almost crumbles to her knees, with the fact finally seeping into her bones.
She might never understand Sasuke, as much as she wishes she could, but she can understand that he doesn't deserve that life, after everything.
She stops before his confines, seeing white, and promptly unlocks the shackles. Careful not to disturb or hurt him, she takes them with her back to her office, continuing her contemplation into the morning.

Sasuke's been awake since Sakura's departure, wary of her behavior and thinking of how much she's risking unshackling him. He felt the need to tell her to stop, but she was on the verge of tears and he never knew how to stop that. She's gone before he can do anything of value, and he's acutely aware of the watchful ANBU eye. He decides then, for her sake, he will prove to them that they're fighting on the same side.

A tray falls to the ground, waking them both, and before he or Naruto can discern what's happening, the nurse swings open the door and flees. Naruto looks at him, confused, but Sasuke returns his question with a nod towards his remaining arm. Naruto understands, then, and sighs back into bed.
From then on, there were no signs of Sakura anymore. The flowers died, vases emptied and removed. Picked and prodded by the assigned nurse, who's feelings of fear because of him never cease in the days following, he's realized that keeping his determination from that night is a challenging task.
There's a feeling seeping into his gut, one that he doesn't know which angle to tackle from.

"She's had her reasons, I'm sure she's fine," Naruto comments, one afternoon. Sasuke looks at him, then; Naruto's sitting at the edge of his bed, leg bouncing up and down in nervousness. Any other time he would scoff at the juxtaposition, but he realizes he wishes to believe Naruto's words, instead. "She's an idiot," he says, hushed and contemplative; she was an idiot for trying to end his life, for trying to save it, for stepping in between him and
Naruto many times, and mostly for having loved him.
There's an annoyed tone to Naruto's voice when he says "you don't mean that," and Sasuke is quiet.
After a while, Sasuke asks "why are you still here," a question in a question, and Naruto understands, as he always does. "She's fine," he simply says, calming his leg and looking resolutely out the window.

One morning, feeling well enough to use the facilities, Sasuke returns with wet hair, a towel haphazardly around his neck, achy arm and muscles, finding Naruto gone. For a second, his heartrate increases, all possibilities of the situation racing in at once, until he wills himself calm. With a breath, he decides to trust his friend's judgement, and settles back into his bed. That night he doesn't sleep, and subsequent nights are spent restless.

"Can you tell me anything about Naruto or Sakura," he asks the attending nurse one day, what feels like weeks after Naruto's disappearance, finding his voice, trying to will it calm. He needs to know.
The nurse jumps at his inquiry, having not expected him to speak at all, being content with no exchange between them. They're at the end of his daily physical training; she's wordlessly acquainting him at life with one arm, all of which Sasuke found uninteresting and useless in the wake of his racing thoughts.
After a moment she responds, weary and uneven, "Lady Sakura is at her station, last I've seen," and Sasuke releases a breath. "Naruto is in the Hokage tower. That's all I know," she supplies, as a reassurance of herself in the face of the fear of him retaliating to the information.
He sighs and never speaks to her again, and after his physical training is finished, he feels restless; he feels he might just break a silent promise he made to Sakura that night.

That day he wakes, having spent how ever many long months in that bed, Sasuke knows it's going to be a labourous day. The trepidation he feels is like a sixth sense, and because of everything that's happened in his life, he's fearful of the outcome. He's certain of it when Kakashi walks through the door.
There's the current Hokage, Sakura's teacher, to his left, and a couple of ANBU agents behind them.
Sasuke quickly sits up.
"Sasuke, how have you been," he asks, what seems genuine curiosity in his tone, and Sasuke doesn't respond to the question, instead posing his own: "Naruto and Sakura?"
Kakashi almost chuckles at that, seeming relieved, for whatever reason. Sasuke shoots him a look. "They're fine," his eyes are content, like Sasuke proved something to him in that moment. He struggles to understand, and inspite of the news, his annoyance grows.
Kakashi looks back and forth between Sasuke and the people behind him, and releases a sigh. "Well, Sasuke. I think it's time we explain the situation," and he already knows he's due to pay for his crimes; Sasuke doesn't know what it'll be - death, imprisonment, whatever else. He's known, ever since wakefulness, that there's a hefty price to pay. He just hopes it doesn't reflect on the rest of his team. He doesn't understand why they couldn't at least be here, with him. If these are his last moments on earth, he wishes, with pummeling realization, that he could've spent it with them. Naruto's jabs, Sakura's reassurances and all. He never thought he'd think this way.
There's an overwhelming anxiety growing in his gut. Of what his end might be, and how he didn't spend it wisely, with people who've fought tooth and nail for him. All he can think of is the times lost, chances gone and life wasted. Of the memories of his family that will fade away with him.
Kakashi is oddly calm; he's always dismissed his former teacher in many ways, but deep down, he respected him. For him to act nonchalant of his fate, knowing it, must either mean there's a favorable outcome, or that his teacher wasn't so fond of him, after all.
"Council members and the current Hokage, as well as I, Hokage in training, have decided on the best outcome considering your case," he walks closer, stride confident, until he's very close to his left, arms akimbo. "Before I tell you everything, I want you to know that Naruto, Sakura and I have fought for the best for you. That will never change," and his eyes crinkle and his mask shuffles in a familiar way, a smile eminent, and Sasuke feels a relief he hasn't felt in a long time. He's known this, deep down, but witnessing it in action always leaves him breathless. In that moment, he knows; he will be spending the rest of his life in repayment.
Sasuke finally sits to the edge of his bed. Kakashi, in tow, sits beside him and places an arm on his shoulder in a fatherly manner. The smile never fades, and Sasuke listens.

When Kakashi finished explaining what's to come, smile permanent, Sasuke finds relief blanket him. The fifth Hokage hasn't said anything until the ANBU started departing, Sasuke in front, bound by his arm. She's quiet until they pass her, and she says, finally, after a long stare, "She'll be on duty for your medical needs. I did that for her sake," she says resolutely, turning back to Kakashi, and Sasuke knows. All he can think of is that he gets to live his life, repaying the people that let him have it, in the end.
At the end of the day, he was already in a cell, not knowing what cellblock or building, having been bound by a restraint jacket and blindfold. He finds he's strangely calm. The bindings are uncomfortable, and there's a schedule for all his needs, but knowing there's an end to it, that he can go back to a life where there are people waiting to see him, waiting to spend time with him, is what keeps him looking forward.

With the cicadas outside, he hears Sakura's relieved voice beyond the bars. "Sasuke-kun," she says, honorific restored, breathless, and he can hear the heart she always wore on her sleeve, finally, truly recognizing her. A feeling ripples through him, recognition and warmth, in the wake of his revelations that day.
"I came as soon as I heard," she says, clothes and metal shuffling, before there's a weight on his shoulder. He can feel the warmth of her beyond the bindings.
"They kept us mostly in the dark, for fear we might retaliate, especially Naruto," he hears straps unwinding below him, probably of the jacket they have him placed in, "but they let us know as soon as they booked you. Naruto is talking to Kakashi sensei right now, but I had to...," and she stops herself, he doesn't know why. He's just relieved, somebody he knows is here, a familiarity he never knew he could feel the relief of. The binding is fully gone, and he feels the cold of the cell, and the warmth of Sakura in front of him all at once. Quickly, she places her palms on his stump, and he feels Sakura's energy soothe his muscles.
A beat later, she says, quiet but agitated, "I told them not to put you in these, but they wouldn't listen. They don't understand," she says, resolutely, and continues her ministrations. He doesn't reply, doesn't know what to say, just being thankful someone is here, with him. After a moment, she pulls away and says "I can't remove the blindfold. I've already pushed it with the... shackles," she says the word as if it were a curse. "But I will take this monstrosity away," she continues and he feels the offending fabric being lifted away from him. He feels enormously better. There's a silence, in
which he thinks she's contemplating something. He imagines her face pained, probably from the state he's in. He feels the need to sooth her worries, and he doesn't know where this came from, surprising himself.
"There's", she almost yelps, as if surprising herself, and he feels her pause, "a blanket next to you," and whatever resistance she had, she throws away, picking and placing his remaining arm on the subject, by the forearm. He's curious about her state before she says "Lady Tsunade assigned me here, with you," and he hears a smile on her lips. She pulls away, fully, afterwards. "I'll come over as often as I can, whenever I'm allowed," she says it as a promise and Sasuke knows she'll keep it.

"What arm am I holding the headband in," Naruto asks, mockingly, before Sasuke, in spite himself, shoots him an agitated look he knows Naruto can't see. Naruto puffs a laugh before saying "never gets old." Sasuke triangulates his position by the sound and throws a kick, hoping it lands somewhere it might hurt for a long while afterward. He's relieved, boyishly, that it lands, and Naruto yelps ricochet. Pleased with himself, he leans back onto the cold brick.
There's a silence he finds unnerving, it being Naruto, so he looks in the general position he's in, a question in itself. Naruto shuffles, sighs and responds "they're making an arm for me," sounding adult and serious. Sasuke finds he isn't surprised, and somehow he's relieved on his friends' behalf. He questions Naruto's stance on the matter. "It feels wrong, like an Orichimaru thing," he hears disgust in his voice, then "but... I don't know," he clicks his tongue, and Sasuke hears him stand up from his position.
After a beat, not knowing what else to say but being sincere all the same, Sasuke responds "you can protect the village with it." There's a heavy and long silence again, in which he can feel Naruto staring at him, and he sets his lips in response.
Naruto's laugh bellows, hearty and high, and as a response to Sasuke's confusion, says "and I can finally eat ramen again", to which Sasuke's lips tug at the corner.

Sakura visits often, true to her word, always relieving muscle pain and talking to him. There's some semblance of normalcy to it, reminiscent of the past, and although Sasuke appreciates it deep down, he wonders when or if he'll ever be released. Kakashi omitted speaking on that fact, and he thinks it might
be something he maybe shouldn't know, for the better, if there is in fact no end to his confinement. Sasuke being Sasuke, he wishes to train, walk, see the world for what it is for the first time in his life, beyond the towering wall of revenge that was always obstructing the view. And hold the promise he made, spending his life in repentance. On some day, far along his stay, Sakura speaks on the subject, after one of her many monologues on the life outside. "It shouldn't be long, now," she says, sounding restless, but hopeful. He empathizes. There's an end, then. He releases a breath.
"Do you know when", he asks finally, hoping he doesn't sound ungrateful, even though he wouldn't know how to count the days. There's a beat, and then "yes", she says, resolute and jubilant. He's struck by the realization of her feelings on the subject, as if she's the one being contained. Still, after everything, she can sound like that, for his sake. And he's looking at her even though he can't see her. He tries to remember the ebullient eyes he once saw, the way they appeared when he looked at them, years past. Is there still gold in them, when the sun reflects just right, does the veridian still deepen in feeling? He wonders, as he finds he greatly misses his eyesight, for the first time in his life.
"Not long, now," she repeats in sing-song, unaware of his wonder.