arned how to live with the idea that, for

existed in my life before. I kept working, answered emails, ran a meeting, corrected two mistakes that were not mine, and still found time to arg

and was reaching for my

me

rying a small dark box. "Alice, you had a delivery.

nspired nothing more than curiosity. After my conversatio

nt it? Leave a car

e." She handed me the box, then smiled as

conds, I simpl

or

ed, now looking faintly puzz

y phone and ch

ir

rly an entire day, met two men whose very existence required separate explanations, watched silver light

ul," I m

hed. "Ro

hey all se

the present ar

ark lid. There was no send-er's address, no logo, no note. A narrow silver ribbon was the only deco-ration,

for a while. Apparently, caution was

ed. "What else can po

bly the point at which people de-ci

ened

tion; the piece was almost simple, and yet my eyes went to it at once. The silver did not shine beneath the office lamp like ord

it. Over the past two days, objects had begun di

me you're j

ant did

mising

crescent with

e fabric be-neath it, but with the unmistakable hea

lifted it

nse was i

ened beneath my skin and something had finally been allowed to travel through it. There was no

of my wrist, gathering into a fine l

have time to

othing my hair, the other adjusting something at my neck. The air smelled of fresh herbs with a faint bitterness to them, and the sc

stro

n a shar

y closed laptop, the box in front of me.

mory were reluctant to release it. I knew I had never consciously remembered that scene, yet my body ha

m..

e silver mark on my wri

he box. The room seemed colder the moment I let it go, as

subconscious, flickering lights on electricity, strangers' stares on my own heightened

sed t

r spending the next ten minutes opening twenty different websites about

him would mean admitting the list of strange events I ha

ill did not know did not automat-ically qualify as a trusted adviser simply because my body had developed

in my bag an

he door. Apparently, thi

f my coat, and only then real-ized I

ng had

but his legs seemed longer, his chest broader, his back heavier. A month ago, he had been an ordinary black c

e definitely need to

me with complete innocence

d finally de-stroyed my ability to judge the size of

ttention sn

pupils, si

oment, but i

lifted the pendant. The cat

hat this is

lm and almost

ing you're an entirely ordinary

nd walked into the room

nality is growing in propo

finally fastened the chain around my neck. The metal settled cool and quiet against my skin, as

was more than enough time for that many revelations. I went to bed earlier than usua

could not bring mys

almost im

, there w

e continued far beyond the reach of sight. Silver moonlight entered through narrow windows, stretching in long bands across the black stone floor and revealing faint crimson l

unfamiliar-dry and bitter, as though the fire were b

stood a heavy dark thron

the lake was

saw him in a place that

longed to h

hing else. Here, I saw something more: the way he held himself, the stillness of someone accus-tomed to making deci

he woman standing be-fore him. I remained at th

er head, her posture straight with the confidence of some

said. "Waiting any long

econds before shaking his he

onnection is strong enough for that

on." His answer was calm, without the slightest at

ll. "If the others sense her before you have time to

me. But being con-cerned is not the same as ha

r concern rem

ce, then disappeared. "The fact that I don

him. "Then tell me wha

s moon, low and bright and almost impossible-the same moon I had seen from

decis

nt s

over all these years. You don't know what she remem-bers, what she believes,

man whose decision had already been made and

r waits for her here, whatever anyone expects from her,

in his voice, no effort to impre

that remained was to wait for events to fall into whatever places had been prepared for them. Now, for the first time, I saw the boundary he had drawn for himself.

er light settled across his face and

t. "And how long are you prepared

never comes, then at least I'll k

can't decide which is stronger

mouth. "I stopped separati

t snort but did

ooking at the moon. Then, almost under his

not like a promise of possession, but almost like a name

inside m

the pendant agains

he heat of my own skin. Then the warmth deepened, and beneath my clothes

the window

gin searching for the source of the sensa-tion. He simply stopped listening to the woman, all of

nother moment before realizi

spaces between the windows, and passed over me. For a moment, I thought I had imagi

e look

at wher

although I knew perfectly well that if he could t

d fully

but the confusion on her face made it obvious

t is

not ans

first time since I had seen him, genuine, unguarde

li

y, as though speaking too loudly might s

id not want to, but because any w

then stopped, leaving th

really

e disbe-lief of a man who had finally been given proof of

n, and at last I understood what I had

e woman beside him was real; she saw him, spoke to him, argued with him. Beyond the windows

s not m

d stepped int