breeze stirred the curtain by the window, and

d his chest before

ne whispered-a girl's v

o bright. He bli

ove him. The rustle of trees. Birds outside. Som

hen..

and saw the girl si

eyes, and thick, coiled curls pinned in a half-bun with a hand-carved comb. Her presence was calm but impossible to igno

something about her that made the room feel smaller. Quieter. Realer. Her cheekbones were high, her lips soft and full, a

g, and a long wrap skirt tied at the hip. Not a speck of makeup. No jewe

. Honest

but unreadable, like a painting you couldn't stop tryin

Didn't smile. Just met his gaze like she was try

?" he

turned with a clay cup. She held it to his lips and tilte

It was cool and sweet, and he hadn't

h," she said. "My gra

racked. "Wh

she replied.

s like fire. His body protested every m

don't get visi

?" he wh

e from t

m made his skin prickle. He could see that she didn't m

ur name?"

in his skull like an alarm. He searched, re

th

I don't kn

swer had confirmed something she already suspected. She

she said.

a

thing from a dream. It felt like water, lik

then, as i

, not sure

ooked

am," he said slowly,

brown eyes thoughtful, unreadable. There was intelligence in

she said. "Fell out of

A moment heav

can b

him like something familiar. A spark of t

repeated

out, leaving the door half-open. Her bar

ce he woke up, he wanted t

...

, to the faint murmur of a breeze and voices further off. The pa

ward m

ard

efully reinforced. Shelves lined with clay pots, baskets of herbs, and bundles of dried

the edge of a dirt path winding through trees. Somewhere not fa

he felt.

ed in his chest li

hat his life had

told him it

o

re

is girl with the steady

eal than anythin

t know h

hat when she

like he

sn't read