“Did it . . . did it end like that with your mother? Was that how she died?” “She never unsaid the words, but she let me take her hand before the end. I don’t think I’ll ever know if that meant . . .” “Of course it did!” she said quickly. “Of course it did, Alessan. We all do that. We do with our hands, our eyes, what we are afraid to say.” She surprised herself; she hadn’t known she knew any such thing. He smiled then, and looked down to where his fingers still covered hers. She felt herself coloring. He said, “There is a truth there. I am doing that now, Catriana. Perhaps I am a coward,
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