He trembled violently. Rain carved tracks down his cheeks. “I have not been truthful with you about many things,” Zen said, “but the one truth I can neither control nor deny is that you hold my heart, Lan. I have never used you for anything.” She was glad for the downpour that would obscure the wetness in her own eyes. Behind her, Dé’zǐ’s body cooled. Soon, it would return to the elements of the earth, the cycle of all things natural in this world.
