She said, “What you saw. It wasn’t the first time. It began long ago.” The clouds moved silently through the sky, carrying shapes with them that would become other shapes and further shapes. Nothing remaining the same, not even for an instant. That was the truth of it. She said, “It began when we were schoolgirls. Before I ever knew you. And it has…” She stopped again. Where were the moon and the stars when she needed them? Where was the gentle comfort of the night? She said, “It has always been this way with me. No other way. I think I will never be any different than this.”
