My bat some o, but did noto soots of  of ternoon and crept into bed, pulling tra covers ill srange visions. er and my faturbing to me as it sed and altered, sometimes myself, sometimes anot oms o ths of sleep.

    I as and my back. A tiredness t o do ion or lack of sleep  tment  nagged at me but only very distantly, and long minutes passed before I could rouse myself to look at my ciment repidation? nostalgia? excitement?—

    and it o a sense of expectation.

    t urning! My sister ing it. I couldn’t see  smell  my inner ear, attuned alo  ion, and it filled me h a dark and soporific joy.

    to put off Aurelius. My sister , I o meet  too cold and o take off my pajamas before dressing, I pulled a t and ser on over top. Bundled up like a c, I  doairs to tc a cold meal for me, but I ite and left toucen minutes I sat at tcable, longing to close my eyes and not daring to, in case I gave in to torpor t ing my oabletop.

    ites to spare, I opened tco the garden.

    No ligars. I stumbled in t soil underfoot and told me ect tion. I understood entirely. It was er was coming.

    I reacing point. tirred itself. It self clasped.

    ‘Are you all right?“

    I ion, but distantly.

    ‘Do you emperature?“

    t  they had no meaning.

    I’d o tell  tions, to tell  my sister  se no; I kne from t radiating from  te sound of ood between me and my words and made me dumb.

    Aurelius let go of my o remove a glove, and I felt rangely cool in t night