Chapter 88
Out on Big Island, the old woman with the mutilated skull drew nearer to the water.
Time no longer held any meaning for her beyond the abstract, but she was aware that once again, after so long, someone with the ability to sense her presence had come to the valley.
If they could see her, so too perhaps they could hear her; and if they could hear her, they could help her.
She had forgotten her name. She had forgotten the names of the children she once had, and of their children.
All she remembered with clarity was the axe.
But she wanted to leave the island and she could not do it unaided.
She reached out to the sleeping man, that he might dream of her—
And instantly she drew back, like one who had inadvertently touched scalding metal. She retraced her steps into the woods, where it was safe and dark, but she was no longer alone. With her on the island was a woman as ruined as herself, wearing a faded summer dress.
Now the woman spoke:
leave him be
let him sleep
he cannot help you
but i can