At Miss inter’s  tes . Eleven o ty-to try. At regular intervals I stopped to turn tco tepaper basket; these pauses marked my “hours.”

    I ory I  I  ime ts and my nigime dreams  from my  from Miss inter’s. It o urned constantly was Angelfield.

    In trut uno abdicate my oo Miss inter’s story urning my back on my o one cannot simply snuff oneself out in t fas escape t it ically , I  December ing do time.

    On ter t of tears, I did not see Miss inter. Sayed in bed, seeing only Juditon. t. I  slept  t to tle room and found her in bed.

    o  a trace of makeup. Perion  its peak of effectiveness, for tranquility about  seemed ne me, but here was kindness in her eyes.

    ‘You don’t need your notebook and pencil,“ s you to do sometoday.“

    ‘?“

    Judit on t Miss inter’s ced o it. In ter of t sioned t so t Miss inter could see out of tucked a toer’s s.

    Before s sh a smile.

    ‘But o do?“ I asked Miss inter.

    ‘Cut my hair, of course.“

    ‘Cut your hair?“

    ‘Yes. Don’t look like t. to it.“

    ‘But I don’t know how.“

    ‘Just take t.“ S care . I don’t care  looks like. Just get rid of it.“

    ‘But I—“

    “Please.”

    Reluctantly I took up position beer t o touc expected it to crackle, and punctuated ty little knots.

    ‘I’d better brus first.“

    ts  a  t o simply cut ts out.

    tentatively I made t cut. A fe.

    ‘Ser t,“ Miss inter said mildly.

    ‘to ouched her shoulders.

    ‘Ser.“

    I took a lock of  it nervously. An orange snake slito my feet, and Miss inter began to speak.

    I remember a feer ter’s old room. Not for any special reason. I  standing taring at nottle ridge in tain. A tear t ser  needle t of t  t sort of o  it. I ention of pulling it, I ention of any sort, really… But all of a sudden, t , zigzagged itcain gaping open. No art to fray.

    Joer at t. But t remained: If er  er y catcer  day s afternoon so be taken in by its c t Joo bed and slept soundly,  even a dream of falling ty air.

    If er here.

    I found t fraying ain utterly unbearable.

    I  Miss inter’s ime salking, and opped.

    Sed a o  th.

    ‘Ser,“ she said.

    I picked up the scissors again and carried on.

    till came every day. ed and mulc coming because of t ill your uncle gets back”—and I paid till kept coming. I cairs ion and I jumped out of vie on one occasion  sig wave back.

    Every morning  vegetables to tcimes  or a plucked ernoon o collect t.  I en t te between his lips.

    I tes, and it annoyed me t t. I never said a  it, but one day, s t me eyeing ttes in  pocket.

    ‘Sea,“ he said.

    o tc  time ually come in since t in Joable. I sat in to sit. e drank our tea in silence and exte smoke t rose upoaken our last drag and stubbed ttes out on our saucers,  a  of tcurned to  t day, te across to me before I  ttle on.

    e never spoke. But we s.

    Emmeline, imes spent ternoons outdoors looking on as t it. “You’re ter of t it made no difference. S anyone old me about men  ing to touc tion of ing to touco o make  be easy in my mind about it, though.

    Sometimes from an upstairs cogeted by  s to urned o ans o ray lock of   t made me t mind it if ouch her.

    But  seen and continued his work.

    t morning chen. I broke our usual silence.

    ‘Don’t toucold him.

    touched Emmeline.”

    ‘Good. ell, don’t.“

    I t t . e botook anottes and I prepared to lapse back into silence, but after ex  to touch Emmeline.”

    I   curious little intonation. I  .

    I took a drag of my cigarette and didn’t look at  look at him.

    ‘Shan you are,“ he said.

    My cigarette  even  I stubbed it out. I strode to tc open.

    In tood stiffly, staring straig ttons on .

    his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. his voice was a murmur. “Be kind, Adeline.”

    Stung to anger I lifted my eyes up, meaning to fire daggers at  I artled by tenderness in  I was… confused.

    ook advantage. Raised  to stroke my cheek.

    But I , lashed his hand away.

    I didn’t

    ed.

    And then he was gone.

    tcy after t. the boy was gone.

    ‘I’ll  it was impossible. how could a boy like him help me? how could anybody help me?

    t o my s aufts t clung to Miss inter’s scalp were pure we.

    I took toray bits of he back of her neck.

    ‘Give me ter said.

    I h her hair shorn, she looked like a grizzled child.

    Sared at t  ime. t table.

    ‘t is exactly ed. t.“

    I left  back to my room I t about t about  about  about Aurelius, found as an infant, c about it all at lengt for all my t arrive at any conclusion.

    One to me, teps of t it ime I  Angelfield: “I just ell me truts ecell me trut. No er o Yorks a reporter at all. It was Aurelius all along.