If it comes back to you, it is
yours. If it does not, it never was.'
And if, in that moment he had woken her, perhaps she would have seen in
his eyes a depth of love that put aside all questions, and in the
returning echo of her heart, sealed their bond forever. But he did not
wake her, because he was afraid. And she never told him the full quote,
because like so many of life's precious and irretrievable moments, it
was gone forever.
He couldn't cage her, and he knew it. She couldn't love him fully
without knowing. So be it.
So it was.
Chapter 34
It had been decided that they should build a boat. The only questions
left to them were what kind of vessel it should be, and whether to cast
off directly from the cove, or to build the craft some distance upstream
along the banks of the Broad River, and follow its currents through the
delta which then spilled to either side of the Island.
Two considerations made Kalus choose the latter course. First there was
the problem of acquiring the wood. There were no trees of substance
within a mile of their rock-bound haven, and no way of transporting the
farther wood here. Second, neither he nor the girl had sufficient
experience in ship-building to put an adequate vessel to sea, and
perform the long, slow tack against both wind and current, northward.
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