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Leadem, Christopher

"The Mantooth"

He became once more an enigma to
her, and at times it seemed they met at nightfall like loyal strangers,
cast upon a desert island and enjoined, of necessity, to live and work,
and carry out disparate dreams of love, together. It was a cold
metaphor, perhaps, but there was no denying it. He had been to her,
literally, the last man on Earth. And she to him? The fact that he
truly loved her, and would have if given the choice of thousands, he
could not tell her, and she didn't ask. His love was primal,
unquestioned. And though she too had felt these pure, gut-level
urgings, she was reluctant to be bound by them, when there were so many
other things to consider. And to look at it from every possible angle
didn't help. The questions only brought more questions. Only time,
and trial, would tell.
In the end Kalus' will proved stronger than the knotted wood and lack
of tools. The boat was finished and rigged, and the moment was at hand.
They waited for a day when the winds were not contrary, then set out
together for the clearing, the vessel, and the mystery that lay beyond.









Chapter 35

The double prow of the canoe floated gently in the swirling backwater of
the launch, its stern still bound by gravity to the sloping earth of the
bank behind.


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