Base Nature (21 page)

“
I’
m s
o
rr
y. I
do
n
’
t
want to
sca
r
e
y
o
u
.” “
Y
o
u
d
o
n
’
t.”

He
g
r
imac
e
d
f
o
r
a split s
e
c
o
n
d
. “
M
ay
b
e
I
s
h
o
u
l
d
.” “
Bu
t
y
o
u
d
o
n
’
t.”

“I
s
h
o
u
ld
g
o
.”
He
m
o
v
e
d
to
go
past
h
e
r
and
s
he
ca
u
ght
his hand
u
p
i
n
h
er
s
as if
s
he had
k
n
o
wn
him
f
o
re
v
e
r
and
e
v
e
r
and t
ru
st
e
d
h
im
implicitly.
Be
ca
u
se
as
c
r
azy
a
s
it
w
a
s, she
d
i
d
.

“
G
a
rre
t,
what a
r
e
y
o
u
?”
She
h
e
ld
h
e
r
bre
ath,
h
o
ping
s
he
w
o
u
ld
answ
er
.

“
Y
o
u
d
o
n
’
t
want
to
k
n
o
w,”
he g
r
o
wl
ed
,
h
is
e
y
e
s
fl
a
shing
flat
si
l
v
e
r
and hypn
o
tic.
A
nd
th
e
n he
had
s
o
ftly, al
m
o
st s
o
u
n
d
l
e
ssly
m
o
v
e
d
past h
e
r
and
was
g
o
n
e
.

L
iv
h
e
a
r
d
the
do
o
r
snick
sh
u
t
d
o
wnstai
r
s.
She
sat
d
o
w
n
ha
r
d
o
n
h
e
r
be
d
and t
o
u
ch
e
d
h
e
r
lips that
still tingl
e
d
with
e
n
er
gy
and
h
e
at.
S
he
want
e
d
t
o
g
o
aft
e
r
him. Was
dr
awn
to
b
e
with
h
im.
E
v
e
n
if
s
he
ha
d
n
’
t
fig
ure
d
it
ou
t.
S
o
sh
e’
d
sit
h
er
e
and c
o
u
nt h
e
a
r
t
b
e
ats
w
h
ile
she
wait
e
d
t
o
s
e
e
what
s
he
w
o
u
ld
d
o
.
Bu
t
s
he
wasn
’
t
c
r
ying
and
that was a sta
r
t.