It's clear that she will not move any closer to him, not while he is so tense and on edge. She cannot do it to him, not when he is so out of sorts, not when he fears her. She had never dreamed that this might happen, relief and agony twinned in her heart and in her mind.

"Only a month."

How could she have known? Was it years since his death, or had she been unaware? If he didn't remember anything then it could have been years upon years, more than even she could remember. Her eyes stare, unblinking, at his face before she breathes out and shakes her head.

She had told his parents he was dead.

"It has been many years for me."