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"I’ out of her jeans pocket, opened it, and handed ly of lavender

"Put it on," she said

She wore a si around her neck

"Why?" I asked The dragonfly, I noticed, had floay

"For protection" She fell back against the cushions of the bench facingso about herbal witchcraft?"

I didn’t But Kathleen had spent soot the lavender frohbor," she said "They’ll protect you from evil I put basil from my mother’s kitchen in mine -- spells work best if the herbs come from your own house Oh, and the flannel? It’s fros with silk thread"

I was skeptical of all superstitions, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings "It’s very thoughtful of you," I said

"Put it on," she said Her eyes flashed atover orously "Much better," she said "Thank goodness I don’t sleep so of you What if your father crept into your rooht and bit your neck?"

"That’s ridiculous" The idea was too preposterous to ry

She held up her hand "I know that you love your father, Ari But what if he can’t control hi about one too far, "but your worry is misplaced"

She shook her head "Promise me you’ll wear it"

I planned to take it off the minute she left To placate her, I’d wear it for now At least it sood

But I kept the amulet on -- not because I feared my father, but because I wanted to please Kathleen, and the little bag of lavender was a token of her love for me There, I’ve said it -- love What existed betweenintellectual discourse and ation -- none of which should ever be underestimated -- but love? If we felt it, we never used the word

Chapter Four

Only when you look directly at a thing, can you truly see it Most people go through life unaware of the li them

Focus on the word pine in this sentence At the saht and the left Youon how far the page is from your eyes But pine will be the clearest, since the center of your field of vision is directed at it

That center is called the fovea, and it’s the part of the eye where cones are hly the saht sky

Everything else is peripheral vision Peripheral vision is effective in detecting motion, and it helps locate predators in the dark Anier sense of peripheral vision than humans Vampires fall somewhere in between

From the corner of my eye, I sensed motion But I saw no one, when I turned to look

It was a gray etting dressed for the day Even though I’d be seeing no one but Mrs McG and my father -- and perhaps Dennis, if he ventured out of the basement -- I took trouble withrown rapidly, nearly halfway to ht wave My body had changed as well -- I felt embarrassed by it, to be honest Even my lips seemed fuller, e avering, indistinct -- as if it I were viewing it peripherally It had always been that way I knew froe" in books that reflections were ordinarily clearer, more distinct; mine wasn’t, but then all the mirrors in our house were old I blale, I turned around again No one was there

Dennis returned froht, and his jovial careless vitality enlivened the house I’d been seeing less of Kathleen since her school resuraders, and although she telephoned once or twice a week, I sensed distance growing between us Spending time alone didn’t feel as natural torather listless

Dennis had walked into the living roo a wrinkled suit that smelled faintly of alcohol and perspiration, his face ruddy, eyes bloodshot My father sat in his usual chair, sipping Picardo, reading My father, I realized, did not smell He had no odor whatsoever His face never flushed, his eyes were never streaked with red His hands, the few tiainst them, were cool, while Dennis seemed to radiate heat

Dennis took one look at ?"

"Meaning that Miss Ariella has grown up just in the month I ay" Dennis bent to squeeze ht?"

I hugged hi," I said "You could use a little of that yourself, ahtly "The e spread continues," he said, "aided and abetted by exotic cuisine and some fine Japanese beer"

Dennis was in his early forties at that time, and his face and body had creases that my father’s entirely lacked

"Hoas Japan?" I asked

"Japan was fantastic," he said "But the work didn’t go quite as we’d hoped"

"What exactly were you working on?"