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And then--

I landed on h that the breath was jarred from my body

"Well, here you are," said a cool, male voice Famy hair fro agony in ht?" That was a woman’s voice, somewhere beyond the odwords, slappingthey would all just be silent

"This isn’t the usual disorientation"

"Mic She used it to protect herself fro" He turned away fro my skin "Your proof"

"Indeed" She sounded pleased as well

At that point I passed out

"Light Reveals" (encaustic on canvas)

I AWOKE SLOWLY, and in so down Heavy blankets covered me, soft linen and scratchy wool I listened for a while, breathing, assessing I was in a sh not claustrophobically so It smelled of spent candlewax, dust, , stronger than I’d ever known the Tree to smell The air was laden with its distinctive wood resins and the bright sharp greenscent of its foliage The Tree did not lose its leaves in auturateful--but it did shed daed leaves whenever they occurred, and it replaced those just before the spring flowering It tended to s that ti, I had to be closer than usual

That was not the only unusual thing I sat up sloincing as I discovered that my whole left arm was sore I examined it and found fresh bruises there, and also on my hip and ankle My throat was so scratchy that it hurt when I tried to clear it And le area, froht down into ainst my eyes--

Then I re, falling, voices Madding