"Thank you," Aryyah whispered, pressing both hands to the glass now. "For everything. For saving me. For protecting me. For being here when I needed you."

The old man nodded once, then turned and walked back across the garden, and Aryyah watched until he reached the far wall where moonlight cast deep shadows, and in one step he seemed to simply dissolve into the darkness, present one moment and gone the next without any visible exit or explanation.

Aryyah stood at the window for several ...