I went home, carrying Delilah with me though she was wide awake and could easily have walked next to me. But I felt close to her, a connection I didn't want to let go of. Nice to know that, at least, wasn't contrived or created by manipulation. Unless, of course, she herself was manipulating me. But I didn't want to go there, happy to simply take her back to the Mist realm cradled on my hip with her little arms wrapped around my neck.

It was nice having her close to ...