His eyes get a faraway look as if he's imagining what it's like to be back in the village, up in that tower. As if he is seeing the old views, feeling the wind caress the tips of his ears.

“Did you know that when we were kids Cass used to tell me your stories? She used to laugh at you. Not in a mean way, but in the way that Cass used to laugh at everything before…” He gestures around us at our world now.

I shake my head. “I thought Cass never liked my stories. Never remembered them.”

“Oh yes, I would beg her to tell me if she had any new stories from you.”

“Why didn't you ask me yourself?” I whisper.

“Because you were Harry's,” he responds.

“Not always.”

“Yes, always,” he says. “Always in his eyes,” he adds in a softer tone.

I begin to pace in front of the door, expanding my path until I'm striding along the room. “Why did you care about my stories?” I finally ask.

“Because you knew it too. You knew about the world out there. Past the fences.”

“So what?”

“So I needed that belief. I needed that…” He shrugs. “I needed that faith.”

“I still don't understand,” I tell him.

He slaps his hands on the table, startling both Argos and me. “I climbed the tower that day to say good-bye to the Forest. To give up on those dreams and accept the life I had chosen. To forget about the world outside the fences. To forget about you.” I stop pacing. “What happened?”

“It was icy. I was careless. I thought of you and your stories of the ocean and how you always believed it so strongly.” He lets a hand fall back onto Argos's head. He doesn't look up at me when he adds, “I slipped.”

I fall into a chair with a thud. “I never knew.”

He shakes his head, his gaze still on Argos. “At first, when I broke my leg, I was delirious with pain and I thought it was God's punishment for wanting more. For being unhappy with the choices I had made. For daring to imagine a life outside the Forest.” He looks up and meets my eyes. “I was ready to give it all up, then. To follow His path, whatever it was. But then you came into my room night after night and you told me about the ocean and pulled me through the pain and I didn't know what to believe anymore. I didn't know if I was being tempted or being shown the right path.”

He wipes his hands over his face. “You must understand that Harry has always loved you.

That he would do anything for you.”

“I'm not sure that it's enough,” I tell him.

The corner of his mouth twitches as if he is almost about to smile. “I'm not sure either of us will ever be enough for you, Mary,” he says.