Ram-Ram’s voice had a hypnotic quality that seemed to fill the room in the growing dusk. Even Oversoul Seven almost nodded. Ram-Ram’s small eyes were half closed, yet in their lidded drowsiness there also seemed to be a hidden spring of alertness.

“And more than that,” he went on. “I also sensed that in some way you, uh, represented a past unresolved self of mine … as a young man … a part that needed help. I wanted to go back into the past and make some changes … even as, I believe, you’ve done the same kind of thing in your own case.” Smiling softly, Ram-Ram said, “Yes, yes, yes. So it goes.”

“I remember!” Oversoul Seven shouted. “How could I have forgotten?”

Just at the same time, Ram-Ram said, “So, to recapitulate, two people came to me in the dream state and somehow set up this entire episode, including the events I know of and those you haven’t told me.”

“It was me!” Oversoul Seven shouted to Ram-Ram, who didn’t hear him, of course.

“And?” Cyprus asked gently.

“And you, too,” Seven said, a bit abashed. “But why didn’t I remember until now?”

“The why is next,” Cyprus answered.

Jeffery said, “You’re telling me that the two men who I saw here appeared earlier in a dream of yours?” The hypnotic effect of Ram-Ram’s narrative was broken.

“I’ve no proof,” Ram-Ram answered. “But yes, yes, yes, I’d say so. The descriptions of the men you gave to me matched mine, all right. I’d say that they were the same.”

“But what about the mental institution?” Jeffery demanded. “How did that all start? Were you really, uh …”

“It’s according to your definition, if you’re asking me if I was mad or not …

“I’ll second that question,” Seven said to Cyprus. “And I have another. Where’s Will? And why do I suddenly feel uneasy about Will and Lydia both?”

“For one thing, Lydia needs you right now,” Cyprus said. “There are some things that must be taken care of, and before Jeffy-boy and Ram-Ram finish their conversation. And what happens with Lydia has something to do with Will and Jeffery, too.”

“But what?” Seven asked with some dismay. “And there’s more for me to remember, too, isn’t there?”

“Hurry. Go to Lydia now,” Cyprus replied. “Granted, there’s really no time, but in your terms there’s none to waste.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“The Time Is Now,” Lydia says Good-bye and Hello, and Seven Remembers

The snowbank was blinding: yellow and white sparkles exploding in tiny puffs that Tweety tried to follow with her eyes. The sparkles were on the very top of the snowbank, floating out of the snow beneath like feathers; and with all that swirling, she could hardly see the snowbank beneath, which sat there like a huge white animal. Tweety eyed it suspiciously, to see if it might be dangerous.