As she slogged through clouds up to her knees, Lena thought about the earth day she bore a little boy, named him Knife, and left without taking him with her.

"Damn," she said, then looked around in fear. "Don't know how I got in here with that on my record unless they really really did know what I had in my heart."

Now he was here and seeking her out. "Damn," she whispered.