brushed
the
gray-flecked
hair
across her
sweaty
brow. "I
love
you,"I
said. At
these
words, her
eyes
opened
hesitantly.
At first
her gaze
seemed
confused
and
unfocused,
but for an
instant
her eyes
sharpened
with
recognition,
and a
gentle
smile
lifted the
edges of
her mouth.
"I love
you
too,"she
whispered,
and then
her
eyelids
shut. I
was close
to
exhaustion
and
dislocated
in time as
I recalled
the moment
I first
