Meanwhile I sat listlessly, staring at the wall and smoking one cigarette after the other. I knew now what it was like to lose someone close to you. Granted, Ea and Arla and their children had left and gone away to the Beyond, but at least I knew they were still out there somewhere. Anotine, on the other hand, was as good as dead now. I could remember Below’s memory of her, but I could never again be with her in the same way as I had. “She must think I betrayed her,” was what I kept saying to myself. Although I had returned to reality in one sense, the loss I felt was like a barrier that continued to separate me from it. Quite a long time passed, and when the pack of Hundred-To-Ones was empty, I realized that I had to begin thinking about getting back to Wenau and administering the beauty to those trapped in the sleep. I was about to get out of my chair and go in search of Misrix when the door opened and he entered, followed by Below. To my surprise the Master no longer wore the blue pajamas, but was now dressed in a formal-looking black suit with a broad-brimmed hat that I could have sworn had been Mayor Bataldo’s.
