He knew them intimately, of course, but there was something strangely comforting about examining them again, like looking at a map of a land one already knew well. Finally he closed his eyes, heightening the sense of touch. After a moment, he was able to convince himself that it was her hands caressing his abdomen. “Do you know what they remind me of?” Caitlin’s voice whispered, so close that he could feel her breath on his ear. “What?” “The scars on a frozen lake,” she continued, as her icy fingertips touched his belly button and then ran across one of the thicker threads of skin, which cut across his pelvis. “The scars in frozen water. The ones that go away when the water flows again, and come back when it freezes.” He allowed himself a faint smile. “You’re frozen at the moment, Joe,” she added. “The scars will be part of you for as long as you’re scared to flow again. You froze on that night nine years ago, but nothing can stay frozen forever. One day…”
