❛ &. ┊ A hand extends to help the other up; it’s just a small march from here now. Atop the hill lies a cluster of trees beyond which hides a terribly frightening cliff – if one is afraid of heights – and with it the vast endlessness of a night sky. She knows the forests as if it was her home, and perhaps it is in one way. Decades has she spent living in trees, learning to recognise the different plants in even the dimmest light. But the sky… there is so much still she needs and wants to unravel. Frame guides them further and further until, finally, the lights of the world beyond peek through treetops. “ You know, ” she mumbles, “ the first time I was in love, I persuaded her to come protect me against the wolves while I collected sneezewort. ” A smug grin, “ I made her believe they only blossomed at night. She was angry at me for almost a week when she found out they didn’t. ”