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before you know it. Now, what was I thinking about?
Oh yes, the side guards for the bed."
He went off and returned with them. I lay there
helplessly as he fastened them to the bed and pulled
them up, caging me like some poor animal.
"There. Now we needn't worry about your
falling out of bed again. Feeling safe?"
I turned away, closed my eyes and waited for
him to leave the room. After I saw he was gone, I
closed my eyes again and imagined I was on the
gazebo in Winnerrow. I wished and wished and
wished. Oh, Luke, be there for me. Hear me across
distance and time and understand how terrible this is
and how much I need you to take me from here. Farthy is not the paradise, the magic castle we
thought it would be. It is a terrible prison, dark and
dangerous and full of twisted despair. I should have
listened to my mother . . . she knew . . . she knew. At first I thought I was still dreaming because
when I opened my eyes, I heard the voices. I glanced
at the clock and saw that it was nearly seven P.M. I
had slept through the day. The voices grew louder.
They were coming down the corridor toward my suite. Moments later my bedroom door was thrust
open and standing there before me were my aunt
Fanny and . . . thank God . . . Luke.
"Why, she looks like a baby in a crib," Fanny
drawled in her shrill voice. "And look, jist look at that
. . . her hair is a different color. It's like Heaven's hair
useta be."
"Annie!"
I lifted my hand and Luke rushed to the bed to
reach over the side guards to grasp it. As soon as our
