"That wasn't your fault. You tried. Why did you run?"
She was silent, her head still hidden. He repeated the question.
"I—I don't know."
"Do I frighten you now?"
"Not so much."
He held her more closely in his arms, and kissed the crown of her head, which was the only object offered.
"I know," he whispered, "because you had given me everything except yourself—and you knew that I would take that."
"No, no."
"What, then?"
Silence.