Asta.

Keep your arm still—then I won’t prick you.

Allmers.

[With a half-smile.] This is like the old days.

Asta.

Yes, don’t you think so?

Allmers.

When you were a little girl you used to sit just like this, mending my clothes. The first thing you ever sewed for me—that was black crape, too.

Asta.

Was it?