"It's all right, Ash," said Johnny. "Everything's all right. You needed these ten years."
"You've stayed with me, Johnny."
"I am you," said Johnny. "I came when you were born. I'll stay until you die."
"And then?"
"You'll not need me, Ash. I'll go to something else. Nothing walks alone."
None walks alone, said Sutton, and he said it like a prayer.
And he was not alone.
Someone walked beside him and where he'd come from and how long he'd been there Sutton did not know.
"This is a splendid walk," said the man, whose face was hidden in darkness. "Do you take it often?"
"Almost every night," said Sutton's tongue and his brain said, Steady! Steady!