"I am too heavy. You are only a child."
He laughed, and she found herself in his arms with her cheek pressed against his and one hand drawing back the hair from her eyes.
"At the end," she began, looking over the corn and poppies to a strip of white road winding out of the valley and merging in a white haze on the horizon.
"Stay with me! You are happy. And you love me."
"I love you.... But we must go on."
She ran ahead, trailing her fingers through the waving ears of corn, and looked over her shoulder. He had thrown himself on the ground, but, when she faltered back, he knelt and drew her to him.
"Stay with me! I love you!"
"If you love me, kiss me!"
She stood over him with her head thrown back until he sprang up and clasped her in his arms.
"I will never let you go!"