Chapter 226-6

I couldn't speak. Any words I had hoped to form, lay motionless in my throat, unable to gain substance or meaning. Any thoughts in my head had deserted me. All I could do was stare, as he stared back at me. After a few seconds, Michael stretched a hand outwards to touch the invisible barrier, but seemed to be unsure of the gesture and quickly lowered it, clenching it into a fist by his side. He regarded me with a solemn, soul-aching gaze that threatened to crush my heart and tear my resolve into pieces. "Child," he said. His voice was deep and soft, with a delightful gravelly tone and all at once I remembered it and wondered how on earth I could ever have forgotten the sound. It was like the constant thrum of rain on a windowpane. The rush of the wind blowing through the trees. A sound you could never forget – should never forget. "Has it been so long?" he continued. "You are a woman now. Of course, yes, time slips by so slowly here. Blink and twenty years pass in the mortal world. Sti