Chapter 17Anna knew she wasn’t awake even though she felt awake. The hermit sat on the floor across from her, on the same banig she saw when she was in his hut. When was that? Days ago? Months? She knew she was supposed to worry that she wasn’t awake, that she wasn’t out in the real world. But inside the ermitanyo’s hut, it was peaceful, like nothing could ever go wrong. It reminded her of a health retreat she went to once with her mother. Nothing for days but yoga, meditation and healthy eating.
The hermit raised his arm, smiling at Anna with his toothless grin. In a blur of colors and feathers, the Adarna landed on the old man’s arm. The feat would have been physically impossible in the real world. Given the size of the bird and the frailty of the old man’s limbs, the hermit could not p
