The first snowfalls were a welcome distraction. Her experience of the pristine crunch underfoot was limited to a trip to Mt Stirling one winter with David. But the snow deepened, iced over, and the paths became a slippery inconvenience. Fortunately, her pony knew the idiosyncrasies of an Ilkyrie winter, and the riding lessons with Julis continued.
The number of days since her arrival in Dar Orien had turned to months and now almost half a year was gone. She clung to the crazy bubble-of-time theory and prayed, against all logic, that it would prove a reality; that her return passage through the mirror would bring her back to Harvey’s ramp one second after she had left, David in bed with the flu, and Mikey asleep in his cot. Believing it saved her from the agony of Mikey growing up without
