I wanted to have him close, to feel his protection. To perceive again the greatness that only I saw, and that I wanted to keep seeing.
I thought it would be fine if he simply let me hug him. I didn’t have the head to expect anything more from him, and I didn’t worry about thinking about it. My whole body was trembling again, and I felt weak, stiff, anxious to explode—and I did. I cried. I cried to release myself, to expel everything I had been piling up during those frantic days.
I fell apart into sobs, trusting his warm refuge and not caring about anything else.
But when I thought Alexander was only going to stand there, just bearing my weight, he lifted his arms and wrapped me up too—one hand on my waist and the other over my shoulder blades. I felt a weight at the top of my head (it
