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We waited to make sure, WandaWe tried to wake her up almost as long as we tried
with Jodi
?Jodi? What happened to Jodi?? I chirped, my little voice going higher, like a bird's, with
anxietyI struggled to get up, and Ian pulled me?it took no effort, no strength to move my tiny
new body?into a sitting position with his arm supporting meI could see all the faces then
Doc, no more tears in his eyesJeb, peeking around Doc, his expression satisfied and burning
with curiosity at the same timeNext, a woman I didn't recognize for a second because her face
was more animated than I'd ever seen it, and I hadn't seen it much anyway?Mandy, the former
HealerCloser to me, Jamie, with his bright, excited smile, Melanie beside him, and Jared
behind her, his hands around her waistI knew that his hands would never feel right unless they
were touching her body?my body!?nowThat he would keep her as close as he could forever,
hating any inch that came between themThis caused me a fierce, aching painThe delicate
heart in my thin chest shudderedIt had never been broken before, and it didn't understand this
memory
It made prada made in china me sorry to realize that I still loved JaredI wasn't free of that, wasn't free of jealousy
for the body he lovedMy glance flickered back to MelI saw the rueful twist of the mouth that
used to be mine, and knew she understood
I continued quickly around the cluster of faces circling my bed, while Doc, after a pause,
answered my question
Trudy and Geoffrey, Heath, Paige and AndyBrandt, even?
?Jodi didn't respondWe kept trying as long as we could
Was Jodi gone, then? I wondered, my inexperienced heart throbbingI was giving the poor frail
thing such a rough awakening
Heidi and Lily, Lily smiling a pained little smile?none the less sincere for the pain?
?We were able to keep her hydrated, but we had no way to feed herWe were worried about
atrophy?her muscles, her brain??
While my new heart ached harder than it had ever ached?ached for a woman I'd never
known?my eyes continued around the circle and then froze
Jodi, clinging to Kyle's side, stared back at me
She smiled tentatively, and suddenly I recognized her
?Sunny!?
?I got to stay,? she said, not quite smug but almost She glanced at Kyle's
face?which gucci bag fake was more stoic than I was used to seeing it?and her voice turned sad?I'm trying,
though
?Kyle had us put Sunny back when it looked like we would lose Jodi,? Doc continued quietly
I stared at Sunny and Kyle for a moment, stunned, and then finished the circle
Ian was watching me with a strange combination of joy and nervousnessHis face was higher
than it should have been, bigger than it used to beBut his eyes were still the blue I
rememberedThe anchor that held me to this planet
?You okay in there?? he asked
?I? I don't know,? I admitted?This feels very? weirdEvery bit as weird as switching
speciesSo much weirder than I would have thought
My heart fluttered again, looking into those eyes, and this was no memory of another lifetime's
loveMy mouth felt dry, and my stomach quiveredThe place where his arm touched my back
felt more alive than the rest of my body
?You don't mind staying heretoo much, do you, Wanda? Do you think that maybe you could
tolerate it?? he murmured
Jamie squeezed my handMelanie put hers on top of his, then smiled when Jared added his to
the pileGeoffrey, Heath, Heidi, Andy, Paige, rolex replica swiss Brandt, and even Lily were
beaming at meKyle had shuffled closer, a grin spreading across his faceSunny's smile was the
smile of a coconspirator
How much No Pain had Doc given me? Everything was glowing
Ian brushed the cloud of golden hair back from my face and laid his hand on my cheekHis
hand was so big just the palm covered from my jaw to my forehead; the contact sent a jolt of
electricity through my silvery skinIt tingled after that first jolt, and the pit of my stomach
tingled along with it
I could feel a warm flush pinking my cheeksMy heart had never been broken before, but it had
also never flownIt made me shy; I had a hard time finding my voice
?I suppose I could do that,? I whispered?If it makes you happy
?That's not good enough, actually,? Ian disagreed?It has to makeyou happy, too
I could only meet his gaze for a few seconds at a time; the shyness, so new and confusing to
me, had my eyes dropping to my lap again and again
?I? think it might,? I agreed?I think it might make me very, very happy
Happy and sad, elated and miserable, secure and afraid, loved and denied, patient and gucci g charm ladies stainless steel watch angry,
peaceful and wild, complete and empty? all of itI would feel everything
Ian coaxed my face up until I looked him in the eyes, my cheeks flushing darker
He kissed me, right in front of everyone, but I forgot the audience quicklyThis was easy and
right, no division, no confusion, no objection, just Ian and me, the molten rock moving through
this new body, melding it into the pact
?I will stay,? I agreed
And my tenth life began
EPILOGUE
Continued
Life and love went on in the last human outpost on the planet Earth, but things did not stay
exactly the same
This was my first rebirth into a body of the same speciesI found the transfer much more
difficult than changing planets because I had so many expectations about being human already
in placeAlso, I'd inherited a lot of things from Petals Open to the Moon, and not all of them
were pleasant
I'd inherited a great deal of grief for Cloud SpinnerI missed the mother I'd never known and
mourned for her suffering nowPerhaps there could be no joy on this planet without an equal
weight of pain to balance it out on some unknown scale
I'd inherited unexpected knock off gucci wallets limitat
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