And If Things Always Stayed The Same,

If Only' Repeated Again And Again In Her Head Like A Battering Ram...'if Only' Could Break Your Heart.

It's The Centuries, Scarlett Darling. All The Life Lived There, All The Joy And All The Sorrow, All The Feasts And Battles, They're In The Air Around And The Land Beneath You. It's Time, Years Beyond Our Counting Weighing Without Weight On The Earth. You Cannot See It Or Smell It Or Hear It Or Touch It, But You Feel It Brushing Your Skin And Speaking Without Sound. Time. And Mystery.

And If Things Always Stayed The Same, Scarlett, What Would Be The Reason For Bothering To Draw Breath?

Should-haves Solve Nothing. It's The Next Thing To Happen That Needs Thinking About.

Books Have Become Products, Like Cereal Or Perfume Or Deodorant.