Chapter Two: The Price of One Person

They agreed to remain together and enter no shop alone. Evelyn refused to show her ticket. “I was never on your ship. When you boarded in Basel, I was already on the coach.” “We all saw you aboard,” Luca said. “Where?” He opened his mouth. The restaurant, the deck, the lounge—she seemed present in every memory, yet belonged to none. At 5:27, the church bell sounded. The blue flames contracted. Roman was gone. They raced to the watch shop. Roman stood at the counter holding the gold watch. The eyeless woman placed a glass vial on a shelf. Inside came a dying woman's breath and, far away, a man's laughter at a banquet. “Roman!” Lin shouted. He turned, looking almost young. “She died peacefully. I was with her all along.” “You weren't.”