The Long StairsI am most of the way up the stairs. Mr. Shen is at the top of them. We have been here this way for a little while, now, but I have not minded. I had come up to see him, and to find out how he has been doing since the laboratory. He caught me here, nealy at the top of the stairs. I do not think he wants me to come up.
He nodded patiently as I asked my questions. I find it easy to talk to him, sometimes. I do not know how long I have been standing here on the stairs, giving him little details of life in the house, and how the air in the woods in changing with the season. He is a good listener. He is quiet.
There is a cough from below. I turn, and at the bottom of the stairs in the light of the second floor stand Juliet and Marco. Marco is wearing concern on his face, and Juliet is wrapped in a soft blue blanket she is holding tightly to her chest from beneath. The blanket rides together on her shoulders to make a collar, and a fold of blanket has been pulled over her head, covering some of her hair. Marco has an arm around her, which makes her look smaller. Her eyes are bright.
They beckon me down. The third floor seems darker. I turn back to look, but Mr. Shen is already gone.
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