And again from force of habit, before he reached the spot that overlooked the sea, he came to a full stop.

There was no need to make him fast.

For hours, stretching over many summer days, he had stood under those same branches patiently waiting.
On foot, her heart beating tremulously, stepping reverently, as one enters the aisle of some dim cathedral, Helen advanced into the sacred circle.

And then she stood quite still.

What she had expected to find there she could not have told, but it was gone.