Authors: Brian Stableford
“What use would eternity be if we could?” Madoc countered, knowing that it was exactly what Damon would have said. “If there were nothing we needed so badly it made us sick, and nothing we wanted so avidly that it made us wretched, what would draw us through today into tomorrow . . . and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow?”
“That’s good,” said Lenny, standing below the balcony and waving up at them. “That’s really good. You sound exactly like Damon.”
“I taught him everything he knows,” Madoc said, offhandedly. “He got it all from me. He may think he doesn’t need me anymore, but I’ll always be with him. In his mind and in his heart, there’ll always be something of me. And you too, of course, Di. We mustn’t forget your contribution to the making of the man.”
Diana had already turned away, unwilling to expose the soreness of her distress to two mere children who couldn’t possibly understand. She didn’t look back to acknowledge Madoc’s sarcasm.
“One day,” said Cathy, looking up at the glider, “I’m going to get a pair of wings like that. Not in pink, though. I want to be a falcon, or a bird of paradise, or a golden oriole . . . or all three, and then some. I want to fly as high as I possibly can, and as
far
as I possibly can.”
Diana made a sound like a kitten in pain, but she was still determined to keep the full extent of her anguish from the boy and the girl.
“You will,” Madoc said, looking down at the silken crown of Cathy’s head and wondering whether Lenny could possibly be persuaded that an older and more passionate woman might be far more useful to his sentimental education than a girl his own age. “Once
you’ve
learned to fly, even the sky won’t be the limit.”