Thun had talked for hours with Psychee... A long discussion, with enigmatic meanings and mysterious undertones. But once again, Psychee had heard a man talk about destiny, about choice, about not choosing. About a miracle, about a precious gift, too. Thun knew things about her that she did not know. The very wise leader of the Sap Guardians had not come to her out of curiosity, but with more about her than Psyche knew, and could understand.

    This morning, as she watched the day slide its light over the great roots streaking the sky, she could only wonder. And smile.

    She was a Guardian. Still on probation, but she was so hopeful that she would pass the tests the Guardians would impose on her. And she had time to discover who she was. She was finally safe, welcomed into a warm and gentle family, welcomed among the first homins she recognized herself in.

    She still didn't know if he was there? Her old and disappeared Zorai friend, who had told her so many things about the Guardians, when she was a child. Was she even sure she recognized his mask? She didn't know if even Zorai changed their masks, or if they kept the same one their whole lives. And, so long ago, she wouldn't know it anymore.

““And me, will he recognize me?... I have grown so much...””

    Her thoughts wandered to her companion, lying peacefully beside her. Leonil was sleeping. Quietly. He had watched over her all evening, and the night had been theirs, long after the last songs had ended.

    In one day, she had sworn before the kami, before Leonil, before Tryker spectators, at the Guild of Guardians. And Leonil had proposed to her. In the same hour, she had committed her life twice without hesitation, for the two most overwhelming and wonderful things she could have wished for.

    The Zorais were waiting for her now. Thun had answers, which he had refused to say in their discussion, and it would be there that the Leaf ceremony would take place... And her wedding. It would be there that she would rebuild her life. And there she would get answers.

    Her mind flew for a moment to her memories, to her fears, to her past. She remembered the words of Thun, and those of Xerius, her dear friend and mentor, the same words, in the mouths of two Guardians:

“Your innocence is a miracle. The Goo could never touch you. Protecting you is the most important act.”

    She hardly knew what the Goo was... and understood even less what precious thing her innocence could be, even if she had one. She wanted to get close to the kitins. Everyone was afraid of them, but not her. She wanted to know if they could be spoken to, if they could communicate. If they came from the Roots, they were nothing more than an integral part of the world, of life, of the kami. Killing them would only fuel their anger... Had anyone, anywhere, ever tried to talk to them?

    She looked up. The birds were singing the dawn. Leonil had moved for a moment, looking for her in their bed.
It was time for happiness again. Even though she had not learned what it was, she had always believed that it existed, somewhere.

    In a few hours, in a few days, the ordeal awaited them. She lay down against her beloved, and closed her eyes...

    Just a little more happiness...