we can communicate," the single voice that spoke for two said. "Wehave tried with you before, but we could not break through. Your mindspeaks in a language we do not understand, in figures and equations thatare not real to us. Those things lie all through your mind--on thesurface we have sensed only your pity for us and your hate for theshadowy ones around you, the ones we do not know. It was a wall we couldnot climb. She is different.
"A part of her will go with us," the voice said. "There is another placethat touches this one which we perceive and know more fully than thisone."
The voice died away and brief pictures of a land of other dimensionsbeyond sight flashed in his brain. He had seen them before imperfectlyin the disquieting dreams. "She must go with us for she can no longerexist here," the voice said softly. "Perhaps there are others like us tocome--we do not yet know what we are or whether there will be otherslike us. But we must go now, before we were ready, because of her."
The mother's voice came. "You must go too. There is nothing here for youbut sorrow. They will take you, John." A softness touched at him."Please, John."
The longing was a thing of fire. To cast off the world that had alreadygiven him all of the hate and fear that he could stand, that had madehim worse than a coward. To go with her.
But she no longer needed him. She was complete--as they were, onlynecessary to themselves.
He could not go.
During the long night he kept the vigil by the bedside; long after anyneed to keep it.
The twins were gone and she with them.
He could not cry for all tears seemed useless. He said a small prayer,something he had not done in years, over the cold thing left behind.
The rain had ceased outside. Somewhere out there in his world there weremen trying to undo the harm that had been done, harm that he had helpedto do, then retreated from. He had no right to retreat further.
Something spoke a requiem sentence in his consciousness, light as latesunset, only vaguely there. "_We are_ here--we will wait for you ...come to us ... come ..."
He wrote a short note for the doctor and the others who would come andhunt and go through the motions that men must live by. Perhaps thedoctor might even understand.
"I have gone plumbing," the note said.
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ August 1957. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.
A section of text was missing from the original printing. To restore narrative flow, the following italicised text has been added as a suggested amendment: "It had begun to lightning and a few large drops of rain stroked _Rush's cheek. Not a_ good year for the farming he had retreated to. Not a good year for anything."
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