She still comes to me, in my dreams. Coriander, with fur of amethyst and wings dipped in turquoise. She comes to me and stares at me, ruby eyes expressionless. I cry out to her and reach for her…and she leaves. She disappears back into the darkness, into the deep recesses of wherever the multiverse has taken her. I chase after her, running furiously on what I can only assume is solid ground. I never catch up. I will never catch up.
*****
“Mmmm, no, I don’t think that’s right.” Coriander frowned at the clockwork mess in front of her, screwdriver in hand.
“I don’t know, Coriander. No one’s really done anything like this before.”
She glanced back up at him, one corner of her mouth quirking up into a smile. “What, Abvi, you’re saying it’s impossible?”
He grinned back. “I’d never say such a thing. After all we’ve seen? I’m just not sure it’s possible in this world. Maybe we should find a different one.”
She waved him off. “No, no, I can do it. I know it. Besides, I’ve started now. We can’t abandon them halfway through. And anyway, without any hints of what we want, it would take forever to find a suitable one.” She turned back to the pile of metal and gears laid out before her. “I just have to figure out how to get the heart to work, you know? Not easy.”
Abvi smiled indulgently, but she had already started working again. “Of course.”
[12][1]