Chapter 3: An Extraordinary Day
"Goodbye Grandpa George. I hope you knew how much you meant to me...."
The words were whispered into the darkness. She had left her grandfather's body safely resting upon his favourite pillow before she closed the door for one last time. All of her tears had been cried amongst the bitter solitude of that endless night. A ceaseless barrage of thoughts had overwhelmed her ability to see anything clearly anymore. The only thing that had made any sense amongst the interweaving web of thoughts and emotions had been that which told her this was no longer home, that the time had come to leave once and for all. With the loss of the last person she cared about, there was no point in lingering. Without the people that made it, home was now just a word, nothing more than an empty idea.
Harmonia was up before the sun for a second day in row, only this time she had not gotten any sleep. A thick mist had crept down from the surrounding mountains overnight. If it had not been for the crimson sky that was slowly pushing back the darkness to make way for the dawn, she would have been as good as blind in the haze. By now every inch of her body felt exhausted from the heavy sadness that had drained her spirit.
As Harmonia stepped forward into the shrouded square, it felt as if she was walking through a dream. For a second she hoped that was true, that she was simply having a nightmare and nothing more. Tomorrow she would wake up and all of the terrible events from the day before would have been nothing more than a bad dream she could laugh about. The silly boys from the Privateers would not have eaten her vegetables, the Little Fools would not have caught wind of her secret gardens, and above all else, Grandpa George would be there to greet her with a warm smile just as every morning before.
The strength of such a hope had not lasted long before quickly fading. It was replaced by the dawning reality that none of it had been a dream. Whether she liked it or not, there was nothing Harmonia could do to change that disheartening truth.
Pressing through the mist she could not see the objects in front of her until they were less than a foot away. Harmonia would stop herself before stepping on a sleeping boy, or nearly colliding with a pile of children that had chosen to sleep atop one another. Luckily, she knew where she was by the scattered stacks of houses that poked through above the mist. Yet before she could reach the edge of town Harmonia had managed to bang her knee on the stage in the centre of the square. Thankfully it had not been enough to wake any of the sleeping children. Just as she released a sight of relief, she found herself tripping over a rock and nearly crushing a young girl no older than five.
She was nearing the last row of houses that marked the boundaries of Ralph's Castle when out of the mist she saw him. From a foot away appeared Ralph the dog, happily wagging his tail as his tongue wildly flailed outside his mouth. Ralph was the only creature stirring in the early hours of the morning.
"Ralph..." she whispered while bending down so he could lick her face, "What are you doing up this early?"
The dog's only response was to jump up onto Harmonia's shoulders with his front paws. From there he began the onslaught, licking every inch of her face as she wrestled to pull away. By the time he had finished, Ralph's tail was moving so fast she thought it would simply fly away.
"Settle down boy, settle down," she pulled away wiping her face with the sleeve of her light brown coat. "I am leaving town Ralph. There's nothing left for me here anymore. And I don't think there is anything here for you either. That's why you should come with me."
Ralph gave no indication that he had understood anything she was saying. Nevertheless, Harmonia rose back up to her feet and continued towards the edge of town. Ralph did not shy away as he followed close at her heels, excitedly bouncing behind with each step, no doubt thankful that he did not have to be anyone's horse for once. But as they neared the outskirts of town, which marked the end of his kingdom, Ralph froze in his place.
"What's wrong buddy?" asked Harmonia.
There came no answer. Instead Ralph simply looked back at the town and then back at the girl who was slowly fading in the mist.
"Come on Ralph. I know you don't want to be anyone's play thing anymore, do you?" she asked in hopes that the emphasis she had put on certain words would get through to him.
Still, he did not show any sign of understanding, it was all human gibberish as far as he was concerned. To reinforce his point Ralph simply sat down on his hind legs and continued to blankly stare.
"Come on Ralph..." begged Harmonia, "Please come with me...I...I don't have anyone left...."
Even that sadness could not move Ralph from his spot at the edge of town. Why would anyone, let alone Ralph, want to stay in the nonsensical town of Ralph's Castle? Then it hit her. Whether she could know for certain or not, she understood that this was his home, just as much as any of the other children who lived there. In that light, there was no use fighting it. So Harmonia walked over to the grey haired dog and began petting him as she said her final goodbye.
"Very well then Ralph," she sighed. "Watch over the children for me when I'm gone. Don't let them do anything to grandpa's body once they find him. He should be buried with the other grown-ups on the far side of the northern mountains."
As she spoke the words she was surprised to find them somewhat soothing. Before she knew it she was confessing all of her feelings to the shaggy haired dog, "I'm sorry I have to leave before taking care of anything. I'm just scared. I don't know what to do anymore. None of the others like me and I can't really say I like them either. Soon enough they'll find my gardens and I'll have absolutely nothing left. No, no, no, I have to leave. I just have to leave!"
Silence was the only reply. Ralph had no answers and she had been silly to think, that if even for a moment, he would magically find the solution to all of her problems. But all Harmonia could do was smile and continue brushing her hands through his ragged dirt clad fur.
"Goodbye Ralph. A word of advice before I go," for some reason Harmonia leaned in close and silently spoke into his ear, forgetting all together that he would not understand, "If the other kids try to ride you again...just bite them."
And so Harmonia gave Ralph the dog, the king of the children's castle, one final pat on the head. She knew there was no reason to look back as she began walking away. For if she did, if even for a second, the growing fear of uncertainty would turn her right back around. So with a final tear rolling down her cheek, and the slowly rising sun illuminating the night sky, Harmonia disappeared into the mist.
• • • •
Harmonia had been walking for hours before the stark realization hit her, she did not know where she was going. For most of the day she had blindly followed whatever path had presented itself, all the while trying to fight back the mix of anger and sadness that threatened to defeat her. As she inspected the surrounding landscape the lone white tree swaying amongst the jagged stones offered no familiarity. The shape of the claw like cliff that jutted out above the path, the spiralling narrow mountain that rose above all others, these were all strangers. For the first time in her life Harmonia had lost her sense of direction.
"No, no, no...." she muttered to herself, "What am I doing? This is all wrong!"
The fragile green pack which she had filled with supplies was thrown to the ground. She had gathered whatever she could find in the silent hours of night and had hoped it would be enough to keep her alive until she could find more. Three potatoes, two carrots, a small portion of bread, then of course, there were the two bottles of sludge. The sludge would have to suffice for now.
Sludge was the only substitute for the dwindling fresh water supply on Sky. It was an invention of the Corporations. Cheap, in abundance, and their excuse to keep the fresh water for only those who joined their little club. It began as water extracted from muddied runoff which reached the base of the mountains. From there, the lab geeks who worked for the Corporations added a chemical which could extract all of the bad stuff from the water, and as an added bonus, they added nutrients they claimed would help keep the people of Sky healthy even when food was scarce.
As she eyed the dark brown sludge that had been meant to keep her alive, she whispered a solitary promise, "I may not know where I am going, or what I am doing, but I promise that one day I will never have to drink this stuff again."
With that she gulped back a large mouthful of sludge. She told herself if she drank it quick enough she would not notice the earthy aftertaste of the brown gunk. Even after drinking sludge for years she had not gotten used to its bitter taste. But sludge was still better than not drinking at all. She was lucky compared to countless others who went thirsty for days at a time all across Sky.
"That will have to be all for now," she declared twisting on the rubber cap of her clay bottle. "I have to make this last as long as I can."
The bottle of sludge was placed back into her pack. Then there followed the challenge of getting the pack back on without ripping it any further than she already had. Staring ahead it was clear the winding unfamiliar path was the only option if she wanted to avoid circling back towards Ralph's Castle. So she pressed forward down the mud clad road continued beneath the great shadow of the mountain looming overhead.
On the far side of the mountain the path was finally released back into the sun's embrace. There were always two options on the roads of Sky. One that stayed low, manoeuvring between wet trails that hugged the narrow spaces between the mass of rocks, while the other always went up, hugging the mountains and connecting smaller divides with old rickety bridges that no one cared for. Harmonia could never refuse the path less traveled.
The trail spiralled along the twisting cliffs rising higher than most of the other stony peaks. Harmonia had not noticed how high she had climbed until soon she was alone with nothing but the blue sky. The vast untameable horizon brought her a much needed comfort. For the first time since leaving home it felt as if there was finally enough room to think.
"What now Harmonia, what now?" she asked aloud. "I could just keep walking until my supplies run out and take it from there. But then again...oh I don't know!"
A lingering faded picture of a place called home stood at the forefront of her thoughts. The feeling of being surrounded by those who unconditionally cared, a warm bed where she knew she was safe, and a place of utter peace; those were the only things she truly desired. Whatever direction she walked it would be that feeling of home that guided her, forever searching for a memory of what had once been. But so much time had passed that Harmonia could be sure if even that faint sense of home was anything more than a figment of her imagination.
Then there were the final words of Grandpa George to consider: the fourth world...you must go to Eidos. Harmonia was still unsure of what that had meant. Even after he had promised her it was a real place, and his certainty, there was something inside of her that could not fully believe him. Growing up her grandfather's stories had always filled her with so much curiosity and wonder. They had been the principle force that had carried her deeper into the mountainous expanse of Sky with each new adventure. But in the end she had never found a magical land filled with storybook characters and happy endings.
When Harmonia had turned six she had told the other children that her parents had not gone to war, that instead they had traveled to Eidos where they would be waiting for her. All of them had teased her for believing such a foolish idea. They had insisted that her parents were probably already dead. She knew they were just angry, that their parents had died in the war and the fact they could do nothing about it had filled them with resentment. It had not been long after that Harmonia stopped believing in her grandfather's stories all together.
"They were only stories Harmony," she sighed turning to face the endless blue horizon. "There is no real magic in the world."
Then she remembered the only clue grandpa had whispered between his final breathes: you must remember the story of Athos to see it. But the only problem was that the story of Athos remained nothing more than a piece of tradition passed down from the first tribes of Sky. The tale of Jacob and how he had learned to see without his eyes to reach beyond the stars was only a product of wishful thinking, an outdated answer to some of the mysteries of the universe. She knew better than to believe in gods and magical powers.
Despite her reluctance, Harmonia began wrestling with the idea, "Oh stop it you silly girl! Eidos is not a real place, it's just made-up. Just like Jacob and Athos are only imaginary characters. You had best not place your hope in make-believe children's stories."
Before the idea could fully cement itself a flicker of hope emerged from overhead. She had played it off as a mistake, a slight of the eyes. A small lone shadow raced past upon the stone wall beside her. It was not until the object circled back around, dancing along for a second time, that she turned her gaze up towards the sky.
There, flying high overhead, was an unfamiliar object. It was hard to make out at first as it glided through the bright rays of sunshine. The creature was much smaller than its shadow had made it appear. As it soared miles above she could faintly make out a white belly covered with light brown speckles. But even from so far away she could distinguish its features. There was the evident trace of two wings, a pale beak and two small feet pocking out from its feathers. If Harmonia could believe her eyes the winged creature was one of the last of its kind. This was something that was believed to be gone, long since vanished from the skies of Sky, this was a bird.
With haste she chased after the shadow along the mountainside. The way it soared only higher and higher, cutting through the breeze, and playing in the air was mesmerizing. Effortlessly it rolled into a light breeze that sent it dancing through the winds which revealed its distinct feathers in the midday sun. Its wings were a blend of dark reds tinged by highlights of light orange and brown which accentuated the colours so they stood out vividly in the light. Harmonia was now caught in an unbreakable trance, captivated in amazement by its hypnotic nature.
In the midst of its effortless flight something had caught its eye. Without warning the bird suddenly opened its wings, revealing the intricate patterns across its feathers, before slowly fluttering down to land upon a nearby mountain. It had disappeared behind two massive protruding chunks of stone on the opposite side of the hundred foot divide. If only Harmonia could find a way to get across. But that appeared was an old crumbling rope bridge that connected the two mountains.
She had never been afraid of heights but as she neared the bridge the plummet into the shadow clad recesses seemed to suddenly grow in size. Harmonia could feel her heart start to race inside her chest. There was no comfort in telling herself it was only a few missing planks and gale force winds to contend with, all of that depended on the hope that the bridge would hold together under her weight. But the fact that a bird, a real bird, was waiting on the other side gave her what courage she needed to take her first steps.
The white wooded plank squeaked beneath her feet, "Okay! It's alright. It's just an old bridge Harmony. Nothing more and nothing less. Just grab the ropes and...."
The words stuck in her throat as her hands grasped the two ropes that held up the bridge. She could feel herself turning white. The wind was swaying the bridge more violently with each passing second. It felt as if the bridge would soon be swept up by the sheer force of the howling winds, but still Harmonia had to press on.
"That's it Harmony...that's it..." the words quivered in her voice. "Whatever you do don't look down. Just keep looking forward and it will be all okay...just keep looking forward...."
Harmonia repeated the words aloud as she tried to jump the first gap in the planks along the bridge. Out of the corner of her eye she suddenly caught sight of the plummeting drop. Seeing the drop her legs seized up and froze in their place. Shutting her eyes, she tried to catch her breath amidst the growing fear.
"I'm a fool! This is ridiculous..." trembled Harmonia. "...it is just a bird. You've seen birds before. You silly girl. You silly silly girl!"
The winds would still not relent. The surrounding mountains formed a tunnel that had only made them stronger. All she could do was hold on for dear life. Finally, there came a break in the pressing current. The bridge took a moment to stop swaying but when it had ceased Harmonia finally found the courage to open her eyes. To her surprise she was much closer to the end of the bridge than she had expected. This time she did not wait for her feet to stop shaking. Harmonia took off as fast as she could, jumping from plank to plank, all the while making sure she did not release her grip on the shaking ropes. She ran and ran until finally she could feel the comfort of the rough hard stone beneath her feet once again.
"Harmony you are never doing that again. It is much less fun than it looks," she told herself knowing all too well that crossing another bridge would be unavoidable on Sky.
Now that Harmonia had reached the other side her mind returned to the task at hand. The bird had landed just behind the largest stone that hung a few feet above her head. She would have to be perfectly quiet to reach the top of the mountain without scaring away the rare fleeting beauty.
Besides a few loose stones that had slipped away from beneath her heavy boots Harmonia had little trouble reaching the summit. With any luck the bird would still be perched upon the top of a rock, or eating a worm from a muddied crevice between the stones. What Harmonia actually found at the top of the mountain was a hidden splendour beyond all measure.
"Wa...water..." she whispered aloud in awe, "Fresh water!"
The words were almost too hard to believe. Stretching out before her on the flat bed of solid stone between the brown hued stones was a genuine pond. Harmonia was not surprised to find water at the top of a mountain, these were the few places where it still rained on the far side of Sky. The Corporations had polluted the air to the point where only a few regions ever saw clouds anymore. Even amongst those privileged few spots very few ever held water in place, not like the small pond that now stood before her very eyes.
On the far side of the shallow oasis, a lone white tree with its red leaves swaying in the wind stood as a sentinel watching over its garden. Perched upon a thin branch that dipped down to the surface of the pond sat the bird, its red feathers making it almost invisible amongst the red leaves.
Harmonia did what she could to silently slide down towards the edge of the water. She felt like a starving animal catching sight of food for the first time in weeks. It did not take her long to reach the pond, and before she could even think about what she was doing, her face was fully submerged in the water. She opened her mouth trying to suck in as much of the cooling clean liquid as she could. Harmonia pulled out her head trying to catch her breath as she savoured the clean taste of such a rare reward. But then as she looked over towards the branch where the bird had been drinking, much to her dismay, it had disappeared.
"Way to go Harmony," she sighed peering down at the water. "You never have been good at playing with others, have you?"
A calming stillness fell over the pond as the ripples resonating across the water gently muted. It was there in the still waters that she saw it, an image she had not seen in years, her own reflection. The last time any of the children at Ralph's Castle had seen a mirror was when a magician had passed through back when she had still been a little girl. She could have stared at herself for hours, lost in the captivating curiosity of seeing herself for the first time. What she found now in the pond's reflection was someone much different than the little girl who had first gazed upon herself.
Soft straight hair that once fell to her shoulders had been replaced by a matted head of vibrant red hair. It was the same auburn tone that had coloured her mother's hair when she was growing up, only a touch dark, added by the dark brown inherited from her father. With a few strands of hair all scrunched up, and others protruding every which way, she appeared an unkempt savage who had been living in the dirt rather than the innocent little girl she remembered. Even the freckles that had covered her cheeks had all but disappeared. Only a handful remained in the shape of two triangles that hung just beneath her eyes. Her lips had become fuller than before, her skin a few shades darker from being out in the sun, and to add to that, dipping her head in the pond was the closest she had come to a bath in quite a long time.
Only one part of her had remained throughout the years that had past, her eyes. They were the same emerald green with a rim of red outlining the interior. Despite everything else that had changed, it was the only sign that told her the girl in the reflection was truly Harmonia. It was comforting to know that something about her had remained the same. That even the dirt and grime, nor the cruel hands of time, could change them.
Then it hit her, a memory that had been stored away as nothing more than nonsense. Growing up Grandpa George had always told Harmonia that the eyes were the gateway to the soul, a passageway to reach the spirit. He had always said that no matter what happened to our bodies there was always some part of us that endured, persisting through ceaseless change. But after the kids had started teasing Harmonia she had fought back the idea that her eyes held any real magic.
A child's reluctance had not stopped her grandfather from trying to teach her about the spirit. Once a week they had ventured to a nearby clearing, where the last trees surrounding their town had once stood, and practiced the art of meditation. Grandpa George had always believed that by silencing the part of the mind that always wanted to put things into words, that part which ceaselessly fit everything into the categories constructed by society, we could find the gateway to the worlds beyond. So they sat amongst the white bark and the crimson leaves, focusing on nothing but their breathing, all in the hopes of trying to see without using their eyes.
In truth Harmonia had never seen anything other than the shifting silhouettes from the rays of sun dancing upon the inside of her lids. Still, that had not stopped her grandfather from trying. So for a whole year they continued meditating in the clearing outside of town. Until one day she told her grandfather she did not want to go anymore and that she was too old to be doing such pointless things. What a silly girl she had been in refusing to see past her immediate surroundings. All that had mattered back then was having fun in her momentary bliss. Only now were the pieces of the puzzle finally coming together.
The tale of Athos recounted the story of a boy named Jacob who had learned how to use the interconnection between all of nature to tap into his spirit. It had been the same principle behind their meditations. Grandpa George had always brought them to the same spot so she could learn how to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings. It was the same way Athos had learned to view his connection to the universe by means of a single trail through the forest. Somewhere along that very trail he had found a path that led to the intertwining web that connected all things.
But she had been too young when first introduced to such ideas. All that little girl had wanted to do was play with the other children, although none had ever wanted to play with her. Now those lessons were needed more than ever and there was no one left to teach them.
A part of Harmonia wanted to forget about Eidos, to fill up on water and continue aimlessly walking into the vast traverse of mountains covering Sky. Yet another part of her, the side that remembered the confidence behind her grandfather's parting words, felt she could not turn her back on the lessons he had tried to teach. If Grandpa George had truly believed in Eidos, and if Harmonia had genuinely loved him, she owed him a chance.
Harmonia sat down crossing her legs by the edge of the water, "Here we go grandpa. This one is for you."
And so Harmonia shut her eyes, slowly easing her focus towards her breathing. She counted to four, breathing in alongside the rhythm of the numbers, and then again, breathing out in the same pattern. Gently, the pressing whisper of the breeze, the brushing of the leaves in the wind, and the multitude of surrounding sounds, all began to disappear. They had all blended into a single sound that resonated from somewhere far away. Soon a series of shifting images began to dance before her mind's eye.
Remaining focused on her breathing Harmonia could feel a comforting vibration starting in her fingers. Next the same feeling began in her toes. Then, in the blink of an eye, her whole body had become a single pulse, a wave merging with its surroundings, continually expanding until it was one with its environment. There she found it, that keystone her grandfather had always mentioned. Grandpa George had consistently described it as a silence that existed behind all things. That if a person submerged themselves in that silence they would be swept away towards an infinite horizon.
As Harmonia felt the limits of her body slowly growing she suddenly lost track of the tranquility. All at once she could feel the thoughts begin to form in her mind: What is this strange feeling? How can I explain what is happening to me right now? My eyes are closed yet I can still see shapes and objects that look like real things. How is this possible?. The torrent of thoughts began pouring in as the silent infinite horizon began to vanish from her inner sight.
Then all at once Harmonia felt normal again, opening her eyes to find only the quiet shore, "Come on! Focus here Harmony. You were so close, so close."
As much as she had wanted to let go, to give into that strange rushing force that longed to sweep her away, she had still been scared. It had crept up when she lost track of her breathing. It was a tick that wanted her to not only experience the surreal event taking place but also to understand it, when she knew that what was being experienced could hardly fall into the scope of words. Nevertheless, Harmonia told herself she would try again.
Everything had taken a little longer than the first time she had tried, but soon she was right back where she had lost her way, perched upon the precipice of an endless frontier. Only this time Harmonia had not been afraid to let go. Soon she understood everything her grandfather had wanted to teach her. The way she felt her body slip away was effortless. She lost track of the constant sensations that emerged from her fingertips. Harmonia had lost herself in the all-encompassing silence that existed beyond the reach of her ears, becoming entranced by the shifting plane of shadows and light that had taken the place of what she normally perceived with her senses. It should have scared her, losing the ability to make sense of herself, when in fact it only brought forth a feeling of serenity.
Suddenly an unseen force took hold of her in the midst of her drifting tranquility and all at once she was shot across the stars. Harmonia could see the mountains growing smaller as she left her body. Before long she passed the few clouds that lingered in the blue and Sky was only a spec amongst the fields of space. The guiding force did not stop once they were beyond her home planet, for it continued to pull Harmonia further into space and all the way to the remains of Gaia. The sight of the drifting plates of earth, the molten streams shooting out from the dwindling core, all of it was breathtaking as she raced past. But as quickly as she had been dragged to the heart of the decimated ruins of the planet, soon even Gaia was no more than a spec upon the horizon.
Emerging in the distance of space a new planet quickly drew closer as Harmonia was hurdled through the emptiness. Even across the divide it shone a brilliant blue as it floated between its three encircling moons. Then it too passed as no more than a single stone on a rocky trail, with no time being allowed to soak in its details or its purpose. Even before Harmonia realized this had been the furthest planet known as Oceanas, it appeared no more.
Helia was now burning bright, with all of its nurturing oranges and reds remaining as the only constant upon the endless frontiers of space. Harmonia felt as if she had been traveling for an eternity until the guiding force brought her to an abrupt halt before a lone floating planet.
It was a perfect blue and white sphere that hovered alone on the far side of the sun. There was nothing around it save a solitary moon to keep it company. From her vantage just outside the planet traces of mountains, oceans, rivers, streams and forests poked through the clouds overhead. Harmonia could suddenly feel a smile across her face as a wave of calming energy rose up from the lonely planet. There was no need to understand, no call for words to sunder the serenity, this was a feeling of genuine peace and love. At once, Harmonia knew exactly where her guiding force had brought her, this was Eidos.
"Chirp, cheep-cheep," the sound resonated from all the corners of space.
In that moment Harmonia returned to reality, all as if the vision had been nothing more than the blink of an eye. Before the edge of the water, hopping up and down on its little feet, appeared the red feathered bird. This was the closest she had ever come to an actual bird and from up close she could finally appreciate its colours. The orange and brown that hugged the edge of its dark red features were much brighter than she had first noticed. Even its white underbelly was far more vibrant than it had been while gliding through the sky. What was strangest of all was that Harmonia could feel an energy resonating from the bird, just like the one from her vision that had been emitted from Eidos.
As if the bird could feel the intentions beneath her thoughts, it flew upward before landing on her shoulder, "Chirp, cheep-cheep, chirp!"
"Hello there little one," she could feel her cheeks turning red with joy. "My name is Harmonia, but everyone just calls me Harmony. Well, mainly I call myself Harmony. What is your name little bird?"
"Chirp cheep-cheep, chirp cheep-cheep," it announced as it flapped from shoulder to shoulder. "Chirp cheep-cheep!!"
"Well then," she started as she rearranged her tussles of hair. "Chirp or cheep-cheep simply won't do. I would never know whether you are singing your name or whether you were trying to say something important. And in all honesty, I do not know if you are a girl or a boy."
The bird only stared in silence.
"I've got it!" exclaimed Harmonia. "I will simply call you Bird. After all, you must be the last of your kind so I imagine the name will not already be taken."
"Chirp, chirp, chirrup, chirp, cheep-cheep, chirrup!" Bird answered in approval.
Bird immediately took off from atop Harmonia's shoulder, although this time it did not go far. Bird only wanted to show off in front of its new friend. It zoomed about the edge of the rocks appearing as a rather tiny thing compared to the surrounding stones. With each turn Bird gained more and more speed, darting back and forth while cutting the top of the water with its wings. It was clear this creature knew a form of movement she could not imagine. Bird was truly free.
Harmonia only smiled as she looked on at her new friend frolicking free in the closing hours of an extraordinary day.