breast Minnow became something more than she was before. It freed her from something that had always been with her, since the first forced tug on her body which this thing named Skull had generated. Then she had been made to do it; now she wanted to. And suddenly she saw that she was dancing alone, her arms and legs not fluid machine but human, and she soared and soared.
She awoke with the crampedness that always set in after the beat. This time, though, there was an underlying strength in her worn out body. She stood and stretched, looking down at herself and knowing for the first time that her body belonged to her and no one else.
At first she thought the arena was empty. The white tarp stretched tight to the circumference, and she could make out nothing on its surface—but then she saw, huddled at the edge, a crumpled figure.
It was Skull. He seemed, now, the mere bag of bones that his skull promised: Minnow had the unsettling feeling that if she were to pick his body up it would rattle and then fall to pieces and flake away. Instead she stared into his eyes, now absent of the crimson candle-glow of artificial life.
She looked into those eyes for a long time. And then, with a quick step she lifted her leg, gracefully, turned, and began to walk with resolution toward the tunnel leading to the world above. She would walk, at least for now —though she had the feeling that when the light of the sun or moon caressed her she might be unable to keep her body still. That warmly beating center core might burst to flaming life and take her limbs freely into motion with it.
She might have to dance.
In the Corn
Do you remember losing your eyes?'
'Yes.'
'Tell me.'
'I... was three years old, playing with my brother and governess in a wide yellow field in back of our house. It was Autumn, and the grass was stiff; I remember it was cold that day. My brother and I were tumbling on the grass, throwing each other over our shoulders, laughing. The governess, Nancy, got caught up in our game and began to tumble us over her shoulder also. This is... very painful to remember...'
'Go on. You must tell me.'
'She was roughhousing with us, and began to pick one and then the other up, swinging us high in the air. I remember her twirling me around. We were all getting dizzy and were laughing uncontrollably. We had wandered somewhat from the center of the field toward an edge bordered by a row of picked corn; the stalks were stiff and dry and stood up straight. I can almost see the sun on their dry yellow. Nancy was laughing as if she were our own age; actually, she was only a few years older than my brother. I was running around and around her, chasing my brother, and Nancy suddenly picked me up, a bit too fast, tumbling me up and over her shoulder. I remember the stalks of corn coming at my eyes like deformed spears, I can see them now like I could then, as if in slow motion, coming up towards my eyes, and then into them...'
'Go on...'
'Doctor, I can't...'
'You must.'
'I... remember screaming, hearing myself scream, and I remember flailing my arms and hands, trying to pull the stalks from my eyes, sitting on the ground and screaming uncontrollably, shrieking, my entire body shaking, and then feeling hands on me, Nancy's hands. I can remember her hands on my face, and the sticky mass of tears and blood, and then I could feel her tugging at the stalks, pulling them free one at a time, gently, and there was... a sound... as she did it, a sucking sound...'
'Yes?'
'I can't.'
'I told you, you must. Continue.'
'No!'
'Continue.'
'I...—no!'
'You must go on.'
'The... last thing I remember seeing was the governess' face after she had pulled the stalks free. I could see her face through blood, though I could not see very clearly. There was a look of...'
'Yes?'
'A look of horror on her face, and then my eyes began to unfocus, as if the world was being pulled away, taking the light with it, and I was alone and screaming...'
'Can you go on?'
''I...”
'Yes?'
“I was so alone.'
'I understand. Do you remember what happened then?'
'I was sent away to have my eyes cared for.'
'And?'
'And... there were other things.'
'Please explain.'
'They told me later, much later, that I had been traumatized. I was ill for a very long time, and would not eat or speak; I lived... inside. I went through a lot of therapy, and there were a lot of different doctors and hospitals. I was never sent home. I... remember screaming, lots of crying, and then, after a long, long time, a kind of peace came over me...'
'Go on.'
'I became calm. I told them it was all right, that I wanted to go home. But they wouldn't listen to me. They wouldn't send me home. I started to cry. I wanted to see my brother again, I wanted to see Nancy, to tell her it was all right, that she didn't have to have that look on her face anymore, that it wasn't her fault. But they wouldn't send me home.'
'And so?'
'I became hysterical again, and the therapy began again. For a whole year I didn't speak. For another year I screamed. And then I became calm again.'
'I understand. Do you know how old you are now?'
'I'm twenty-two years old.'
'Very good. And do you know why you are here?'
'Therapy.'
'Of course. But it is time to tell you more.'
'More? What do you mean?'
'There are things you must know now; I believe you can learn now what really happened.'
'What don't I know?'
'Are you calm?'
'Yes.'
'You will remain calm? You will not begin to scream, or draw into yourself?'
'No, I won't scream.'
'Very good. Listen carefully. Your governess did not hurt you.'
'What?'
'It is time to remember; you must remember; your governess did not push you into the corn. Your brother did.'
'No!'
'Your brother tried to kill you. He killed your governess after he blinded you, and you saw her die in the corn
