The Person In Back

" ... every so often, I have lifted my head from a page and have seen a familiar face at the back of a crowd. I know who she is yet I am always surprised to see her. Often, she has opened her mouth to speak but for decades she was too far away to be heard, and besides, as soon as I became aware of her presence, I would avert my gaze and pretend I hadn't seen her.

The day came when I finished the final draft of my final book. I knew what was coming. The pen slipped from my hand and I closed my eyes. 'So’, I heard her say, or perhaps it was me, 'its just the two of us now.' I argued with her for a bit. 'It will never work, it was too long ago, I was only a child, I've forgotten.’

‘But I haven’t forgotten,’ she says. ‘Remember when … ‘

‘ ... Even I know the inevitable when I see it. I do remember’ " *

Setterfield, Diane. The Thirteenth Tale. New York: Washington Square Press, 2006.