She was alone with nothing to do. She didn't have to walk unceasingly. She didn't have to scavenge for food or tend her body's needs. She'd bathed. She'd eaten. She'd slept. The house was suffused with a brilliant light and she was full of …

A woman lay, naked, on a slab of marble. Her hands were clenched at her sides. Every muscle seemed taut, as though the was fleeing for her life, rather than laying dormant. Her outline was blurry. Sometimes it seemed as though Ruby could see through her flesh. Stark white flowers …