“I’ve certainly had my dark moments. If I’d been alone, I might have tried to find a way to end it. But I couldn’t leave Ganika, and I could never bear to hurt her to take her with me. So I carried on because I had to. I didn’t have a choice. And with some imagination we’ve helped the time pass. I made this for Ganika.” Rudra pointed at a dried up object that his daughter was holding.
After a moment, Ethan saw that it was a root roughly fashioned into a doll. Ganika crushed the toy to her chest and kissed it, then she walked slowly over to Ethan and held it out to him.
“Thank you.” Ethan took the proffered gift. “What’s its name?”
“Her name’s Rooty,” Ganika replied.
“Rooty,” said Ethan. “Of course. It’s a very good name for a root.”
“She isn’t a root. She’s a little girl, like me.”
“
