And so she summons all her strength.
And so she lifts her one free hand.
But the watch is farther away than she first thought.
And so she summons a little more strength.
And so she peels away the swaddling clothes until her other hand is free.
And so she beats her arms.
But she can't swim without her feet.
And so she peels away more of the cloth until she is naked as the day she was born.
And so she is naked.
But, at last, her arms and her legs are free.
And so she begins to swim.
Liz swims and swims and swims and swims, always keeping the silver moon in sight. And the gondola grows larger and larger. And the rest of the watch seems to disappear. And Liz finally reaches the surface, gasping for air, gasping for life.
And when her eyes finally adjust to the daylight, the gondola is nowhere to be found. Instead, she sees a familiar white tugboat.
"Liz!" Owen yells. "Are you all right?"
Liz can't speak. Her lungs are too filled with water, and she is freezing. Owen notices that her lips are blue.
He pulls her onto the boat and covers her with a blanket.
Liz coughs for the longest time, trying to expel the water from her lungs.
"Are you okay?" Owen asks.
"I seem to have lost my clothes," Liz croaks, her voice scratchy and sore.
"I noticed."
"And I almost died," Liz says. "Again," she adds.
"I'm sorry."
"And I'm totally pissed off at you," Liz says.
"I'm sorry for that, too. I hope you'll forgive me someday."
"We'll see," she says.
"Shall I take you home now?"
Liz nods.
Exhausted, she lies down on the deck. The sun feels warm on her face. She thinks it is pleasant to be on a boat that is bound for home. She begins to feel better immediately.
"I might like to learn how to drive a boat," Liz says when they are almost back.
"I could teach you, if you want," Owen says. "It's a lot like driving a car."
"Who taught you to drive boats?" Liz asks.
"My grandfather. He was a ship captain here and back on Earth. He just retired."
"You never mentioned you had a grandfather."
"Well, he's about six years old now "
"Wait, he wasn't the captain of the SS Nile, was he?"
"Yes. The Captain. Exactly," Owen answers.
"That's the boat I was on! I met him the first day I got here!" Liz says.
"Small world," Owen replies.
Restoration
Liz recuperates for two weeks at a healing center. Although she feels better after a few days, she enjoys her period of convalescence. It is nice to be tended to by one's friends and loved ones (especially when one's recovery is assured).
One of her visitors is Aldous Ghent. "Well, my dear, it seems you are not on Earth," he declares.
Liz nods. "It seems that way."
"This situation creates much paperwork, you know." Aldous sighs and then smiles.
"I'm sorry." Liz returns his smile.
"I'm not." Aldous embraces Liz. He sniffles loudly.
"Aldous, you're crying!"
"My allergies again. I find they particularly act up during happy reunions." Aldous blows his nose.
"I finally read A Midsummer Nights Dream," Liz says.
"I thought one could only read Shakespeare for school."
"I've had some free time lately."
Aldous smiles. "And your opinion?"
"It reminded me of here," Liz replies.
"In what way?" Aldous prompts.
"You sound like a schoolteacher," Liz admonishes him.
"Well, thank you very much. I used to be one, you know. You were saying, Elizabeth?"
Liz thinks for a moment. "Well, there's this fairy world, and then there's the real world. And the way Shakespeare writes it, there's really no difference between the two. The fairies are just like real people with human problems and everything. And the human people and the fairies live side by side. They're together and they're apart. And the fairy world might be a dream, but the real world could be a dream also. I liked that." Liz shrugs. "I've never been much good at this English stuff. My best subjects used to be biology and algebra."
"Fine subjects, indeed."
"I'm reading Hamlet now," Liz says. "But I can already tell I don't like it as much as Midsummer."
"No?"
"Well, Hamlet's so obsessed with dying, like that's gonna solve anything." Liz shakes her head. "If he only knew what we know."
"If he only knew!" Aldous agrees.
One day, Curtis Jest visits.
"Lizzie," Curtis says in a more serious voice than Liz has ever heard him use, "I must ask you a question."
"Yes, what is it?"
"It's about Betty," Curtis whispers.
"What about her?" Liz asks.
"Has she any gentleman callers?" Curtis's whisper grows even sorter.
"No, I don't think so, and why are we whispering?" Liz asks.
"Is there a Grandpa Betty in the picture?" Curtis continues to whisper.
"No, Grandpa Jake is remarried and lives on a boat near Monterey, California."
Curtis takes a deep breath. "So you're saying I might have a chance?"
"Curtis, a chance at what?"
"A chance with Betty."
"A chance with Betty?" Liz repeats loudly.
"Liz, lower your voice. For God's sake, I am telling you this in confidence." Curtis's eyes dart around the room. "I find your grandmother a most delightful creature."
"Curtis, are you saying you like Betty?" Liz whispers.
"I am a bit smitten with her. Yes, yes, you could say that."
"Isn't Betty a bit old for you?" Liz asks. "She was fifty when she died, you know. And she's around thirty-three now."
"Yes, exactly! She has so much wisdom! And warmth! And, for now at least, I am twenty-nine years old myself. Do you think she will find me too immature?"
"No, Betty's not like that." Liz smiles. "Tell me one thing. Does she know yet?"
"No, not yet, but I was thinking I might write her a song."
"Curtis, I think that's a wonderful idea." Liz smiles again. "Oh, and if you run out of things to say, compliment her garden."
"Yes, yes, her garden! I shall, and I thank you very much for the tip, Lizzie."
When Liz is allowed to return to Betty's house, she passes the days lazily in Betty's garden and continues to recover. Liz reclines on the hammock while Betty tends to her garden.
Without meaning to, Betty makes frequent stops just to check that Liz is still in the hammock where she should be.
"I'm not going anywhere," Liz assures her.
Betty inhales sharply. "It's just I thought I had lost you forever."
"Oh, Betty, don't you know there's no such thing as forever?" Liz swings in her hammock, and Betty returns to her gardening. Five minutes later, they are interrupted all over again by Curtis Jest.
Curtis is strangely attired in a white suit and dark round sunglasses.
"Hello, Lizzie," he says stiffly. "Hello, Betty," he says softly.
"Hello, Curtis," Liz mimics his tone.
Curtis winks at Liz. Liz rolls over in the hammock and pretends to go to sleep. Sadie curls up behind Liz. Since Liz's return, Sadie has stayed as close to Liz as possible.
"My, Betty," Curtis says, removing his sunglasses, "you do have a lovely garden!"
"Thank you, Mr. Jest," Betty replies.
"Would you mind if I stayed a while?" Curtis asks.