The pavements before the Williams mansion were even colder than Christiana recalled. She was walking with a dragging suit case, and each step, on her, weighed heavier than the previous one. There was clatter and noise in the city: cars honking, peddlers shouting, people passing by laughing, but in her, there was no noise at all.
She discovered a little boarding house up on the outskirts of town, and a long way out of the Williams place. Her room was small, the wallpaper was falling off, yet it was hers. She sighed and this time she could breathe. However, when at night, the silence would be upon her chest and she would find herself whispering Ethan name in the night.
In the meantime Ethan was disintegrating. Christiana had disappeared, and days went by, and each was emptier than the one before it. He barely ate, barely spoke. The servants could even see the darkness that had come over him.
Sophia, who was always alert, attempted to occupy the emptiness. She took him tea, sat next to him in the library, even had dared to lay her hand on his arm. Yet never did Ethan look at her. He peered out of the windows in hopes of catching sight of the girl who had walked away.
One night, Ethan was being approached by Mr. Williams in the study. Son, you would have to accept that she is gone. This is not the life that Christiana was supposed to live. It's better this way."
But Ethan shook his head hoarsely. "She's my life. No one knows what to do of it without her.
Christiana started to re-establish herself all over town. She also did some menial work- she worked at a bakery and delivered in a seamstress. She was smiling and greeted by the people surrounding her, unto which they treated her kindly. Gradually she was learning to feel a beat, a precarious tranquillity.
But her heart still was restless. She pictured the face of Ethan each night when she shut her eyes, how his eyes had implored her, how his voice had wronged the begging of him that she should not leave.
Nevertheless, she said to herself, He is a part of that world, and I am not.
However, that was not the end of fate.
One afternoon when Christiana was going down to deliver bread to a customer, she saw a familiar face on the other side of the road. Ethan. His garments were wrinkled, his hair was dishevelled, but his eyes came alive as soon as they caught her gaze.
He moved in her direction, his voice cracking with pleasure. "Christiana!"
She jumped at the thought--then trembling came. she ran and left, carrying the bread-basket to her bosom, and the footsteps of Ethan were audible behind her.