Arveth's response arrived the next morning.
It was the longest communication she had ever sent—seven pages, the careful documentary script she used when she was writing for the record. She had been in the restricted archive since receiving his message. He could tell from the handwriting: the letters near the end were smaller, the way handwriting became smaller when the writer had been working for many hours and was conserving space against the available paper.
He read it at the table while the group ate.
