she talked about vast numbers of people , more people than even existed in the clockmakers world and finally as the night wore on and he listened to the horrific history he thought he must have walked out of his own time or perhaps the young woman had come back in time , but either way , he realized her past was his future and he hoped he dreamed but when he eventually fell asleep and awoke again , she was still there , still singing and he knew this was more real than his memories of the king and the town .