when conor hefted it in his palm , the warmth that fed through it and into maggies being not only took away her chills , not only soothed the incessant pain of the burn from the emasculatum , but filled her with heady , spacious hope ... and a song : a symphony , a melody , beautifully intimate , the song of an entire lifetime , the lifetime of that hope , hope that reflected in her dark eyes , in the pacific sunset , in her humming , in her slight smile , inin his smile , the smile not meant for conor kieran ... . eleysius grasped the seed between two fingers , inspected it .