She felt it the second he noticed her, a tingling sensation.  He sighed, and stood, ready to leave, and apologized, apologized! â€“to her.<br/><br/>And then he saw her.  Alais closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stop the tears, but they kept coming, kept flowing down her face.  Please tell me heâ€™s crying too, she thought, standing there, feeling the distance- only a few feet, but it felt like miles- yawning between them.  He gasped, and she wanted to laugh, to cry, to fall down and sob, all at the same time.  How could someone feel this much emotion at once?<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Ala....Alais.....?"</span>She smiled, a sad, sweet smile, with tears sparkling on her cheeks in the faint moonlight, and pushed her hood back, shook her hair out of the way, knowing he would be able to see her better, hoping he could believe it was her, really her.<br/><br/>He hit the ground, and she was moving before she consciously realized it, kneeling on the ground before him as fast as a lightning strike.  She reached out, but paused, trembling, fearful- would he reject her?  Hate her?  Oh, how her heart ached!  She wanted to pull him into her arms, to comfort him, but she couldnâ€™t, so she knelt, hands outstretched partway before her.<br/><br/>â€œZane.â€  Her voice trembled as she said it, said his name- she hadnâ€™t allowed herself to say it in fifteen years, afraid of it, afraid of him.  â€œOh, Zane.  Itsâ€¦Its me.â€  She fumbled for his hands, found them, and grasped them tightly in hers.  â€œIâ€™m here.â€