[…] i had rowed into the harbour from the sea; the oars had made whirlpools. a light appeared in the window: your breast, above the candle, burned. we wrapped our cloaks round us: ran with our shoulders against the drawbridge. hands came through the door and held us; they were tendrils through the stone. you watched from an upstairs window. we were in the hallway of the castle. you stood with the candle and one hand against your breast. the candle burned: it made blood against the snow. the man with the beak of a bird put his head down to embrace you: with one arm round his neck, you were a tunnel through which he could breathe. on the stairs were figures in suits of armour.