“Sinclair, old man, listen: I shall have to go away. Perhaps you will
need me once again, on account of Kromer, or something. When you call
me, I shall not come riding on a horse, or in a train. You must hearken
to the voice inside you, then you will notice it is I, that I am in
you. Do you understand? And one other thing: Mother Eve said that if
ever you were ill I was to give you a kiss from her, which she gave
me.... Close your eyes, Sinclair!”
I obediently closed my eyes. I felt a light kiss on my lips, on which
there was a trace of blood, which never seemed to stop flowing. And
then I fell asleep.
In the morning I was awakened to have my wounds dressed. When at last
I was properly awake, I turned quickly to the mattress by my side. A
stranger lay upon it, a man on whom I had never before set eyes.
The bandaging hurt me. All that has happened to me since hurt me. But
my soul is like a mysterious, locked house. And when I find the key
and step right down into myself, to where the pictures painted by my
destiny seem reflected on the dark mirror of my soul, then I need
only stoop towards the black mirror and see my own picture, which now
completely resembles Him, my guide and friend.