Tired but happy, Elias and Elizabeth finally reached their quiet sanctuary.
?Taking Snowflake in his arms, Elias stepped over the threshold. "Ladies and gentlemen," he proclaimed with a smile, "there is a new addition to our club!"
?Elias set her on the floor, and Snowflake immediately rushed to the bowl of food they had prepared.
?Odis, the wise dachshund, ran up at once, circling Elias, sniffing Snowflake, and wagging his tail joyfully. The dog was the first to show genuine interest in the new scent and living creature.
?The elegant Silvana, sensing a threat, took a few steps, bristled her fur, arched her back, and stood high on her paws, letting out a hiss.
?The crow, perched on the old wardrobe, let out a loud caw, voicing her disapproval, while the Parrot, usually talkative, froze on his perch and began to watch in silence, puffing out his feathers.
?Ruby the cat, curled in a ball on the sofa cushion, didn't even deign to lift his head, demonstrating his regal indifference.
?"I am closing the formal introduction for now," Elias said. "Because it’s too early to let her into the general society. She needs to be washed, groomed, and examined."
?Leaning down to Snowflake, Elias spoke tenderly to her: "Tonight you will sleep in the bathroom. We’ll make a bed for you there and pour some water, and we’ll teach you how to use the litter box later."
?Elizabeth nodded in agreement, looking at the little Maltese, who, having finished eating, walked up to Elias's feet and gratefully nudged them with her wet nose. This simple, kind act of care, performed under the silent judgment of their entire motley menagerie, was more precious to them than any magic from a Virtual Fairy. Finally, they were just Elias and Elizabeth, not figures in someone’s cosmic script.
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?Elias and Elizabeth carefully carried Snowflake to the bathroom, made sure she had both water and bedding, and quietly closed the door. Finally shedding the tension of the past twenty-four hours, they left all their "spectators" behind.
?They settled into their old, warm, and cozy bed.
?Elizabeth, leaning in, asked in a slow voice: "Did you want to show me your sketches?"
?Elias, smiling gently, replied: "I want to show them to you in the morning, so you can look at them with a fresh and clear eye."
?Elizabeth, reaching out to him, whispered: "You know, Beloved, I don't doubt for a second that they are brilliant and unique."
?She looked into his eyes: "I have always envied you with a kind and warm envy. Because you are talented, Elias."
?Elias, in response, drew her closer: "Oh, come now, dear, your works are wonderful too."
?Elizabeth shook her head: "No, no, Elias. I know: my works are the fruits of years of labor; they are static. But your works—they are alive, they breathe, Elias."
?She added, bowing her head: "It is a common belief, darling, that a talented person should be talented in everything."
?Elizabeth, moving a little closer, said: "I always wanted you to compose a short poem for me."
?Elias, hugging her softly, replied: "But I don't write poetry, honey."
?Elizabeth, looking up at him, whispered: "Please, dear."
?Elias, finally relenting, softly clasped her thin, smooth neck. He was wild about her neck and always called it a "porcelain vessel."
?He thought for a moment and spoke:
?"Your image is the home where my peace resides,
Where every thought its sanctuary finds.
My soul and heart are yours, in you they tide,
The very meaning that their existence binds.
Hide not your gaze from the heart's own light,
You are its owner; remember this truth tonight."
?Elias felt with his fingertips on her neck how her trembling heart began to beat fast and frequent.
?They reached for each other and merged in the sweetest, most tender kiss, which transitioned into an endless pattern of their unearthly physical creation.
