These Dreams of You

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Of course Zan doesn’t have his cell anymore, his muggers having taken it. Horror wells up in him at the thought that Parker might call and its new owners might answer, but then he remembers with relief that, in defiance, Parker refused to write down the number. The man wipes his eyes again and gets on his feet, holding his hand up to a streetlight and looking hard at it; and the simple streak of blue confirms for Zan the reality of having a son who made that mark.

When he wipes his hand against his face, the streak smears like a real mark would, unless he’s hallucinating that as well. But Zan decides that he won’t allow himself to believe this; he decides that whatever faith he has left, he’ll summon for the sake of believing in the mark on his hand and thereby his life.