They sat in companionable silence for a time. Rachel sat close to Hal, shoulders touching. Ham noticed that Rachel was carrying a staff in one hand, and was pretty sure that it was new. Hal cocked his head to the left, looked at Ham, smiled briefly, cocked his head to the right, looked at Rachel, and smiled again before bringing his head to the center.
Walt looked at Ham and said “I don’t know for sure why you’re here, even though you’ve told us your story. I mean, sure I understand that you’re looking for the Lightbringer, but why here? Why Wait?”
“I really don’t know,” said Ham. “Each step of this journey has been as much a mystery to me as it is to you. I never really decided to learn the things I’ve learned. It just seemed the right thing to do at the time. Just like meeting Hal and having him come along just seemed right. I just know that I’ve got to keep going. And if I learn new things and meet new people along the way, maybe that’s part of the journey’s purpose.”
Martin smiled his knowing smile and leaned back a bit, as if satisfied with something.
Hal said “…learned lots, now I’m sharing.”
And they sat on, in companionable silence.
