The morning came, the travelers met at the center of the village, and Hal and Rachel joined them.
Hal cocked his head to the left, looked at Ham, cocked his head to the right, said “…thanks” and, smiling sadly, brought his head back to the center.
Rachel, in her now-usual position leaning against Hal, shrugged her right shoulder, shrugged her left shoulder, and said “…me, too.”
Much to Ham’s surprise, Hal and Rachel came and hugged him. And Hal handed him a new walking stick. This stick, unlike Ham’s own roughly-carved one, was smoother and had some pictures carved along its length. As Ham looked closely, he realized that the rough pictures were of him and Hal and Martin walking down the road!
With a sniff and a tear, Ham said “Thanks, Hal.”
With that, Ham and Martin and Walt and June set off through the far side of Wait.
