Wow, so much going on in this part. Hints about characters slipping out in dribs and drabs, tantizling us like Perry waving a Double Fudge Crunch Bar in front of Lois, and saying "not until the story is written".
Did he have a medical problem she hadn't detected? A brain injury, perhaps? Or something else altogether?
I love the description of Clark's emotional injury as a brain injury.
One hundred, forty-seven.
I'm thinking that there might be a 148 still somewhere on Clark. I'm worried about how he reacted when he tried to run away. The sickness to his stomach, the weakness that permiated his body, despite his injuries healing. Something is still wrong.
But, already, he was more than just a patient.
He was an enigma. A bundle of unanswered questions.
Oh, dear. Lois is a goner now!
Lois shuffled sideways, past the remains of his jeans, and began washing his thighs.
That's the section I'm worried about. I think that there might be more K there, that because she didn't check due to modesty sake, she might have missed.
He must have been an athlete. She scrutinised his face again, searching through dim memories of the Daily Planet's sports pages for a clue as to his identity.
5 years out of date DP sport pages there, Lois.
Was he still in great pain?
Yes, emotional pain, and it will probably be with him for quite a while.
Lois picked up his left hand, ostensibly to wash it again. There was a faint groove at the base of his ring finger.
It's interesting to think that the ring grooved Clark's finger.
He must feel incredibly alone. He must be grieving for all he had lost.
True on both accounts, but not in the way she supposes.
Even if he were able to speak her language, she wouldn't be able to offer any realistic hope of a return.
I'm interested in this aspect of the story. Why is it impossible to return? I had thought it might be the gun-runners, now I'm thinking it might have something to do with the villiage itself.
"It won't be as bleak as you're thinking," she said. "You can start again. You can. It won't be the same, but it won't be all bad. I can help you."
Probably the most reassuring thing she has or will ever say to him (considering his current state of mind).
Never again, he promised himself fiercely. Never again.
Never say never, Clark.
A little gush of amusement slipped silently past her lips. She still disliked waiting for anything. But she was learning. As Matymbou had told her a thousand times, "You can't push the sun across the sky, Lois. It'll move at its own speed regardless of how much you jump around like a monkey with a horde of fleas biting his butt."
Matymbou reminds me a bit of Perry. I'm guessing this is a political marriage more than a romantic one.
Sylva believed that touch was an agent of healing.
Oh, Clark's going to *hate* that.
It made him an alien in a hostile world, without any means of defence.
It made him human.
But the damage had been done. His bizarre abilities had gone. All of them. Sight. Hearing. Strength. Speed. Flight.
Healing still works though. Thankfully.
Lois? Was that her name? It seemed so,
He doesn't seem familiar with that name. I wonder if he had been listening when Perry had spoken of her.
Something was gnawing at his stomach. His legs felt like torpid pillars, anchoring him to the ground. A thick fog had descended into his brain.
And this is why I think that there might be more K on him somewhere. I'm a bit surprised he wasn't in more pain with all those 147 pieces of K lodged in his body.
"If he does anything bad, call out. I will make a shack near the quarantine area. Tsumbu will be there at day, and I will be there at night. Diddi has put his books into my hut. Gislane says he can sleep with her son until you come back."
It sounds like Romaric is married but has a crush on Lois. She is wise to keep him at a distance.
Lois took his hand. There was a gash at the base of his thumb, already oozing blood.
Is this because he still have K on his somewhere, or because he had held K in his hand? You take and yet pull away. Give us information, but not enough to know anything. You temptress, you!
He was different from anyone she had ever met - either at home in the United States or here in Africa.
Well, he does have the other half of her heart.
Something that made her wonder if she would look back on today's meeting as one of the most significant moments of her life.
Well, that's better than dismissing him out of hand.
As always, can't wait for the next part.
They are moving forward. Slowly.