Safie's arrival and the bitter gift of language

1 At dawn the valley that was desert and gloomy all winter is covered in flowers and fresh green.

2 Felix teaches Safie her first word at the cottage table as the family looks on happily

3 Safie sits at the blind old man's feet with his guitar and sings.

4 Felix stops reading Volney's history as Safie weeps for America's lost native peoples

5 The creature has drawn back from the chink in the boards.

6 The creature watches the family's warm evening through a chink in the boarded window

7 Alone in the grey hovel, the creature curls on the straw with his arms over his head