"They really pushed you into the ravine, Atlas?" Laura's face went pale, the faint smile vanishing at once. "But then… How did you survive? That… that ravine is incredibly deep."
"I… got caught," Atlas said. "By a tree root sticking out from the cliff. It was pure luck, honestly. I survived, though I nearly died several more times after that. Still… Here I am now, safe and in one piece."
Laura shook her head slowly. "You really are… unpredictable," she said. "At this point, I would not even be surprised if you have brushed against death more than once, considering how often you used to come here with injuries that were severe, even fatal."
"I suppose that is funny, in a way."
"That is not funny," she replied immediately. "You are the person who made me work the hardest, you know."
"And I suppose you lost an important client after I disappeared."
Laura did not answer right away. Her expression shifted slightly.
