—“I love you, Hawk.” It was by holding Tim from the shoulders behind and by bringing his lips closer to his ear that he realized how much he had missed the boy's softness, fragility, talk and good heart. Therefore, and to claim the protective emotion that would come with delirium, he felt how he began to pronounce the words he knew he should not say, words more real than he would have expected, but porous and strategic enough to, if he believed in Skippy's loving god or even his own austere god, he would be asking for forgiveness as soon as it came out of his mouth. However, he said it anyway.
—“I love you too”.