Seeing the giant tree of flesh and blood begin to melt before her, Anna panicked. She knew he was about to leave.
She couldn't let him go. This might be her only way back. "Charles, take me back! No matter where you are, take me back home!"
"Anna, I'm sorry," Charles's voice was gradually losing all warmth. "I know how you feel about me, but I can't take you back. There's nothing here. Hope is fleeting; only deathly silence is eternal."
Now that he understood everything, he didn't even want to pretend anymore. His humanity was nearly gone.
Being rejected again caused the embers of hope in Anna's heart to flare back into a raging fire. "You think I want to go back for you?! Don't flatter yourself. I'm doing it for my daughter, for Shanshan!"
As soon as Anna spoke, the entire tree fell eerily silent. The limbs of flesh and slender eyestalks growing from it drooped, melting quietly and filling the air with an oppressive atmosphere.
