**Several days earlier**
My Maya is the most astute pupil I ever had. This is just the first lesson, but she drinks knowledge like desert sand drinks water. It's an immense pleasure to see a student listening, making notes, asking questions—one that I had long forgotten about.
It's an immense pleasure to watch Maya when she's like that. When there's not worry or fear in her eyes, but a spark of excitement. When she presses her soft lips together in concentration, or absentmindedly puts stray tresses of silky hair away from her eyes. *That's her most beautiful*, I think.
It's thanks to her I'm able to fully appreciate this. Not with just eyes that can see the world, but with a body that, while still ageless, can feel pleasures of life as fully as any mortal.
But eventually, my precious Maya's attention strays. Again and again she gets lost in her thoughts, often while looking directly at me.
