Rebirth.

she was conscious of other things happening to her. not only the acceleration of time, and the increasing intrusion of the past into the present so that memories of ten or twenty years ago had the sharp vividness of the now. she was also beginning to see reality in magnified close-ups, intimate and revealing. she had seen the pores in miss q's nose, the fine grain of the paper money in her purse. but not only the visual images. all her senses seemed more alert, tender and receptive. she heard new sounds, smelled new odors, felt textures that were strange and wonderful. all of her was becoming more perceptive, open and responsive to stimuli. it seemed to her that she could hear the sounds of colors and taste the flavor of a scent. she twanged with this new sensitivity. she saw herself as raw, touched by life in marvelous and sometimes frightening ways. it had all started with her first adventure, a night of fear, anguish and resolve. then, when it was over, she was flooded with a warm peace, an almost drunken exaltation. when she had returned home, she had stared at herself in a mirror and was pleased with what she saw. it seemed to her that, for self-preservation, she could not, should not stop. she was rational enough to recognise the dangers, to plan coldly and logically. but logic was limited. it was not an end in itself, a way of life. it was a means to an end, to a transfigured life. the adventures were a sweet justification. of what, she could not have said. her newfound sensibility was her reward. she was being allowed to enter a fresh world, reborn.