“When I was in the Everneath, I thought about Jack every day. Every minute. Even after I'd forgotten his name, the image of his face made me feel whole again. Was Jack the reason I'd survived? Were our ties to the Surface what somehow kept us whole?The one problem in the anchor theory was Meredith.She had a connection with her mom,yet she didn't survive. But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized Mrs. Jenkins didn't have a similar connection to Meredith. She forgot about Meredith the second the Feed began.Then it hit me.Orpheus didn't forget about Eurydice.He loved her the entire time she was gone. Maybe the attachment between Forfeit and anchor worked only when it went both ways.The drinking fountain next to me shuddered to life as a flash of intuition hit me.I knew now that Jack never forgot about me.He'd never stopped loving me.He was the anchor that saved me.And now he was gone.”

“The thing was,I knew exactly how I had survived.Mary had been on to something with her anchor theory,but she was a little unclear on the logistics. Jack told me he dreamed of me every night, and it was as if I were really there. I was in a dark place,and he helped me see.Now Jack was invading my dreams every night. Not a dream Jack,but the real thing.I know this because during one of the first dreams, he told me what the tattoo on his arm said. Ever Yours. The next morning,I rushed to draw the image from memory, and then I researched it.The symbols were artistic versions of ancient Sanskrit words.They stood for eternity and belonging. Ever Yours, just as Jack had said. There was no way my subconscious could have come up with that explanation on its own.I'd finally found the connection Meredith had longed for,the tether from an anchor that kept a Forfeit alive. They were bound together through their dreams,sustaining each other during sleep.When I was asleep,Jack would come to my bedroom and sit on the end of the mattress and face me.He came to me every night,talking about his uncle's cabin, the Christmas Dance, how my hair hides my eyes,how my hand fits in his, how he loves me.How he'll never leave. I spent the first few dreams saying "I'm sorry" over and over and over, until he threatened to stay away if I didn't stop.”

“I told him about how Cole wanted me to return with him.I told him almost everything. I didn't talk about what had happened just before I left with Cole and I didn't tell him that the Tunnels of the Everneath were coming for me soon. Jack would freak out if he knew I was leaving again, and I didn't want to waste time trying to convince him it was hopeless.I didn't tell him I'd thought of him every day. That even when every other memory had faded,he never left.”

“Did you forgive her?"I looked at her with a start.Jack dropped his salad back in the bucket. "What?""Did you forgive Nikki?""Umm,Mary,I don't think you-" I started, but Jack interrupted me."No,it's okay.What do you mean, Mary?" He spoke slowly. "Did I forgive Nikki for what?"Mary frowned and reached under the separation glass and touched Jack's gloved hand. "Did you forgive her for leaving you?"Jack's lower lip sank,and his eyebrows lifted.He looked like he was about to speak,but no words came out of his open mouth.Mary leaned even closer and whispered, "I have a theory. A theory about anchors.""Oh," Jack finally said,his forehead now creased with confusion. "Anchors."The people in line behind Mary shifted impatiently."Um,Mary,you're holding up the line," I said. Mary looked at me as I continued. "Why don't you go grab a table,and I'll eat with you."The tension slipped from her face. "Okay. But hurry. My tee time's at one."She started down the line again.Jack's hand still rested in the lettuce, so I nudged him with my elbow, and he seemed to restart. "Don't worry about her," I said. "She gets confused easily.""That wasn't confusion." Jack kept his eyes on my face as he served the salad. "It was like she knew me. Knew us.Did you talk to her about us?""Of course not.She also knows about anchors,apparently.And she's late for her tee time.None of it makes sense.”

“And just like that, I'd been assessed and judged. Nurse Fashoda didn't know the first thing about me but she'd taken one look at my face and now she reckoned she knew my whole life story -- what had gone before and what was yet to come.”

“She nodded... and was about to turn away. Then, as if she thought better of it, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Jack.""Yes?""I. . ." she faltered. She knew what she wanted to tell him, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words.It turned out she didn't have to. Jack put a hand to his heart and nodded. "I feel the same way about you.”