Lucian lay perfectly still and covertly scanned the details of Michael’s face. Does he know? Does he even suspect? Has he noticed any irregularities? Surely he must have seen the hairs growing out of the pores at the end of his nose. The size of his ears increasing? I’d be surprised if he’d failed to notice something like that! Too busy writing perhaps. He’s clearly been bitten by the bug. And once you start down that road you can never turn back. Lucian closed his eye and listened to Michael reading the details of his life. It was intoxicating. Even the events from before 1992 were vivid in his mind. As real to Lucian as if he had actually been there. Was this how it had felt for the one who had listened to the first forty years? Or had the second Lucian suffered from a sense of regret? Of being short-changed? In the end did he judge the sacrifice as too great for what he had received in return? Lucian doubted it. He too had given up much, but knew he would do it all over again if offered the chance. Michael would be the same. He won’t try to fight it. He was born for a deal like this. Why else would he have agreed to come down here to take such a job? With no family or wife, what did he have to lose? A life of teaching books that other people had written? No, he wanted it. And who knows, being the last there was always a chance he might get more time than any of us. Imagine that? Living as Lucian for longer than twenty years. I thought for a minute it might be me. That somehow I had won the lottery. But no. There needs to be a fourth. There has always needed to be a fourth. Does he realise? Maybe I should tell him more. I can feel the time approaching. Faster than I expected. Perhaps it’s because he’s ready. I can hear it in his voice. Reading those details like he knows them by heart. As if they were already part of his bones. Maybe I should warn him? But if I don’t will it even matter? Won’t he just know? The same way I did? Or did I? Hard to remember that far back. Memory is flagging. Too many spliffs. Again Lucian partially opened an eye. I can see it’s already happening. He’s lost some weight. Too late to change anything now. I wonder if he suspects? But wouldn’t he have asked? Hasn’t mentioned that photograph again. Stupid mistake not to throw it away. Sentimental old fool. Nearly spoiled everything. Can’t say I’m surprised he found it. I faintly recall doing something similar. All those clothes. Who could resist trying them on? Now I can’t even remember who that person was. The name has been completely erased from my mind. Naive to expect it to still be there. Lurking some place for me to find. An old portrait hidden in the attic. Once you break with your past like that you can’t go back. And why would you want to? Happy to be Lucian. Worth absolutely everything. Had a blast. Had a blast.