The woman stared at him for a long time. The wind had changed. Slowly, the square re-emerged from the yellow mist, the equestrian rider resumed his motionless journey, and the prophet-king re-entered the moment between anxiety and legend.
After a long silence, the mysterious woman got out of the bed. She came up close to him. Her face was still obscure. She said:
‘Because you rejected my love, this is my curse on you. Refusing to love an illusion, you will have to love without illusion. I cannot think of anything more cheerless. You will live to regret the night you rejected the advances of a famous princess like me.’
After she had spoken, she strode away with a proud and splendid sensuality. She strode out into the moonlight, taking her obscurities and yellow darkness with her.