That was why she never crossed anyone. She had nothing to cross them with. She did not become involved in the lives of others, let alone identify with others. Wherever she happened to find herself, she kept herself at one remove, never joining in, never involving herself with others.

But not because she looked down on them.

She placed herself apart because she felt herself separate. She’d done so all her life. If on occasion she was obliged to participate, she became like a branch drifting with the currents in the sea, never resisting. She was ruled by the currents. But they never got inside her. Inside, she remained the same.

Nothing could penetrate her. Nothing could draw her out.