Page 99

This brief page turns tenderness into style, linking hand-holding, speech, and sweetness in a tiny exchange.

Its scale is miniature, but the effect is intimate rather than slight. The page shows how gently spoken language itself becomes part of attraction.

In three short lines, the narrator asks for the girl's hand 'while we walk to the trees', she giggles that 'you say things so nicely', and he answers 'And you say yes, so sweetly.'

The page is almost all dialogue and trades compliments back and forth, so the courtship happens through the pleasure of speaking. Its brevity and white space make the moment feel suspended and private.