It felt as though they had been talking for hours. Finally they were both caught up on each others’ day.
“It’s incredible,” Ilara said. “You and I are going through the same thing.”
“Yes,” said the mammoth, “except that you’re going through the human version, I’m going through the normal version. No offense.”
“None taken,” Ilara said, “You know, neither of us is going to figure this thing out on our own.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
Ilara laughed. “Yes,” she said, “of course you were.”
The mammoth made a noise that in a human would probably have been a laugh.
On an impulse Ilara reached out her hand and placed it on the mammoth’s massive trunk. She wasn’t sure that would be ok, but the mammoth just stood there, making no move to stop her. It felt surprisingly warm to the touch.
They just stood like that for a moment, the girl and the mammoth, in a moment frozen in time. It was just about then that the world started to spin.