She looked above, around her, in ecstasy, listening to the
immense joy pulsating on every side; in the sunlight, in the green
meadows, the shining stream, the calm, smiling face of her brother, and
in herself. It was as if she now could see and hear all this for the
first time. "To be alive!" cried a gladsome voice within her.
"All right!" said Sanine. "I will help you in your trouble, and stand
by you when you fight your battles. And now, as you're such a beauty,
you must give me a kiss."
Lida smiled; a smile mysterious as that of a wood-nymph. Sanine put his
arms round her waist, and, as her warm supple form thrilled at his
touch, his fond embrace became almost vehement. A strange, indefinable
sense of joy overcame Lida, as she yearned for life ampler and more
intense. It mattered not to her what she did. She slowly put both arms
round her brother's neck and, with half-closed eyes, set her lips tight
to give the kiss.
She felt unspeakably happy beneath Sanine's burning caress, and in that
moment cared not who it was that kissed her, just as a flower warmed by
the sun never asks whence comes such warmth.
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