“He arrives at the girl's window. They are face-to-face. She sees him through the streaky glass, through the rain- now pounding; a mudded, monstrous creature. She opens her mouth to scream, to cry for help, but in that very moment, everything changes. Before her eyes, he changes. She sees through the layers of mud, through the generations of darkness and rage and sorrow, to the human face beneath. A young man's face. A forgotten face. A face of such longing and sadness and beauty; and she reaches, unthinking, to unlock the window. To bring him in from the rain.” Young ManBeauty Is Skin DeepYoung LadyThe Mud Man Book:The Distant Hours Source: The Distant Hours