“No, I don’t believe we ever were in animals,” said Natásha, still in a whisper though the music had ceased. “But I am certain that we were angels somewhere there , and have been here, and that is why we remember.⁠ ⁠…”

“May I join you?” said Dimmler who had come up quietly, and he sat down by them.

“If we have been angels, why have we fallen lower?” said Nikoláy. “No, that can’t be!”

“Not lower, who said we were lower?⁠ ⁠… How do I know what I was before?” Natásha rejoined with conviction. “The soul is immortal⁠—well then, if I shall always live I must have lived before, lived for a whole eternity.”

“Yes, but it is hard for us to imagine eternity,” remarked Dimmler, who had joined the young folk with a mildly condescending smile but now spoke as quietly and seriously as they.