A spiritual wound produced by a rending of the spiritual body is like a physical wound and, strange as it may seem, just as a deep wound may heal and its edges join, physical and spiritual wounds alike can yet heal completely only as the result of a vital force from within.

Natásha’s wound healed in that way. She thought her life was ended, but her love for her mother unexpectedly showed her that the essence of life⁠—love⁠—was still active within her. Love awoke and so did life.

Prince Andréy’s last days had bound Princess Márya and Natásha together; this new sorrow brought them still closer to one another. Princess Márya put off her departure, and for three weeks looked after Natásha as if she had been a sick child. The last weeks passed in her mother’s bedroom had strained Natásha’s physical strength.

One afternoon noticing Natásha shivering with fever, Princess Márya took her to her own room and made her lie down on the bed. Natásha lay down, but when Princess Márya had drawn the blinds and was going away she called her back.