A/N: Vaguely inspired by HeadmistressX's "Ancient Magic."

I'll never know her whole life. She's lived through too much.

She tells stories about her youth and family. She relates her years of teaching. But I know there are things she'll never tell me, if only because she has forgotten.

I learn about her, about human connection, while she sleeps. I'll never grasp everything in her life, but I treasure my intimacy with her. I've seen private emotions – grief, lust, rage. I've watched her grow vibrant as she experiences love in her old age. She didn't expect that.

She's never stopped growing. I know her as she is now.

That's intimate enough.