'I'm called Ahmad, though that's not my true name. I am a djinni. I was born a thousand years ago, in a desert halfway across the world. I came here by accident .... Until this moment, only one person in New York knew my true nature.'
It was as though he'd opened a floodgate. He had not realized until that moment how much he'd been longing to tell someone, anyone.
Her face was the portrait of a struggle, some inner war. Finally she said, 'My name is Chava.'
'Chava,' he repeated. 'Chava, what are you?'
'A golem,' she whispered. And then her eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth, as if she'd told the most dangerous secret in the world.