Turtle Heart Arrives

A Quadling glassblower named Turtle Heart arrives at the minister's cottage, lost and hungry. Melena, starved for company, welcomes him. Turtle Heart is a gentle, handsome man with dusky red skin. He charms both Melena and Elphaba, who is usually wary of strangers. He demonstrates his glassblowing skill, creating a beautiful, imperfect glass disc. He tells Melena he can see the future in the glass, and he prophesies that her husband is returning with an elderly woman. Melena, feeling a deep connection with him, begins a passionate affair with Turtle Heart, finding in him a sense of grace and hope that her life with Frex and her green child had destroyed.