Sentence:  The part of the mind that preserves dates and events may remonstrate , `` It could have been like that for only a little while '' ; but true memory does not count nor add : it <WSD>holds</WSD> fast to things that were and they are outside of time . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"