She doesn't wilt, nor does she express sympathy. She merely looks, and looks, and suddenly I feel like we have an understanding. For me, it was so long ago it can scarcely even be seen as a scar. For her... it can't have been that long ago, and that being the case, for her to be so matter-of-fact about it leaves the lingering scent of wrongness seen and done.
"You're not a stranger now. You're here now, with everybody else."
It's not what she says. It's her manner. She shapes words like things pitched to her from the dark from sources unknown, but whose truth is nakedly clear when she holds them up to the light. Every hair on the back of my neck stands up. I think of Deputy Hollow, and the fleeting glimpse of flame inside his head.
And then she blinks, and is a girl again.
"I gotta go now, I promised Valmont to be back straightaway, but I can save you a cookie if you want? I made them!"
"That's most kind," I manage, giving my head a small shake to clear it, "but I wouldn't want to deprive Mr. Laclos of such a feast. I do," I say after a second, "have something for you." It's a half-formed idea even as I say it, but it takes shape quickly. I spend my life planting seeds against future eventualities. This is no different.
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Date: 2012-01-25 05:46 pm (UTC)"You're not a stranger now. You're here now, with everybody else."
It's not what she says. It's her manner. She shapes words like things pitched to her from the dark from sources unknown, but whose truth is nakedly clear when she holds them up to the light. Every hair on the back of my neck stands up. I think of Deputy Hollow, and the fleeting glimpse of flame inside his head.
And then she blinks, and is a girl again.
"I gotta go now, I promised Valmont to be back straightaway, but I can save you a cookie if you want? I made them!"
"That's most kind," I manage, giving my head a small shake to clear it, "but I wouldn't want to deprive Mr. Laclos of such a feast. I do," I say after a second, "have something for you." It's a half-formed idea even as I say it, but it takes shape quickly. I spend my life planting seeds against future eventualities. This is no different.
"Can you keep a secret?"