Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

[al-shairan.livejournal.com]

There are no foolish questions, and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.

Thursday, early evening

Some weeks ago I would have said I would rather never see Zann again, given she was a witness to the disgusting depths of my humiliation, but after my strange evening with Syl I have found myself curious to see Zann. Has she learned who was the boy she met? Would she know me again after that?

I put on the Caldwell body, for there is something about it I find useful, its ambiguity, its pallor, its sharp-edged sorrow. I dress it in a crumpled old tweed jacket, two sizes too big and made for a man, over a white shirt and grey trousers - clothes all expensive once, but now well worn. And then I go to the carnival as the light dips down into a grey-pink sunset, watery light dying into the dark.

I glimpse her as I enter the carnival. I will not approach her at once; instead I estimate the direction in which she will walk, and find a place in the path. L'Heure Verte is virtually empty. I order absinthe and wait.

[open to Zann]