Hello. I hope somebody is listening.
We have a lot of catching up to do, old sport.
First of all, I was wrong about Paris. She doesnāt work for anyone, sheās not here to spy on me or anything like that. Itās just her.
A few days ago, the second wave of heat overcame the City earlier than expected. We were out on a recon mission when suddenly the air scorched our lungs and the ground burned through our soles. It caught us by surprise, far from her base, and the sun was already too high in the sky to risk running, so we had to wait it out.
It was hell on earth out there, old sport. The only way to survive was to find somewhere cooler until nightfall.
Paris was clearly suffering more than I was. She said she felt drowsy when I asked if sheād be okay, and I knew I didnāt have much time to get her out of the sun.
We went into the first abandoned building we found. It wasnāt exactly safe, but it was our only option. I found an old fan in a cupboard and put it on once we found a backroom with no windows to let any sun in. Luckily, the water still worked.
After a while, we both felt much better, though tired and frustrated. And then Paris asked me the strangest thing. She asked if this had been my plan all along.
āOf course not,ā I said. āWhy would I want us to be stuck here during the heat?ā
āTo take me somewhere,ā she said, eyeing me with more caution than Iād ever seen her show.
āI donāt know,ā she said.
And I realised, sheād been wondering if I had been sent to spy on her this entire time. I realised she was just as alone as I was. Only, sheād been a lot more trusting with me than I had been with her, which had seemed suspicious at first, but that day I understood it had just been her way of protecting herself, of showing me she had nothing to hide. Which I now know wasnāt true, of course.
Paris hadāhas a lot to hide.
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