âI know you think you got a handle on what this is gonna be.â
âDo you remember our last conversation, [name]?â
âHave I done something wrong?â
âThereâs something different about you. About the way you think.â
âThe hosts are suppose to stick to their scripts. This isnât a minor improvisation.â
âGood morning, [name]. Bring yourself back online.â
âI brought you a gift. I used to readâŚÂ This story to my son at night. I thought you might enjoy it.â
âDear, dear, How queer everything is today. And yesterday, things went on just as usual. I wonder if Iâve been changed in the night.â
âI guess people like to read about the things that they want the most and experience the least.â
âWas I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if Iâm not the same, the next question isâŚÂ Who in the world am I?â
âMorning, cowboy.â
âYou really ought to talk to someone about your poster, [name]. That likeness is a crime in itself.â
âSure I can't tempt you inside? Just to express my gratitude.â
âI thought you said we couldnât get shot.â
âYeah, well, we canât get killed. Wouldnât be much of a game if they canât shoot back.â
âThen stay here. I want a little adventure.â
âI got a late start this morning. Didnât get much sleep last night.â
âForgive me if Iâm not sympathetic.â
âI specifically asked you about whether [name] was going to be a problem, and you assured me he wasnât.â
âDonât you talk to me that way.â
âDo you see that? Heâs talking to someone.â
âGo. Handle the stray. Do something thatâs actually in your job description.â
âIâll do a little more digging and get our friend here back upstairs.â
âYou know, if you wanted to play cowboy, you couldâve just used your employee discount.â
âProposing to engage me in a gun battle?â
âWell, Iâd challenge you to a fistfight, but the way I heard it, you only like to tussle with working women.â
âWhy are we going to handcuff a dead man?â
âOh, youâre new. Not much of a rind on you. Iâll give you a discount.â
âDonât mind me. Just trying to look chivalrous.â
âYou gonna tell me where you been?â
âYou know if I could stay right here with you, I would.â
âWhat if I donât want to stay here? Itâs just sometimes I feel like. The world out there is calling meâŚÂ Whispering, âthereâs something more.ââ
âYouâve traveled all over these parts. Isnât there anywhere we could go?â
âWell, there is a place I heard about down southâŚÂ Where the mountains meet the sea. They say the water's so pure there, Itâll wash the past clean off you and you can start again.â
ââSomedayâ sounds a lot like the thing people say. When they actually mean ânever.â Letâs not go someday, [name]. Letâs go now.â
âBefore I met you, [name], I was a different man. And I got some reckoning to do before I can deserve someone like you. But Iâm close. Iâm close to making things right. And someday soon, we will have the life weâve both been dreaming of.â
âThe coward dies a thousand deaths. The valiant taste of death but once.â
âYou look upon the face of true evil, you ainât liable to forget.â
âSome hands werenât meant to pull a trigger. Perhaps itâs for the best.â
âYou have to leave again, donât you?â
âYou know if I could stay right here with you, I would.â
âPromise me youâll come back.â
âI didnât sign up for this crazy shit. I told you we shouldâve done the riverboat thing, man.â
âWhat, are you gali-fucking-leo?â
âWith due respect, sir, Iâm not sure youâve told me the entire truth about this situation.â
âI suppose Iâm glad for you. At least you have a way of forgetting.â
âThis painâŚÂ Itâs all I have left of him.â
âSee? This is why I hide behind sarcasm.â
âImagine there are two versions of yourselfâŚÂ One that feels these things and asks these questions, and one thatâs safe. Which would you rather be?â
âIâm sorry. Iâm trying, but I still donât understand. There aren't two versions of me. Thereâs only one. And I think when I discover who I am, Iâll be free.â
âYou should be getting back, [name], before someone misses you.â