FAELORIA.

with his hands clasped behind his back, he was leaning down a little to better peer at the girl he once knew. he's found her by happenstance, stalked her for a good while to make sure it was the mizi he once almost shared a stage with. she's... changed. his affections for her, did not.

it made him feel an emotion he did not recognize.

“ it's ivan. remember? ” maybe not. maybe it was stupid of him to think she had once considered him a friend, too. of course she wouldn't have. “ what are you doing here? ” his latest intel spoke of her being part of the rebellion. looking over her, her appearance... it said otherwise. and, the hair? ivan reached out to brush his fingers through a few loose strands, unaware of the concept of 'personal space.'

      there  it  was  again,         his  voice  .

      it  couldn't  be,  could  it?  

      mizi  glanced  up,  a  crease  forming  between  her  scarred  brows.  usually  her   visions  would  consist  of  her  own,  lived  childhood    ⸻     a  time  where  she   knew  what  happiness  felt  like,  even  for  just  a  fraction  of  her  life.  the  voices  of   her  family  would  be  her  own,  as  though  it  was  a  modicum  of  truth.  but  to  any   passerby,  it  would  sound  garbled,  like  the  ramblings  of  a  mad  woman.  

      like  a  witch  .  

      she'd  tried  hard  to  breath  life  back  into  her  dead  loved  ones  like  a  child   playing  with  her  toys,  but  it  only  served  to  break  her  even  more.  prehaps  this   was  a  culmination  of  that,  she  was  being  rewarded  with  hallucinations.  

      the  witch  gave  a  soft  moan,  trying  to  test  the  limits  of  whatever  her  mind   had  conjured  up.  it  proved  hard  to  see  out  of  her  left  eye,  so  the  right  one   strained  to  make  up  for  it.  

        ❛    ivan,  huh?  come  to  torment  me?    ❜      a  mere  tilt  of  her  head,  unaware  of  his  frigid  touch.  

I don't know how you do it.

Can we talk normally?

I don't know what I expected either. I don't know.

Why do you say you love me if everything's different the next moment?

You are playing with the cliché of the emotional, suffering, weak woman who needs to be saved by a strong man.

So will you introduce me to your parents now?

Nobody cares about you anymore. Crass, isn't it?

If I'd always waited to be offered something, I'd still be in Bumblefuck.

Sorry, this will make it easier for both of us, right?

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful, right?

I would actually count myself among those who enjoy the little things in life.

You get suspicious as soon as there's a moral consensus.

Sorry, I didn't know you were speaking out for me.

All those layoffs weren't exactly rightful.

I'd love to see your reaction when 30 years of your work is suddenly questioned.

Oh, come on, don't act so affected.

You think there's some duty to stay alive? Even if there's nothing more to live for?

You do what you want, but I want to decide for myself, and die the way I lived.

What was wrong with you in there?

I don't have children who can reject me when I'm old and stale.

For weeks, you've come in, taken aspirin and left. I have no idea how you are.

You don't remember, do you?

So what do you want now? An apology 20 years later?

Stop playing the victim.

We need to sit at the same table.

What was that with your father yesterday?

I thought you were hiding from me.

Why are you waiting outside?

How long will this act of revenge on your parents last?

Don't act like we just saw each other yesterday.

Have you considered our vacation?

I thought you were coming tomorrow.

I haven't prepared anything. I thought you had appointments.

Well, you never know these days.

The world hasn't become more peaceful. That much is for sure.

If you get stuck, ask me. I can't stand correcting them.

Do you care about what I write or just for how long?

It's more about taking something from someone than really needing it.

What are your plans for the next ten years?

You're full of questions.

Seriously, tell me three things you'd like to do before turning 70.

Don't you ever think about that? Wishes. Any wishes.

I want to find a job before I retire? Something like that?

Is that what you think I want to hear or what you really want?

I'm staying here. It's too noisy for me in the city.

Goodness. You're skin and bones. You need to eat.

How long are you staying?

It's crazy how time flies.

Shut your trap and drink your beer.

Don't be silly. There's enough of everything.

Don't make a fuss.

I don't want to sit at the kids' table.

How often do I need to say it?

Are you nuts? Calm down or we're going home.

Let's keep dancing, right? We're here to celebrate your birthday.

No wonder the youth is so messed up in the head.

That was a deliberate provocation.

Don't ask me if you don't want my opinion.

Cut the nonsense and drink your cough syrup.

Don't spoil the mood this late.

I'm tired. We're leaving soon.

I don't give a shit. I couldn't care less.

Why does everyone here pretend that hitting a child is no big deal?

How terrible that people here only babble, but never communicate!

You say something if you're so smart!

[Name], you're barking up the wrong tree.

I tell you, they always ask me how you are. And they're proud of what you do there.

And you? How about you? Are you proud of me?

I want to talk with you about more than the weather!

Of course I'm proud of you!

Then tell me for once! How much you're proud of me!

Do I look like I can still drive?

Weren't you afraid to be alone in [name place]?

Why should I remove [name] just because the parents don't get along?

I really miss talking to someone like this.

Sometimes hearing music like that triggers feelings inside you, as if you remember something, but you don't even know what.

I'm sorry that everything went bad back then.

At the end, I left you alone with it all. How cowardly I was and such.

You know, it's… maybe like feeling at home.

I wanted to build a house and start a family. Plant a tree. Or something.

Now I'm [age number]. Achieved all that and wonder what's yet to come.

I couldn't do what you're doing.

They're just envious because they have no brains. It was different for us.

You know what? I'm here. Can you just talk to me?

You can't see beyond your privilege.

What choice do I have with you?

You have what it takes. Because you're not satisfied with the crumbs they throw at you.

I don't want to have to rise above everything.

You have to forgive yourself that you want more from life.

I have no words for you.