#chermello

‘    always  .  .  .     ‘         redundancy is the obvious name of repetition, & still the word ghosts past his lips. always.  IT’S CONFIRMATION.  repetition is no aid to his memory, to his processing, but still he answers & thinks aloud. always - unnecessary :  a by-product of redundancy. but … there is something to be said for how he knows the word will snag against the barbed wire of mello’s disposition & ——

& what ?   always unnecessary.  this warfare against him is always unnecessary.  but at least it is colorful to absorb. so maybe there is something playful in his redundancy.

the corner of his lips begins to tilt upwards into a private, crooked smile that goes unseen. must go unseen. he doesn’t like exposure. so he tilt his face towards as he makes study of the plastic figure of an alien. the pad of his index finger traces its shape with careful thought.

‘     this is true. always number one. you make a strange habit of putting me there.  why do you do that ?     ‘

he knows. he knows you. he knows you.   MELLO.     ‘    again,   ‘  comes the murmured greeting. AGAIN : mello’s reappearance in the spk headquarters did come as something of a surprise. especially when he had deigned to make his entrance without the dramatic of gunpoint.     ‘   i don’t remember inviting you —— but perhaps my memory fails me. you are, of course, welcome . . . though i find it hard to believe you’re likely to offer me any new information beyond that you gave a few days prior.     ‘