#thread.dorothy

Pesor had heard, it wasn’t that he was always overhearing anything that happened to her, but they did have their contacts within the circus now, people they’d met while visiting Dorothy, people they’d befriended - which was something Pesor loved to do. They were so happy to be included there, but they rarely expected it to serve a purpose. They didn’t want to crowd her the first days after it happened, so they only sent her a few text messages, asking if she was alright. And then when it felt like everyone of Dorothy’s siblings weren’t constantly around her anymore, Pesor had made a brownie and went to visit her. It wasn’t that they were afraid of the siblings, but they’d never actually said they were official, so they tried not to assume. 

They knocked, but found the door open, and walked through the house calling her name until they’d located her. “Hey, uhm, sorry it took me so long to come over, I’m here now though… how… how are you doing?” they asked, reaching for her hand and holding the brownie between them. “I got you this.”

Pesor wasn't sure what Anchorage was, what they were to expect for a place like this, what it was going to bring them, what they should do with it. They felt this constant anxiety, hoping to find their mom at every street corner, aware that every moment that passed without finding them, they would feel worse and worse.

She wanted to come here, then certainly she had taken the car and gone by herself… but why hadn't she said anything.

They were so busy trying to spot her in every person they saw, that they almost passed over another familiar face without recognition, until their body involuntary pulled them to a stop, made them turn. A smile struck their face hard. The first one since he'd discovered his mom was gone. "Dorothy?" They asked, though they already knew it was her. Their body felt warm and comfortable at the prospect, having missed her, having felt so horrible for leaving. And thinking he'd never see her again. Yet here she was, in this very place. They wondered if she was with the circus, they hadn't seen it around town, and they were sure they would've noticed. "It's me, Pesor," they said, though… what for they didn't know. So intent to believe others would easily forget them when they left.

Suraj was known to be non-confrontational. They tended to run from any negative feelings like that, any interaction where they might find themselves at a point where they weren't sure they could stay standing. They had ran from security guards a lot, and felt like they were still running from the law to a certain degree.

They'd, however, never intentionally ran from Dorothy. It was far more likely that she'd ran from them, yet it had been the one situations in which Suraj knew they were the party in the wrong, and that they could probably not do anything to fix it.

They'd never expected to run into her in Anchorage of all places... but perhaps it was a cruel play of destiny. They were clearing the tables at the Ugly Mug when all of a sudden: there she was.

The person they had once turned their back on because they'd been too afraid to become bullied. They stared at her, frozen. Every muscle in their body tried to tell them to flee. But they kept standing.

Abhinav knew he couldn’t take days off, not when he was so busy helping people, not when his agenda was filled to the brim with appointments and meetings and sit-downs. He made sure to go to bed on time, to enjoy tea, take baths, try to relax in the types that he did have. It worked, but he realised after a day or two off, that his body was still exhausted. He had a hard time stopping, to slow down, even on his off days. 

But he knew this would pass, that within a month or two, things would slow down again. 

Meaning that on his off day, he was still taking care of others. He set the tea down in front of Dorothy and offered her the leftover candy from Diwali. “Alright, there is tea, snacks, we can relax now. How have you been, Da-eun?”

This wasn't a date.

Or at least they'd both sort of decided that it wasn't a date. Yet, Pesor's stomach was turning at the idea of meeting Dorothy there, at a place that felt like a hurricane collected into a glass bottle. But they'd secured a table and a menu and had even already ordered some coffee. And now they were feeling more self-conscious with the second. What if Dorothy did want this to be a date? What if they wanted this to be a date? They took a deep breath, unable to fight their giddiness. They were already thing about all the things they could talk about with Dorothy, all the things they wanted to know, and everything they wanted to tell her.

When she appeared in the door way - because of course Pesor had managed to secure a seat from where he could see her come in. They jumped up, throwing a hand up to wave her over, a broad smile on his face. When she'd made her way through the many patrons, they sat back down. "Hi, sorry, I didn't know this place was so... busy at this time."