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ꜱʟɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴍʏ ꜰɪɴɢᴇʀꜱ.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ɪꜱᴀʙᴇʟʟᴀ.
"ɪ ᴛʀʏ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ; ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ɪɴ ɪᴛ."
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͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ.
In which (y/n) thought she had seen the last of Isabella when she left her at the wall. 19 years later, sh...
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(n.) the ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable.
♡♡♡
The man once again ruined our moment. Flipping his empty cup over on the table, he made a big scene of pushing his chair out and gripping Emma and I's shoulders. Leaning in, he whispered between us.
"Get sleepyhead. Be ready in five." He released his grip and wandered off. I nudged Emma.
"I'll get Ray. You follow him to his room."
"How do you know he's going to his room?"
"Lucky guess. Just go." It's the only place he ever goes. And in a similar fashion...I head towards the library. As expected, Ray is tucked away in a small nook several shelves above my head. He's lost in a book up there. The title suggests a book of fables.
"Didn't peg you as the type to enjoy children's tall tales." He jumps, shutting his book. He avoids eye contact with me.
"Don't let me stop you." I chime. He groans.
"It's relaxing. Just forget about it." He tosses his legs over the side of the shelf and climbs down. I weave a hand into his hair, softly tussling his dark tresses. We walk out of the library.
"Don't worry about it. My favorite is The Little Prince, what's yours?" He's silent for a moment, before muttering something under his breath.
"The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing." I smile, then toss an arm over his shoulder. I make a note to grab that book before we leave. I can make room in my bag.
"We're meeting Emma and the man in his room. Let's not be too late."
"Since when have you cared about being punctual?" He quips.
"Hush." As we approach the man's room of bunks, I hear quiet discussion echoing out of the room and into the halls. Something about poachers. Then, his voice gets louder. He's mocking Emma, I realize, her and her childish fantasies.
"'We'll all live in the human world together!" And "it's not pointless! There's no way it can all be pointless!'" I can hear the condescending tone in his voice, but also a bit of bitterness.
"Will you still be able to spout pretty words like that at the end of this journey, I wonder?" His eyes catch mine. His expression dims into one of disinterest.
"You're both here. I'm thrilled. Now let's go." He turns and walks down the hallway. Ray huffs, annoyed. The man leads us down a familiar path- one to the dining room. On his way in, he snatches up an umbrella that had rested next to the doorway...and promptly wedges it aggressively into the piano.
The kids and I watch in conjoined confusion as the man continues to wreck the instrument, which eventually moves to the side to reveal a realm of darkness. A crawl space. He turns to us.
