An Attic filled with Birds [Completed]

4. It's real

Felix
'What do you think?' Alison asks me.

We're walking on the street outside of the cinema. It's already dark outside, and we're close to each other. I make sure she doesn't accidentally places one of her crutches on my toes as we walk.

'It was fine.'

'Fine?' she fake-gasps. 'It was amazing.'

'It was average at best.'

'You're really letting me down here, Felix.'

'I'm sorry. I refuse to give the movie more credit than it deserves.'

She sighs. We keep walking in silence.

'Want to get some ice cream?' I ask.

'Sure. If you're paying.'

'Of course.'

'Good.'

We continue walking in comfortable silence. We order our ice cream and continue walking. It's the perfect moment.

'Can we talk?' I ask.

'About what?'

Now I should be careful. I've messed something like this up before. Every single word counts.

'Something I probably should have told you a while ago.'

She raises her eyebrows and looks at me.

'Oh?'

'Yeah.'

'Should we sit down?'

I nod. We walk to the other side of the street and enter a park. It's late in the evening; the lampposts are on. We sit down on a bench. She puts her crutches on the ground in front of it.

'So,' she says. 'What is it? And can I keep eating my ice cream before it melts?'

'You can eat your ice cream,' I say with a smile. 'It's about you. And me, I guess. But not us. Sort of.'

She raises one of her eyebrows.

'Okay...'

'All you need to do is listen, okay? Keep your questions for the end.'

She nods, and changes how she sits. She now sits cross-legged, facing me. Her cast-leg is on top of the other.

'So,' I say. 'You know how you've never seen my parents? Or like you don't know about my life from before I moved here? I mean, it's been more than two years. Almost three.'

'Yeah.'

'That's because I'm from an alternate world.'

She laughs.

'What a small world! I'm from a place called Wonderland.'

'Alice, please. I'm serious.'

'You can't expect me to be serious after you told me you're from an alternate dimension.'

'Alternate world.'

'That doesn't make it any more believable.'

'Will you just listen to me?'

'Fine.'

Pick every single world carefully.

'I'm from alternate world. One which has magic. Or rather, used to have.'

'Okay.'

'A long time ago, something got stolen. As a consequence, half of the country is now covered in water. It is completely inhabitable.'