A Most Rapid Fall (BWWM)

Muffled Humans Being

After dinner that evening, Mona followed Harley and Nancy out to the garden in the back. They found a cluster of marigolds and lilies ensnared in pollinated weeds as she approached the shade of a crepe myrtle. Every step they made sent a cloud of yellow dust between their toes, beneath their sandal straps, nestled beneath their heels. Harley dug her toes in the soil and sighed, closing her eyes. "This..." Peeking up at Mona, "this is the quietest place in the land, I swear it." She pushed aside her bangs, "You look a little spent, Mona. Take a seat, relax. We have an actual moment to ourselves. Enjoy it. It may be our last."

"I thought we'd never get out of there." She frowned down at the maroon petals strewn along the grass, burying her hands among them, "Y-You'd think they would've learned not to invite her down like that. Not on the f-f-fir-"

"What's the issue with her?" Mona counted the branches in the tree, trying to hide her helpless spew of curiosity at the mention of the girl.

"She's just troubled is all. It's none of our business getting involved with her. But, the way she looks down on all of us since Laura left... It's unsettling in a way. Like, I know when you lose someone that really hurts, especially someone like Laura, but... she never leaves her room. I mean, she's a real shut-in, you know? It's like she doesn't even live here, really. Or better yet, she lives here and that's it. I don't blame her, it's just anti-social, you see. Somethings up with her head. Nan can see it, but she says nothing about it, because, I don't know, it's like the girl's got something on her." Harley flicked her eyes between Nancy and Mona, "You wanna hear my take on it? Humans- and my mother told me this when she dropped me off here, so it's true- humans and fellowship are completely indistinguishable, especially with girls. We need to interact with other human beings in order to truly exist. It's like our way of breathing." She rolled her eyes, and beamed as if it were a fact she'd just stated, "That's why I'm so talkative. It's a woman's one and only weapon: amiability. You seem smart; learn to get along with people. Stay in line, don't just toe it."

"I intend to." Mona said, folding her legs beneath herself on a mossy rock, with the faintest inkling that she didn't fully mean her words. "But, what is this place? There's no sign that really names why this house exist, no one really explained to me why you all are here."

 Nancy spoke gravelly, "We're all sort of... sick."

Sick, Mona furrowed her brows at the word, turning it over in her head, wondering intrinsically at who in the world was not. 

"Don't say it that way," Harley shot her eyes at Nancy, admonishing her as if they'd gone over the conversation countless times, "We simply have some misgivings that we are all straightening out here. Dr. Groce should be back tomorrow from his trip. He's the headmaster around here and he's helped me so much with my ticks. You know, when I started hearing those voices, Nancy? It was really getting in the way of everything I did. I started listening too them too often and hurting things around me. He said it's just my mind going stir-crazy. It's hard to believe I was ever abnormal, now. He went away to convince the higher-ups that we're ready to assimilate back into society, but this is the third try. He seemed hopeful, though. There was a spring in his step." 

"He's helped me learn to control mm-my outbursts. It only happens when I-I'm a-a-ang- upset." Taking a deep breath, she repeated, "Just when I'm upset." Nancy shredded a blade of grass between her fingertips, "I go completely blank and never quite remember much after that except for flames and things. Last time it happened, my whole house burned down. Um..." She paused and Mona thought Nancy would never continued. She was slightly hoping she would not. "That's the last time I saw my family, a-actually. Ehh, Th-they never came back to the hospital after my treatment. I was an orphan, ehhh, then Dr. Groce showed up and I never l-l-l-looked back. He's so generous. He's fighting to get us all back to normal...." And losing, Nancy chewed her lip. There was a strange lack of conviction in her voice in the last sentences.