When The Light Goes Out

Chapter - 12

After Jade left, Monique was introduced to Orwell. As it turned out, half the books on the book shelf in the would be dining area were his. He was quite knowledgable when it came to history but she was not so the conversation was lost on her. Monique nodded and tried her best to look interested in what he was saying though she was having the hardest time following him with all the references. History was not her best subject. She was still interested in him and his knowledge nonetheless.

When she asked him a question he always answered with some historical reference. He was so passionate about it she was far too embarrassed to say she couldn't follow half of what he was talking about so she just let him talk and listened. When his time was up she got to meet the painter. This alter was a woman and she was just the most peaceful person Monique thought she had ever met. Norma, as she was called, told a little about herself. She was the manifestation of his want for motherly attention. She wore a long dress with short sleeves and an apron where she held rags and cleaning spray.

"Patricia is similar to myself, but much more strict. She is...she is willing to take drastic measures that I would prefer not to," Norma said as she went about the apartment tidying up things. "She does it now through the stories she tells that makes us uncomfortable and scares the children." She looked from away from the bookcase where she was putting the books in order to Monique. "I know she has something to do with what has been happening with the light."

Monique helped her straighten up by putting away Barry's things. "Barry told me about the horde. It doesn't sound like it'll be good if they take it from him."

Norma turned to face her and clasped her hands together. "I appreciate that you want to stay with us, but I am concerned for your well being, dear."

Monique moved the manequine to a further corner of the room. "And I'm concerned for yours. Barry isn't my only friend, I care about all of you and if those other alters are going to do something terrible with this body that all of you share, then all of you are going to get in trouble."

Norma nodded sadly. "That's sweet of you, dear, really, but surely you have someone you care about. Someone you wouldn't want to lose?"

"I have a boyfriend."

"Oh, what's he like?" she asked in a softly curious tone.

Monique sighed. "He's understanding and caring and I found out yesterday just how protective he was. I like knowing that there's someone I can always count on."

Norma nodded as she checked over the bookcase. "That's good, honey, but please don't sacrifice that happiness for us."

"I'm not leaving you, okay? I can't now that I've gotten involved."

Norma sighed heavily but dropped the topic. It had Monique a little riled up and she felt bad about it but she was getting tired of saying over and over that she wasn't going anywhere. They were worried about her because of what the horde was saying, though they hadn't gone into detail, and she thier concerns. There was no way she was going to know about an issue with someone she knew and just ignore it. Monique put her mind on other things, like, how she had slowly gotten comfortable with the space. She was even more comfortable speaking with the alters now.

After cleaning the apartment, Monique had to ask if she could have one of her paintings. It was apparently something she did every now and then, painting, and she gladly relinquinshed one of her paintings to her. She could choose whichever one she wanted from the wall or the ones in the dining area. Norma hugged her one last time then the light was passed on to someone else.

The whole day she didn't think about work, she admitedly wasn't thinking about Terrence and she tried not to think about the horde. She was meeting the other alters and she didn't want to think about anything that would stress her. They were all interesting parts of this person's personality. None of them seemed to have any ill will in them; some were stern or embarrassingly blunt but none of them seemed maliscious. Monique was starting to wonder if the horde had been the same way and just changed over time. It didn't feel good to be pushed to the back of anything and treated like you were unnecssary.