Reflections of Light

Confide

"... An' Mummy bought me da puppy, an' I called 'im Nibs, like da lost boy from Peter Pan, an' 'e is sooo cute an' fluffy an' adorwable.
'E's very naughty dough, but I'm twying to twain 'im to do all kinds of fings!"

"Wow, that's wonderful, William." Evelyn agreed down the phone, trying not to let her anxiousness bleed into her voice. That would be extremely counter productive.
She just had to stay calm and encourage Billy to talk, gently guiding him into areas where he might let slip something she could use.

"Do you... Take your dog out to the park on walks?" She queried.

"Not yet, Mummy says 'E's not twained enough yet, but I play wif 'im in da garden! Itsa teeny little garden dough, not as fun as da big park!"

"And what Park is this you go to? Sounds exciting."

"Dat park down da road!"

Evelyn resisted the urge to face-palm.

"And what park is that one down the road, William?"

"It has swings, an' a slide, an' a roundabout that squeaks weally loudly! An' lots of trees, which I do climbing in an' den Mummy got annoyed 'Cause I tore a hole in my trousers when I climb'd the weally big tree!"

"Was it really tall?"

"Yeth."

"Could you see your house from up there?"

"I could see da whole, entire world!" Billy insisted. "All of it, da whole lot!"

"What things could you see the closest?" Evelyn ventured, hoping this would lead to something productive, suspecting it probably wouldn't.

"Uh... Disneyland and Mount Ev'rest and Da Eye-fel tower and Dorset."

Evelyn looked resigned at his answer. Yes, that was exactly how she'd suspected it to go.
Swiftly, she changed tack.

"Well, how's your mummy?"

"She is happy 'n good. 'Cept, she wasn't very well da uvver day. An' some more days.
But I fink she's okay now! She's helpin' me twain Nibs, an' we teachin' 'im to sit when I tell 'im.
Nibs only wants to do et when we got tweats, 'cause 'E's vewwy gweedy 'cause 'E's only teeny small an' wants to get big an' bigger!"

"Wow, William, your dog sounds very interesting!"
On one hand, she didn't want to discourage him from finding her someone he could talk to and confide in; in fact she'd always aimed for that with all her charges, but it was especially crucial in this instance.

On the other hand though, she really wanted to reach through the phone, grab the kid and his foolish mother, and demand to know where the hell they were.

"Yeah, Nibs is so smart an' funny. 'E keeps windin' 'Bastian up by sittin' on da couch an' makin' it all hairy!"

Evelyn forced an appropriate laugh at Billy's story, interest suddenly spiking in a completely different direction.

"That's your house guest, right?"

"Yup. 'E's annoying."

"Really? How so?"