[Todd]
"Do you want to be on the council with us? Now that you're... y'know, not dead."
We're at the new cathedral, around a new table in a New Haven with Viola, Ben, Bradley, Lee, Wilf, Mistress Lawson and some other important people from the city. It was a lot more heartfelt than I thought it would be, seeing them again, and now that I can talk with them under a peaceful day...
I realise how much I missed them, too.
Especially Wilf, who even now, I can hear his clear and blank Noise, Noise that doesn't try to hide or lie, Noise that just tells you like it is.
And Lee, who Viola tells me was the man who saved her life once, shooting Mr. Tate before he could shoot her on the hilltop when the Mayor commanded his army to march one final time.
Who I admire now, even though he sometimes thinks of Viola in a way that makes me kind of want to-
He's a good guy.
And Mistress Lawson, the nicest of all the other mistresses. The one who wouldn't leave her patients even if you threatened to shoot her. Who even now, here in this council chamber, looks as if she's fretting over us even though we ain't sick.
And Bradley, who I've always liked, who Viola's always liked. He's smart and kind of funny, and he ain't afraid to speak his mind.
But he's someone who I still can't really look in the eye, because I see how he thinks about Simone everyday, see how much he misses her, see how he-
And even though he pushes the thought away everytime it comes, deep inside, I know-
He still kinda blames me.
"I don't want to join the council", I show.
"Oh... well that's okay, Todd. It's your choice after a-", Bradley says before I interrupt-
"I want you guys to come with me, to make a new town with me, maybe. To get away from Haven, from all of this."
They all look at me like I asked them to take off their clothes, dumbstruck at what I just said. And then I start feeling a little embarassed too, realising how ridiculous I sound before Viola speaks up-
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I think it would be better for... for all of us. You don't have to come, it's just that living in a city for so long..." she takes my hand under the table, "I find that I agree with Todd. I'd much rather live in a village, with just a few people, people I know. People like you guys."
"And I've done my part here in Haven, too. I kind of want to return to my old life in Prentisstown. To be honest, it's all been rather tiring...", Ben shows, making it sound like it's the most reasonable idea in the world.
And when he says that, even I can see how visibly tired they all are. How much they've gone through and even though I've only been focussing on my problems for the past while-
I see that they've all suffered too.
They still don't say nothing to this, but I can see them thinking. And then Wilf says, "Like living in Farbranch?"
And I remember the lie we told him so long ago, when Viola told him my name was Ben and her's was Hildy. When we told him that we both were from Farbranch.
And even though we told him it was a lie, he still pretends our names are Ben and Hildy, just a boy and a girl from Farbranch. Still pretends like it's the most truthful thing in the world.
