[ partly dialogue ]
[ stand alone ]
// previously known as "Hey Neighbor | A Dialogue Story\\
When a mute foster kid moves in next door to a deeply insecure homeschooled girl that lives in the middle of nowhere, them meeting is slim even when the cl...
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Her hands move in rhythm across the canvas. Oranges and greens and blues blending together to make a beautiful scenic art piece. The lake before her is as still as it's ever been but the clearness of it with sun shining through the top makes nearly everything below visible
Willa concentrates on last finishing touches just as a ping blares from her phone on the highest setting. She sighs. There's only two people it could be. One, it's Jasper needing help on another math problem or it's her mother, saying she has to work another night shift at the hospital where Jaspers foster mom, Lilian, just transferred to.
|| message from: Neighbor Dude ||
what's up buttercup
Cut it with the nicknames.
no i like them and I'm determined to find one that you don't strongly hate
Looks like you're gonna be looking for awhile then.
just saying, moonshine had kinda stuck on me
Yeah well I don't want to be nicknamed after some stupid smuggled liquor.
fine...firefly
Her hands pause on the keyboard.
Whatever. Do you need something?
not necessarily
just wanted to talk
About what?
idk, what are you doing
Painting.
painting what
Does it matter?
to me yeah
A lake.
ahhh
is it like a realistic one like the stuff Bob Ross did
Kinda.
is it visual art, like where you sit down and paint what's in front of you
That seems oddly specific. Why?
just wondering
You're not spying on me are you?
now why would I go on and do that?
I swear. If you are that's a whole nother level of creepy stalker.
there's a think called google maps ya know
And your point is?
you lied
No I didn't.
there's a lake behind our houses through the woods
So what?
why don't you want me going back there?
Because.
because why?
Because Jasper.
It's the one place that helps me take my mind off of everything. I can think here. No doctors, no worries, no stress. It's peaceful and I don't want that to be ruined.
what do you mean by doctors?
Willa's eyes widen. She didn't meant to say that.
Nothing. I meant nothing by it.
does it have to do with that lady with all the equipment that left your house?
No. Just drop it.
are you sick?
I don't want to talk about it now leave me alone!
She stands quickly and takes the painting off her easel, folding it down to a manageable size then places the palette of paints on top before heading back down the trail where she had been only hours prior.
Willa's eyes begin to burn with tears followed by a painful lump in her throat.
I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.
She kept repeating those words, hoping that somehow they'd become powerful enough to wash all of her worries away but every scar, every waking pain is a constant reminder that she's not fine and that she never will be.
🥀
The more they seem to talk, the more she slips up.
Do you have any theories on what she might have? As the story progresses I'll release hints along the way.
I feel like this chapter kinda seemed rushed but hopefully it wasn't too bad. If there's any grammar mistakes I missed let me know.
Don't forget to
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