✮

(my dearly beloved wife is expected to give birth soon;  she wishes you were here to attend the baby shower she is hosting.  our family misses you,  i miss you).

@statusmia   |   BELL:         ❝    (   …   )   Say that one more time?    You said──    ███ ?  Hah.  I must be hearing things.      Why did you pick it up again?    It was beautiful,  right?    ❜❜        

(Maybe once I settle down,  I’ll name my daughter it.  It feels—  nevermind). 

@statusmia   |   BELL:         ❝    (   …   )   Sure──    Just lay down with me.   Drink some water.   Did Russ give you anything for the pain?     ❜❜        

(Or that is what Adler tells me.  Too much to drink.  A lightweight is what he calls me).

            「 to:  bell  ┊  from:  quyen 」
            poem one┊ with love, always.
                 ⁿᵉⁱᵗʰᵉʳ ᵒᶠ ᵘˢ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ᵗᵒ ˢᵃʸ ᵍᵒᵒᵈᵇʸᵉ        
            
            
                         ⇽           ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍᵘᵉ       
            Q.P  ━━   ❝  Ballet? A bit odd, 
            isn’t it?   What happened then?
            don’t leave me on a cliffhanger. 
            It’s funny──  I knew a man who 
            danced.  He was lovely.    ❜͟ ❜͟
            
            ⧼       0⃨1⃨.⃨      ⇽        bell was an odd one.   quyen couldn’t wrap her mind around it.   he comes around during odd hours of the night,  slipping into her section of the safe house.    it’s a common occurrence,    quyen wakes up from her sleep,    bell talks,   she listens.    during these private moments,   the thread of invisible doubt seems to strangle her    (tighter   &   tighter).     a gut feeling.    she wouldn’t voice it now,   (not ever.)       (  …  )    tonight,  quyen smokes.   @statusmia,  is by her side.     the pair lean against the railing,  gazing at park and lazar down below.     her husband,   adler.   is nowhere to be seen.
            
                            ────────────

(Ballet— what a strange hobby.  It doesn’t make sense  …  but I looked so happy).

@KCRDNEL
            
            he gave a perplexed stare before slowly lighting up in recognition. "I did not expect to fall asleep .. sorry , sorry about that. it seems it's left me a bit .. disoriented , but it was fine nonetheless."

@countdown-   |   ENZO:         ❝    I said,  you might want to wake up──    We’re back at the warehouse.   How was your beauty sleep?   ❜❜        

@KCRDNEL   
            
            “ that’s quite alright .  everyone here as their very own skill set  ,  mine just happens to be more..  technological based for the most part .  feel free to watch as much as you’d like  ,  no disturbing though please .  ”

@statusmia   |   FELIX:         ❝    (   …   )   No,  not really.   I’m afraid I’m not as innovative as the others.    May I watch you work?──    Your skills are impressive.      ❜❜        

@KCRDNEL 
            
            “ that i can see  ,  very impressive .  just next time don’t startle me while i’m working .  and ja  ,  quite .  might as well make due with what we have .  as for what i’m making ?  well  ,  it’s more so tinkering than anything else .  unless you have an idea for something for me to make ?  ”

            「 to:  bell  ┊  from:  quyen 」
            poem one┊ with love, always.
                 ⁿᵉⁱᵗʰᵉʳ ᵒᶠ ᵘˢ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ᵗᵒ ˢᵃʸ ᵍᵒᵒᵈᵇʸᵉ        
            
            
                         ⇽           ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍᵘᵉ       
            Q.P  ━━   ❝  (   …   )   You said 
            the same thing many years ago.
            That time,  I was the one who 
            left.    It feels like a life time ago.
            It’s a tragedy that you can’t──
            You can’t  / remember/.   You had
            a loving wife,  ███.   A child,   
            ███.    A mother who adored 
            you.   You were this shimmering 
            star that never died at out.  So  
            many dreams and ambitions──
            We had a dinner,  just like this.
            Now one of us is permanently 
            saying goodbye.   (   …   )    I’m
            not sure why I’m telling you 
            this.   I don’t think it would help 
            with anything,  but.   Maybe 
            something will make sense.  A
            letter.   A picture.  Something.
            Would you like anything from 
            me?    ❜͟ ❜͟
            
            ⧼       0⃨1⃨.⃨      ⇽        the way quyen describes the past sounds like a haunting nightmare.   quyen can imagine the jealousy that must’ve stricken bell.   or was he   ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀  again?    regardless,    her ability to speak of memories with a degree must’ve been sickening.      perhaps bell’s body has an abstract idea of his former self.   his former life.   was he the shell of himself?     what similarities remained?     &    would it even matter anymore?     (   …   )    quyen holds @statusmia,  cupping his cheek with a sort of reverence that feels unholy.    some odd part of her is expecting retaliation,   something to chip away at this solace they’ve had this night.    or maybe she’s waiting for adler,   waiting for their night to end.      there was always some sort of impending doom on the horizon,  loving bell.
            
                            ────────────

Their gaze does not linger too long on the woman that stays near him;   Estelle,  was her name or rather,   ▇▇▇— (what was her name again)?  Pieces of his fragile mind struggle to pull memories of her,  fond memories as she likes to recall.  Bell cannot recall them but smiles and nods like he does,  not that it matters anyways,  the familiarity of her words seem to bring a sense of happiness and relief to his aching body.  Like it fits together in the scrambled puzzle pieces of his mind. 
            
            Soft words,  barely audible as they merge together with the melody coming from the record player.  (There’s only so much I can say for you to truly believe me),  rings in his mind.  It should be manipulative,  or rather feel manipulative;  he spent so many months working alongside her and the others that what they say doesn’t feel correct.  Yet,  as she stares at him with such a look in her eyes;  he believes that yes,  his name is ▇▇▇,  and yes,  maybe she holds the amount of love her words carry,  for him.  Oh,  he wants to believe,  and he nearly does until the sting from of his abdomen knocks him out of his thoughts. “I feel as it doesn’t matter if I say I truly believe you.  My soul,  heart,  and body recognize the truth behind your statements.  Despite how much my brain wants to hate,  push you away—  I know you are telling the truth as I feel like (everything) makes sense.”

             ⇽           ᵈⁱᵃˡᵒᵍᵘᵉ       
            Q.P  ━━   ❝   I would tell myself 
            at night it wasn’t real.  The first 
            year,  of course.  But it was all very 
            real.   I can assure you that.   .  . 
            Tell me,   ███ .   Why do you 
            think you’re here tonight with me? 
            My intentions are pure.   But there’s 
            only so much I can say for you to 
            truly believe me.     ❞
            
            ⧼       0⃨1⃨.⃨      ⇽          quyen’s words are delicate,  they seem to float around with the sound of soft jazz filling the room.   saying bell’s name after all these years feels like a foreign language.   it grates against her tongue.   a homemade dinner permeates the air.    a candle lit dinner awaits.    @statusmia lingers near by,  surely angst riddled  &  betrayed.   there’s a swell of emotions that linger between the two of them──   words that could not be said.  at least not now.     from afar,  it’s a domestic scene between lovers     (…)     outside looking in,   of course.      only  ███  &  know the truth.     
                            ────────────