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Post by Grace Cantor on Jun 16, 2015 22:38:02 GMT
Grace did not look round or show any concern.
"She's making faces at me isn't she?" A faint smile on the healer's face. "Is she always with you, Tabitha? Is she always present?"
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Post by Tabitha Gaelyn on Jun 16, 2015 22:39:52 GMT
Tabitha nodded uncomfortably. "How did you know?"
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Post by Grace Cantor on Jun 16, 2015 22:42:41 GMT
"I know you, Tabitha, and I think you and Abby are very alike," said Grace. "Are you very alike? How does she differ from you?"
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Post by Tabitha Gaelyn on Jun 16, 2015 22:44:11 GMT
"She's not real. I know, I keep track." She held up the notebook. "Before she was...brighter." Yes, that was the right word.
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Post by Grace Cantor on Jun 16, 2015 22:47:50 GMT
"Why would you say she is not real?" Grace asked, and now turned to look at the space that Tabitha had indicated her sister was. "Perhaps she is more real than I am. You certainly see more of her."
The girl's case interested her.
This was not simply a grief reaction, there was more to it than that.
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Post by Tabitha Gaelyn on Jun 17, 2015 8:44:34 GMT
"Seeing something doesn't make it real. Real things have....weight, substance."
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Post by Grace Cantor on Jun 17, 2015 8:48:20 GMT
"Is love real?"
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Post by Tabitha Gaelyn on Jun 17, 2015 8:52:14 GMT
"I hate it when you say I'm not real."
"Not like people are. It's different." She hunched her shoulders and focused on the page in front of her, counting the ticks she'd made. "How many people are out here with us?"
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Post by Grace Cantor on Jun 17, 2015 9:13:58 GMT
"Just us, just the two of us. How many people do you know are here?"
She avoided "see" in case the girl was perceiving them in other ways and would avoid the issue on that basis.
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Post by Tabitha Gaelyn on Jun 17, 2015 9:17:13 GMT
"I must have..." she looked down at the marks, some were crossed through again, as people had wandered inside. But there were four unaccounted for. Four never-again people she'd counted wrong. Her breathing spead up. She looked around the area, recounting.
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Post by Grace Cantor on Jun 17, 2015 10:21:26 GMT
"You're confused. Anxious. Why? Tell me Tabitha, how many people?" Grace watched the girl closely wondering how close she was to a breakthrough or a breakdown. Either would be revealing.
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Post by Tabitha Gaelyn on Jun 17, 2015 10:32:55 GMT
"Some of them dress like you." She flipped her pencil over and erased the marks that were incorrect. She could see where she'd made the mistake on a couple. Their surroundings had fooled her. She'd have to be more careful.
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Post by Grace Cantor on Jun 17, 2015 10:53:17 GMT
"tell me about them," said Grace. She noted the erasing. Being accurate was important to this one. A need for certainty? A need for order?
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Post by Tabitha Gaelyn on Jun 17, 2015 11:40:12 GMT
She shook her head. Telling was making them real.
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Post by Grace Cantor on Jun 17, 2015 11:41:21 GMT
"Don't they want you to tell me? Why do they want to hide? Or are you hiding them?"
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