Neil's not sure why the automated voice surprises him. It shouldn't. He doesn't jump, exactly, so much as he jerks toward it, thumb in his mouth to get sticky melted marshmallow off the edge of his nail. Well, was he even expecting questions? No, probably not. Maybe he should have been.
He tries to remember. He remembers the moment, but not the details, and it's been years now.
After a moment, hesitant and stumbling a little, he says, "It was a boy. We were all boys, so that made sense, that it would be another boy. I thought it was just another one of the students, but he was so...still. And almost too dark? Like a shadow, just standing there. And there was plenty of stories, like I said. Boys that got sick during the Spanish Flu, or who fell down the stairs, or dropped into the pond while they were skating. It could have been anyone."
But that second question. He's quiet a moment. He looks deep into the fire, heart skipping. His father was in the room when he got up, and everything was a mess after that. "I think he was warning me, but I didn't know that until it was a too late. But what was I supposed to do, even if I had?"
no subject
He tries to remember. He remembers the moment, but not the details, and it's been years now.
After a moment, hesitant and stumbling a little, he says, "It was a boy. We were all boys, so that made sense, that it would be another boy. I thought it was just another one of the students, but he was so...still. And almost too dark? Like a shadow, just standing there. And there was plenty of stories, like I said. Boys that got sick during the Spanish Flu, or who fell down the stairs, or dropped into the pond while they were skating. It could have been anyone."
But that second question. He's quiet a moment. He looks deep into the fire, heart skipping. His father was in the room when he got up, and everything was a mess after that. "I think he was warning me, but I didn't know that until it was a too late. But what was I supposed to do, even if I had?"