[Paul remains quiet and still as Oscar explains, outlining some things he understood, recontextualizing others, and revealing previous unknowns. It is a heavy weight, but he shoulders it readily.]
I don't ask questions I don't want answers to.
[Unvoiced, the tone is lost, but Paul doesn't mean it to be short. He knows that he's unusual for that, among a host of other things he's unusual for. Another one of those things whirs into life at the edges of perception, the processing engines of his mind taking the story apart and putting it back together with nearly mechanical efficiency.]
Why was Cynthia different from you two, and Julia? Theories and facts.
[He should be gentler. He should pay more attention to the tragedy of this story. He doesn't know if he has anything like that left in him.]
no subject
I don't ask questions I don't want answers to.
[Unvoiced, the tone is lost, but Paul doesn't mean it to be short. He knows that he's unusual for that, among a host of other things he's unusual for. Another one of those things whirs into life at the edges of perception, the processing engines of his mind taking the story apart and putting it back together with nearly mechanical efficiency.]
Why was Cynthia different from you two, and Julia? Theories and facts.
[He should be gentler. He should pay more attention to the tragedy of this story. He doesn't know if he has anything like that left in him.]