[all anna knows is that she knows nothing. all she sees is a man who has lost everything being very, very gracious about what information he shares with someone who is convinced that she does not deserve it. when he closes his eyes, she looks away, and only glances back once he gestures out to the rest of the room. and the specific words instill something in her; she realizes that it's time to share some of her story, as well. to extend him that same grace.]

There's another dead world out there. I don't know what it's called. It might be Earth, ten thousand years in my future. But there's a ghost from that world living inside of my body. [she extends her own hand towards him so he can see the matte black metal more clearly, as though the part where she'd used her own body as an amp hadn't been clear enough.] It's why I look like this. The place I'm from... it saw all these ghosts from different, dead worlds, and it decided to give them new life in people like me. Regular people from Earth turned into vessels without knowing. Without having a choice. [now, she thinks, she can take a drink.]

I left the city before my body became a lot less of a timeshare and more of a permanent residence, but I know she's still there inside me. And I've had time to get to know her and realize that she's not all that bad of a ghost for me to live with. [and once she's done with this quick history lesson on the past six years of her life, she brings it back around more carefully. no eye contact this time. she's just watching him from the side as she asks.] I know this is probably a big question, but... how did your ghost turn into the person I'm talking to now?