“Tell me something, Haku,” they say quietly.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Did you mean it? That day, when…”
I’m taken aback. “When what? I don’t know what you mean.”
They sigh, obviously struggling to find words, and I level my gaze with theirs in uneasy concern. I don’t know what brought this up all of a sudden, and I haven’t a clue what they’re talking about.
And yet, maybe I do know after all…
“Why’d you stop?” they ask.
I choke. “What? Stop what?”
They shake their head and deflate a little. “Never mind…”
“No, wait, tell me,” I say. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”
“Never mind,” they repeat. They seem abruptly quite tired.
“Please tell me,” I plead. “If something’s bothering you…”
They lay back again and close their eyes. “Let’s just stop talking, okay?”
Stop talking?
Living as Kohaku 