"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥."
It was a chant Madalyn Taylor told herself every day. Every day since the world ended. She didn't believe it most times, but if she said it enough times it had to come true at some point. Right?
"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦."
...
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Two days ago, Daryl, Rick, and everyone else returned from the satellite station that the Saviors had been living in. Two days ago, they killed every last person there. They had succeeded, yet nothing about it seemed like a victory.
Judith's babble drew Madalyn's attention away from her thoughts to the baby sitting on the floor in front of her. "Yeah, you like that?" Madalyn said quietly at seeing Judith shaking one of her frog toys up and down. Madalyn wasn't quite sure how she ended up on babysitting duty, but she would never complain about spending time with Judith.
Judith must have grown tired of the frog toy because she let it fall to the ground before reaching out toward Madalyn. "Come here." Madalyn grabbed Judith under the arms and lifted her a few inches until she was settled on Madalyn's lap. "That good?"
Judith's little hand tugged on the ends of Madalyn's hair. She chuckled as she gently pried the small hand away. "That hurts, you know?" she whispered. "You wouldn't like it if I started pulling on your hair, would you?" Judith grabbed onto Madalyn's hair again, and she didn't have the heart to stop the little girl anymore. It didn't hurt that much anyway.
Madalyn sighed and pulled Judith close to her chest. She rested her chin atop Judith's small head. "I'm a little jealous of you," Madalyn admitted. It's not like Judith would remember this conversation. "You don't know the horrors of this world yet. Well, you've been through a lot, but you're still so little that you won't remember much of it once you're older. You won't want to remember it anyway. If you do remember anything from this time, I hope it's the good things." You'll probably see enough messed up shit once you're older.
"It would be so nice to be able to forget all of the things I've seen. To live in forgetful bliss. Too bad Eugene hasn't come up with a way for people to forget. Though... he isn't even a scientist, is he? Abraham would say alcohol will make you forget. Don't listen to him. Alcohol never does any good."
Madalyn carded her fingers through Judith's short hair. "You know, if you're anything like I how I think you'll be, you'll like Abraham a lot. He's got a wicked sense of humor. I think you two will be best friends once you can talk."
"You'll like Daryl a lot, too. He's rough around the edges, but you've known him longer than I have. He might not admit it, but he adores you. We all adore you. Most of all, though, I know you'll love Rick and Carl the most. Your father and brother have done and still do so much for you. Rick is possibly the greatest father anyone could ask for. He's protective and rough, but he's funny, kind, and most of all... a father. A good father."
