Thank you for waiting.

Chapter Twenty

With her eyes closed, Flor decided to consider herself. She was like a glass. She had weight; she could be put somewhere and stand up, but she felt hollow inside. Something along the lines of a crack was forming within her, though she had no visibility as to its size, shape, or scope.

Having come to that conclusion, she kept breathing. She wasn't sure why, but she continued doing so anyway. She couldn't recall a time in which she wasn't breathing, so now needn't be an exception.

Something hard touched her lips, gently curving between her teeth. She tasted water. It was cool, if stale, and gently greeted her throat.

"Hey... uh... Flor?" asked a familiar voice. Eloise. "You here with us?"

She squinted her eyes, cringing hard enough to cause the glass to spill water all over her skirt and be knocked out of its holder's hand, hitting the floor with a mild crunch.

"Hey, whoa," warned a second voice. Beryl. "Now there's probably glass on the floor."

"We've got shoes though, right?"

Flor's surroundings were not at all what she expected. She was a bench made of plastic foam with a wooden base, nearly colorless and free from any kind of flourishes. The room she was in was a hallway, decorated with clinically pale tiles, long, gray armrests along the walls, a neutral wallpaper, and plenty of doors. None of them had much other than a number above their thresholds.

Eloise immediately leaned in for a hug. "Florence, I am so, so sorry... I had no idea that would do what it did to you."

"We read your journal," said Beryl, arms crossed, "And... Wow. It wasn't a long read, don't worry, but..."

"I apologize for its conclusion," Flor whispered, staring ahead. She reacted to the hug by lifting her arms and placing her hands on Eloise's back, not in the mood to do much more.

"Conclusion? You're not suggesting.. Hey, uh... Eloise, move."

Eloise backed up, letting go from Flor, confused.

Beryl picked Flor up and onto her feet by lifting her from under her armpits, then giving her a warm embrace herself. "Look, Flor, you stop with that, okay? You can get through this. She's probably not gone, right? I mean, I read what that Yenri girl can do – she's probably hiding or something."

"Yeah!" cheered Eloise.

Flor responded the same way. "I appreciate your time and your patience," she whispered, "However, I have no desire to continue. Yenri is a very big person, and there were other Orleanaise, from what I found. Likely she has found another."

"Hey, whoa, whoa, you stop that, okay?"

Flor was silent for a few seconds.

"First off," continued Beryl, still embracing her, "I could be wrong, but aren't you the last one? Like, weren't they pulled? If I'm understanding how your side of the world works, I've never been there."

She had difficulty speaking through her own throat. "I-I... I don't know."

A few seconds of silence went by.

"Well," sighed Beryl, "Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea if you told us what you do know."

Flor furled her eyebrows quizzically. "What?"

"Y'know, give us your perspective of everything that's happened for you so far. Then we'll give ours and figure out where to go from here." She laughed a bit. "I mean, we read your journal, we know what you're going through – and I'm not gonna be late to anything. How about you, Eloise?"