[ The silence between them is not companionable. It is tense and hard. Diana is unhappy, with him, for reasons that were completely avoidable and entirely his fault.
He is disgusted with himself. But wallowing in that will do nothing to heal the rift between them. ]
Some things are.
[Magst du die Schokolade, Erik?]
However, how are we to tell? Either the evil behind it is revealed or one is simply waiting for it. Forever. [ He sighs and shakes his head. ] I am not accustomed to explaining these things. I know that how I view the world is not a common one.
[ He stops and turns to face her by a pond overflowing with water lilies, jeweled amphibians and scintillating firefly-like insects dancing among the blossoms. She is so beautiful, this place is so beautiful. And he cannot really appreciate it. He wishes he were the sort of man who could.
She doesn't know. And part of him still wants to preserve that innocence. But nothing he says will make sense without that knowledge.
it is hard to speak of, and he gives an explanation that is more brief than he probably should. ]
When I was a child, something terrible happened in Germany. And it didn't stop there. I am Jewish, and one of the things that happened because of this is that we were rounded up and put into concentration camps. They wanted to wipe us out. They nearly did. I am the only member of my family who survived.
[ He pauses, and takes the locket out of his pocket. His thumb smooths over the face of it, the ridges worn down by how many times he had done that. As if he could summon his family back just by wishing hard enough.
Nina was hope. Nina was victory against those who had tried to destroy them. Nina was a future where his family would still exist after his own inevitable death. And he couldn't protect her. ]
Like I told you, I survived because I am gifted, and they discovered it.
no subject
He is disgusted with himself. But wallowing in that will do nothing to heal the rift between them. ]
Some things are.
[Magst du die Schokolade, Erik?]
However, how are we to tell? Either the evil behind it is revealed or one is simply waiting for it. Forever. [ He sighs and shakes his head. ] I am not accustomed to explaining these things. I know that how I view the world is not a common one.
[ He stops and turns to face her by a pond overflowing with water lilies, jeweled amphibians and scintillating firefly-like insects dancing among the blossoms. She is so beautiful, this place is so beautiful. And he cannot really appreciate it. He wishes he were the sort of man who could.
She doesn't know. And part of him still wants to preserve that innocence. But nothing he says will make sense without that knowledge.
it is hard to speak of, and he gives an explanation that is more brief than he probably should. ]
When I was a child, something terrible happened in Germany. And it didn't stop there. I am Jewish, and one of the things that happened because of this is that we were rounded up and put into concentration camps. They wanted to wipe us out. They nearly did. I am the only member of my family who survived.
[ He pauses, and takes the locket out of his pocket. His thumb smooths over the face of it, the ridges worn down by how many times he had done that. As if he could summon his family back just by wishing hard enough.
Nina was hope. Nina was victory against those who had tried to destroy them. Nina was a future where his family would still exist after his own inevitable death. And he couldn't protect her. ]
Like I told you, I survived because I am gifted, and they discovered it.