[Perhaps that's the hardest part of all of it; the knowledge that she is not merely playing along, not merely pretending to be someone that she isn't. She is not effecting some sense of compassion out of obligation, or falsehood.]
[Because it is sincere. It is so painfully, utterly, unforgivably sincere.]
I do. [Of all the responses they have in their arsenal, not one of them is prepared for this - for kindness and hope so genuine and so central to this interaction, here and now.]
[They almost refuse.]
[But in the end, how can they? Allowing the warmth of the mug to fit between their hands, curving scarred fingertips around the contours as the steam curls out from the warmed brew, they allow for a small, tentative sip.]
no subject
[Because it is sincere. It is so painfully, utterly, unforgivably sincere.]
I do. [Of all the responses they have in their arsenal, not one of them is prepared for this - for kindness and hope so genuine and so central to this interaction, here and now.]
[They almost refuse.]
[But in the end, how can they? Allowing the warmth of the mug to fit between their hands, curving scarred fingertips around the contours as the steam curls out from the warmed brew, they allow for a small, tentative sip.]
...it's good.