video.

[theguideless]

Ha, um...

[exhale. Marty fidgets, tablet propped up on his lap, himself squeezed against a corner of a room. his face goes through periods of twitchy, half-hearted smiles that he forgets to keep for more than half a thought.

he tugs at a length of hair, his bangs, holding them down as far as they'll go – just short of the tip of his nose.]

I need to borrow scissors. Or a knife. [weak smile #3.] See? It gets into my eyes and hurts when the wind blows too hard.

It'll only be a couple minutes.

[too bad that's not very long at all. not-so-cheap excuse to talk to the void and get some answers? you bet it is.]

Comments

[theguideless]

[stares.]

I didn't know...I mean, are there a lot of people like that?

[gevurah]

Some. People need to get their hair cut somewhere.

[theguideless]

[his mouth twitches, reading that, feeling silly.] Oh, I just figured...everyone did it themselves...

[gevurah]

Have you always done it by yourself?

[theguideless]

Well, not always... [he fidgets, trying to get comfortable.] My sister would, when I was too little.

[gevurah]

[ SISTER. :( ]

Older sister?

[theguideless]

[a nod, his expression starting to cloud over. he makes a muffled sound that's probably something of a yeah.]

[gevurah]

[ marty. :( ]

You miss her.

[theguideless]

[staring at the words for a length. he nods again.]

Yes, I miss her.

[gevurah]

I'm sorry.

[theguideless]

[another long pause.]

Oh, no...it's. It's alright. [smiling.] I'm sure I'm supposed to miss her. Or at least, I want to.

[gevurah]

You've been here a long time, haven't you? It's normal.

[theguideless]

[pushing bangs out of his face as he thinks about it.]

It's been pretty long, I think...I don't keep count, though.

[gevurah]

You can't or don't?

[theguideless]

Uhm... [his mouth twitches.] Both? I think...

[gevurah]

Why? [ for the "don't" part. BE MORE CLEAR KATE!! no!! ]

[theguideless]

Well, I'm...I don't count really well, and I don't know how long things like months or years are here, so... [SO THAT'S IT, RIGHT. NOT MEMORY LOSS.

RIGHT.]

[gevurah]

How long has this been going on? [ no one can have that bad a memory unless it's an actual issue. ]

[theguideless]

[frowning.] What do you mean...?

[gevurah]

Have you always had trouble with dates or was it something that began here?

[theguideless]

Oh, well...I'm pretty sure. [one eye squints, thinking about it.] I mean, I never learned them...

[gevurah]

You're sure you have problems with memorization or you simply never learned?

[ MARTIN BE MORE CONCISE. ]

[theguideless]

Uh... [off-balance by these questions!] No, I think it's just that...where I was from? We didn't count years or months like that. I never learned, so...I don't know how long time is here...and the weather changes so strangely, I can't tell by that, either...

[gevurah]

You would have adapted to something like that after some time.

[theguideless]

[a wincing smile.] Ah, maybe...Maybe it's not enough time yet. I'm not sure, really.