( but they are always so high, he thinks, even if in different ways. there's no fear of someone vanishing the way they can here, be here one day and gone the next, returned to far-away places with no memory of anything that happened, it's true. but there's no 'absolute,' either, is there; something that exists one day can be gone the next, product of a misunderstanding or a straight lie or simply —

('i'd be happy if he hadn't been born.'
'don't touch me; you're filthy.')

— simply, being asked to believe in someone or in their feelings seems almost too much to ask or hope for. even with stakes that she doesn't think are so high, he couldn't bring himself to believe in even one person entirely, and isn't that the mark of a coward? )

No, ( says levelly, ) I think you have a point. Ah, for people who've been here as long as we have — and longer — we've all seen scenarios like those happen.