"Mm, well. The bookseller, Gerry, was a little rude to me the first time I entered his shop -- but I like to think we've come to a better understanding since then." He throws Erik a look that can't decide whether it wants to be secretive and smug, or anxious and uncertain. Being vulnerable with people is terrible, actually; why does anyone do it?
But he manages to smile slightly at Erik's reassurance. "It was the same for that other version of me. It was strange for him, at first, learning how to live with someone whose head isn't attached to their shoulders...but she was so kind to him. So eager to help, even when his fears made it hard for her...And he was afraid of so many things," Tarantulas notes, still exasperated with his other self.
"Gerry was rather prickly to me upon first meeting, too, but he's since warmed up." Now they talk about fashion while Gerry tries to contain how sexy he finds Erik. It's fun.
Erik notes that exasperation. "Think of the insight you have gained now, having lived that life and felt those things. You can still find meaning in those moments. Even if they were only a dream, the experience was real."
"Just so," Tarantulas agrees quickly -- too quickly, and he seems to realize it. After a moment, he asks, "I wonder...did the circumstances of your life in the dream have any parallels with your true history? Events that weren't exactly the same, but seemed to resonant with things you'd experienced before? It was so for me," he adds; he doesn't expect Erik to bare his past to him without reciprocation.
"Hm," Erik says, contemplating that question before answering. "It was and was not. I was an orphan just as I was in life but, in the dream, I was adopted by a loving family and raised with care. That is quite the opposite of what truly happened to me. It felt like a fulfillment of a deeply held wish." One he didn't realize he had until now.
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lordoftheozarks) wrote2023-06-13 08:20 pm
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But he manages to smile slightly at Erik's reassurance. "It was the same for that other version of me. It was strange for him, at first, learning how to live with someone whose head isn't attached to their shoulders...but she was so kind to him. So eager to help, even when his fears made it hard for her...And he was afraid of so many things," Tarantulas notes, still exasperated with his other self.
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Erik notes that exasperation. "Think of the insight you have gained now, having lived that life and felt those things. You can still find meaning in those moments. Even if they were only a dream, the experience was real."
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