Watching the Paint Dry

Her reaction was somewhat different from other children he had met. Where their attention was immediately focused on him and asking questions, this girl’s distant gaze remained fixed on the cascading water, seemingly lost in her own world. His attempt at a nickname for her had elicited a faint smile and an odd giggle, a response that caused his own twitchy to spread rapidly across his maw. Funny thing, she was. But her words, devoid of inflection, emphasized her detachment from the moment. Really though, who was he to complain?

Redrum studied Hag for a moment. Then, he chose to sit in silence, offering his quiet presence as a form of understanding to the girl. And for a few moments, he could only hear the sound of the water dripping.

But they couldn’t really watch water all day, could they? “Yes– It’s falling. Do– you like– it?” He questioned, wondering if she liked other things, or if it was in fact only water. Like a fish.