Week 0, Post-Investigation: Monika

[withsadness]

Um, excuse me...!

[Monika had said she didn't mind talking to people, and of course Mary remembers how nice she was to her when they first woke up, so Mary runs up to her shortly after the crowd begins to disperse. Mary, notably, is covered in a light showering of glitter.]

Comments

[chr]

[ monika is not at all surprised to see mary coming towards her. in fact, she was expecting her sooner; her offer had been for anyone who needed it, and she can't imagine a child wouldn't have questions. ]

Well, aren't you all gussied up! Who glitterbombed you? We should get them back.

[withsadness]

I did it to myself! I thought it would make the pictures prettier.

[Whoops. But, right, important questions.]

Was it scary? You said you found the body...that sounds pretty scary!

[chr]

[ WHY DIDNT SHE EXPECT THIS ]

Would it make you happy if I said so...? I was worried, more than anything. I didn't want to see people sad. There's nothing I can do for Utena, but I knew that... people would be sad.

Are you sad, Mary?

[withsadness]

Me?

[The way that Monika turns the line of questioning around surprises her.]

Um...I get sad when other people are sad, too. I don't think it would make me happier either way. I never got to talk to Utena, myself. I don't know what she was like. But if people are really sad, I'm sure she was really nice.

[chr]

She was. We played mini golf and she refused to laugh at my jokes, which is funny in it's own way.

[ ...lightly, monika brushes glitter away from mary's clothes. ] They're too cute to sit untidy, you know. ...Were you just wanting to know about the body?

[withsadness]

Hmmm...

[Mary thinks about it and then shakes her head.]

I don't really understand what happened, but I guess I wanted to know more about you than the body.

[chr]

Me...

[ she's flattered, sort of? monika is shown basic decency and is flattered news at 11 ]

I'm fine. Someone had to find the body. I would rather it be me than someone else.

[withsadness]

You would? That's really selfless! You're really nice, Monika. I bet it's so easy for you to make friends...

[Friends don't let friends see a dead body.]

I'm glad you aren't sad or scared. Someone nice like you shouldn't have to be either of those things.

[chr]

You're nice too, Mary. [ even if you're a glitter goblin. ] I bet you have more friends than you can count. I would hate to see you sad or scared, ever.

...Are you scared?

[withsadness]

I've been making a lot of friends this past week.

[That much is for sure!]

I'm not really scared right now. I think I'd be more scared if I saw something scary instead of just having heard about it. Should...should I be more scared than I am?

[chr]

No, I think you of all people should feel safe right now.

There's so many new friends here, aren't there? I don't think I've been around this many people in a while... or felt like I was, anyway.

[withsadness]

Me neither. I was all alone until my friend Ib came to visit me before I died.

[She pauses.]

Did you live all alone, too?

[chr]

I think you know more about you than I know about myself, Mary. It's complicated, but i don't know if I didn't or if I did.

[withsadness]

How come?

[What are boundaries? Sorry, Monika. Now she's actually starting to look sad.]

[chr]

I was never given an answer when I looked.

[ that's the truth, for what it's worth. ]

...Sorry. That's said to say, isn't it. Haha... But I am happy you are here.

[withsadness]

That's okay. Everybody's different. Sometimes you can only know what there is to look at.

[Monika's phrasing is definitely...odd. And yet, in a way, it makes perfect sense to her. It's all about what's there on paper...or canvas, or in code.]

I'm happy you're here, too. I'll keep you company whenever you want, so you can always know that you have lots of friends!

[chr]

[ mary is surprisingly astute for her age. monika likes that - it reminds her of herself. maybe at this age, it's easier to avoid the sad things later on. ]

That's very kind of you. I have good friends like you. One of them is Jacopo. Have you spoken to him?

[withsadness]

Oh, yes! I really like him! He helped me pick out a sharpener for my crayons!

[Truly, a wonderful reason to trust someone.]

You two get along? I'm happy to hear that!