Cory’s Story: read this and go away

I know you can’t hear me, Ripple, but that’s because of your job in this system. You get to front. You don’t know we exist; me, Mina, Winnie, Ribbon, the others. I don’t know if you’ll ever know about all of us.

Oh, this sounds cheesy. Why am I saying this? Maybe I should write it down. That would sound better, wouldn’t it?

Okay. I know you may never read this, Ripple, but that’s because of your role in the system. You front most of the time. You don’t know about lots of the bad stuff that’s happened. Our brain splits those up, the functioning every day, the knowledge about what happened. You get to function every day.

This still sounds dumb, I know. Maybe it’s because I keep picturing you in front of me, across from the trunk where I’m writing on paper borrowed from Shadow, yet I have no clue what you look like. So what I picture is a little like Ribbon’s billowing dress, with Mina’s smile, Shadow’s silent walk, Jasmine’s pursed lips. I picture you as all of us. But I know you aren’t. You’re just the girl who took the place of another girl who could no longer handle the functioning and the knowledge about what happened. She’s wandering about somewhere, in the hollow caves and tunnels beneath the mountain. Just, none of the ones I know about.

My name is Cory, Ripple. If you ever read this. I don’t think you will, which is why this is cheesy. More cheesy than when I mapped a tunnel that leads all the way under the mountain to Winnie’s forest. No one else uses that tunnel, except maybe Jasmine. I don’t think anyone else should use it.

My name is Cory, and just like you, I exist so we can function. I’m not so great at the every day part. Maybe you’re better at that than I am.

Anyway. Shadow might be wondering why I’ve been using his pens and erasers for so long. My hands get so shaky when I try to be delicate with them, so I’m being slow. Spelling words carefully, because you know this brain isn’t so good with letters. At least, my section of the brain isn’t. Is yours? Are you good with letters, Ripple? I’d like to talk to you about that someday, how our sections of the brain work different. Maybe, if I ever show you this, which I probably won’t, because it’s probably pretty cheesy, we could talk about that.

Anyway. I’m going to go give Shadow his stuff back.

***

Hello. My name’s Cory.

Why would I care about that?

Well, I was being polite. How are you doing?

Terribly. This is stupid. Why am I talking to you?

Because we’re the only two in this dark little room. Why are you talking to me?

Why are we in a dark room? Why not somewhere bright?

This room of the house doesn’t have windows, that’s why it’s dark.

Why’d I get the dark room? Why don’t you have a dark room? This is dumb.

You…could make some windows. Or we could see about moving you to a different room. Or we could add lots of lamps.

I could make you go away.

Yes, I’m sure you could. I just came to see how you were doing, maybe get to know you a little bit.

I don’t want you to get to know me. I want you to go away.

Alright. I will be leaving then…um, sorry, I didn’t catch your name. If you have one.

Go away!