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Transcript and Bonus below the cut:
Phoenix: It’s been ten years, almost to the day, since I lost my mom. I’ve been thinking about her a lot since we had Aspen. Something about knowing that she’ll never get to know her granddaughter. That Aspen will never get to know her. It’s a different kind of grief that I wasn’t prepared for.
Phoenix: [wipes a stray tear from his eye] After I moved in with Julian, I would come out here sometimes. I’d sit on this bench and look out at the water, and I’d talk to her. I’d tell her about my life, that I loved her and missed her, that I was sorry for being such a pain in the ass. I even told her about Malcolm. I don’t know why this spot. Maybe just because it’s pretty here, and away from everything and quiet, but I could almost convince myself that she could hear me.
Phoenix: I guess I hoped that by bringing you both here… well, it’s the closest I could get to introducing you.
Dawn: If your mom was here right now, would she prefer it if I called her Leanne? Or Miss Realta?
Phoenix: [breathes a laugh through his nose] Definitely Leanne. She’d give me hell if I let you call her Miss Realta.
Dawn: Okay. Well, Leanne, my name is Dawn, and I am madly in love with your son. We’re getting married in a couple of months, and I’m so excited. You’re invited, of course, if you can make it to Brindleton Bay.
Dawn: Most importantly, though, this is Aspen. She’s your granddaughter. Her middle name is Leanne, after you, of course. And, um, you should know that Phoenix is an incredible father. I wish I could’ve gotten to know you. And I wish you were here to give me some parenting advice because you clearly did something right, and I feel so lost all of the time. But I promise we’ll come back to visit, at least every Winterfest, so you can see Aspen as she gets older.
Phoenix: Thank you.
Dawn: Thank you for sharing this place with us. I can see why you were drawn to it. It does kinda feel like she’s here, like she’s listening.
Phoenix: [nods but doesn’t speak for fear that his voice will betray him]
Aspen: [coos]
Phoenix: [clears his throat] Did I ever tell you that she wanted to write children’s books?
Dawn: I remember you saying she used to make up stories a lot when you were little.
Phoenix: Yeah [smiles at the memory] She was never able to pursue writing seriously because she was always working two or three jobs to take care of us, to take care of me. I always hoped she’d be able to one day, and that she’d publish her own books. I can probably tell Aspen a few of them from memory, but how cool would it have been to be able to give her an actual book?
Dawn: That would’ve been amazing. Out of all the stories she told you, did you have a favorite?
Phoenix: Oh, god, um… if I had to pick, it would probably be this one about a polar bear name JuJu that dreamed of going to Jupiter. [laughs] I remember, we were learning about the solar system in school, and we all had to do a report on a planet. I chose Jupiter. But I had a really hard time writing the report, I’d never done one before. So, she made up this story about my favorite animal, a polar bear, going to Jupiter. It was really funny and full of facts about the planet. Not only did I get an A on my report, but I made her retell the story about a hundred times.
Dawn: Aw, that’s so cute. I wanna hear it. Will you tell us the story?
Phoenix: Right now?
Dawn: Yeah.
Phoenix: Okay, sure…
✨Bonus✨
And, of course, Aspen got to meet her Great Uncle Julian while they were in Copperdale. She was a little unsure at first, but she warmed up to him pretty quick. 🥰
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memory management (🛏️4-1)
⏮️Previous || (📚Previous Stories) || Beginning ▶️
Jordan: "John? John. John, listen to me. L-listen, I know you just woke up a-and you're probably wondering why you're here--"
(What are you saying? Of course he knows!) "Uh-- it's not what it looks like--"
The Werewolf: (growls) "S̴̻̔͒h̸͚̗͙̤̉̂͝u̸̺̼͋t̶͎͖̦̹͐̒̋.̵̤̟̹͂͗̕͜͝ ̸̜͕̘͓̆̏̀̔U̷͖̝̎̒̕p̶̺̻̾͌́̄͜.̶"
Jordan: "Okay...I know you're upset... and..."
(The Werewolf takes a swaying step forward; Jordan takes one back.)
(Okay, he's still not all there. I have a shot here... stall for time. Where the hell is Dan?!)
The Werewolf: "H̷̜̙̀ḛ̷̒ŕ̶ͅe̷̠̓̍'̴͇͗͘ș̴̭͝ ̷͖̞̈́w̸͇͐͝h̵͎̜̄̚a̴̢̠̓̌t̵͖̿͘ ̴̮́Ì̴̞̾ ̷̢͌̓w̵͍͇̒a̷̢͆n̶̛͍̪͛t̸̹̙͒͑ ̷̮̪̏͊ý̷̼̑o̵̱͂͝u̵͇͂̋ ̶̥̰͌̾t̴̼̟͌͝ȏ̴̼ ̸͙́d̷̨̜̍̿ȍ̵̝͕̎.̴͔̤̊"
Jordan: "Wh-what is it? A-anything!"
"D̴̴͛͟҉͓̯̪̺Ĭ̘̠̙̎̃̆ͬ̀Ę̨̡̠̥̥͓̃́̕.̡̐́҉̘̲͕̼."
(The Werewolf lunges at Jordan, causing them to lose their balance.)
(This is it... )
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