"yes." from her extended hood, a shaft of shadow blocks the shape of her face. but the pillar of light from the doorframe cuts across her small smile. "are you?"

she whispers— but there is no need. presence alone is enough to expose her. her absences from her familiar places points toward suspicion— but perhaps, those are the fingered thoughts that begin to shroud around her.

"must be difficult. being a single father, essentially." dahlia laughs as she attempts to peek past the man's broad frame.

@joe

dahlia returns his smile. it catches the moonlight before that silver peels away like drowned cutlery under the indoor light. the man surprises her. she half-expected to see some grisly man with wisps of beard.

but the man is pleasantly handsome. like a popular personal trainer on social media rather than some shady criminal. briefly, her heart is at ease. perhaps, this venture is not as bad as it seems.

"oh?" dahlia tiptoes over the carpet with ballerina feet. "this place is... much nicer than i thought it would be."

the portrait looms ahead as her heels hit the hard floor.

"who's this?" she gestures to the picture. "past lover?"

@joe

"oh!"

she wishes she could snatch her utterance by the wings. to tug it back into her cage and pluck it of all its feathers. now, red like a young bird with no plumage, she blushes at her mistake.

"we all have our heroes when we're young." dahlia withdraws from the portrait, moving close to joe as if attempting to narrow the distance in which their voices would travel. "disclaimer? if it's about the responsibility of it all, i can assure you i'll be fine."

@joe