Anchor

She took a deep breath, focusing on the words: Calm. Peace. Zen.

"My first…" she says slowly, "…friend."

He exhaled heavily, but the coldness was gone. "Hmm. He visited the other day, but you were still unconscious so I had a talk with him."

"What did he say?"

For some reason, she was anxious to hear about it.

"He wanted to apologize for his father's crime. That's all."

She felt he was holding something back, but she didn't dare to ask for more. She avoided his probing gaze.

"…I see."

"How did you become friends?"

"Oh… Well, when I was 12, he approached me at the back of the mansion. He was a kind young boy. We discovered we had a similar love for animals so we talked about it all day long. He had to leave once his father was done talking to mine. And they rarely visit. But every time they'd come, he would play with me in the back garden.