How come?

I don't know. She seems very sad all the time, which makes more sense now that I know - everything about everything. 

Most people aren't as sad as Auntie Karen, though.

Well that's good.

I guess. Auntie Karen's sad because she doesn't like her job and because mommy is dead and she doesn't like living with Aunt Kate and she can't spend a lot of time with us and probably other reasons.

Probably the house.

You're really focused on houses.

This is the most horrible place I have ever been and I would be sadder than Karen if I thought I had to be here.

Wow.

So I really think it explains most of how sad she is.

I think you mostly just care a weird amount about houses. What's even that bad about it? It doesn't have insects or smell weird or anything.

He opens his eyes to refresh his memory. He closes them again.

Everything hurts to look at individually and the way it's all placed next to each other hurts to look at and there's dirt everywhere and big piles of grime in some places and there are a couple of insects, there's one in the corner and one on the windowsill, and the light wavers weirdly and I think it would give me a headache if I tried to draw by it and there are a lot of things on the floor that don't seem to be on the floor for any reason and everything's crooked and nothing's symmetric and there's nothing that doesn't hurt to look at anywhere.

Would it help if you looked out the window?

He opens his eyes and closes them again.

It might help a little bit but I don't think it'd be better than just keeping my eyes shut. Keeping my eyes shut is really fine. Some people don't even have eyes.

Why don't they have eyes? Did someone cut their eyes out?

Yeah, Melkor.

Huh. I've heard of people having their eyes put out but I don't think it happens very much anymore.

Oh, the Valar made Melkor stop and put him in jail and now noone does that but some of the people without eyes didn't want them fixed until the Valar get better at fixing people.

Huh.

It's dinnertime now, if you're hungry.

Dinner sounds lovely, thank you, says the kid who is shaking and curled up in a ball in the corner with his eyes closed.

She will just put a bowl of spaghetti down here, then.

Do you, uh, need anything?

I don't. Thank you!

He is not very good at blind spaghetti eating but he's very patient and willing to go very slowly.

Is there anything that'd make you feel better...?

Will I be going back to the place where you work with you tomorrow?