“You look awful.” As if waking from a trance, I looked toward the source of the voice now approaching me from the shadows. Since when and how long she had been there, I didn’t dwell on much. For some reason, seeing Maris’ unexpected entrance wasn’t surprising to me anymore. “Is there a playground around here?” she asked; her eyes scanning the area. “There is,” I answered even though it wasn’t the right time to be answering such questions. I took a deep breath to control my rising irritation. If anything, I didn’t want to vent my frustration to Maris. “You show the way,” she said to me so casually I had no idea what she was trying to pull off. “Do we really have to do it right now?” I said. “What would you rather do instead?” she replied, genuinely asking me. I don’t know. I think s

