Re: [Orchard: Bea & Holly]
"They never found a body. The military picked you up," Bea said, repeating this story firmly because she could make it conform to what she wished to believe. "So they must have recognized you. Maybe they have some idea about why you remember the wrong things, or not the right things. Maybe it will figure itself out, in time."
Bea was not as normal as she appeared, of course. She was a native of Repose. The ability she had been born with, however, was a sort of viewing of available paths. The Echo-people did not help her here. They were the only people around, and there were not very many shapes of light in the form of her or Holly, except those that were pacing instead of standing, or going around a tree, or kissing, those kinds of things. Unlikely possibilities, judging by the brightness of each. None of this helped her understand what Holly was doing here, or why this was happening to her. These kinds of things weren't supposed to happen to her.
Except they did. Him, his whole sex career, the baby, all of it. This shit totally happened to her. It wasn't fair.
Bea rubbed her lips together. His mother was a sore topic. She turned back and looked him in the face again. "No, she never wanted to see me. I never wanted to see her, either, I guess. We couldn't help each other. It was just embarrassing to be in the same place." After a moment more, she searched her memory. "I think you signed up for four years active duty. I'm not sure if you signed up for more after. Do they want you to come back?"