“Oh, Rey,” Alicia murmured, listening and acknowledging the losses Rey were managing to put into words. There was more, no doubt about that, but this was a start – and one that Alicia hadn’t thought would happen for a long time – and this girl, this woman, was in such a pain that she recognized all too well. That point where nothing anyone says or does eases things, and yet, even the slightest soothing, the smallest difference in the pain, feels like a major relief.
So, she just sat there, keeping her arms around Rey, rocking her gently and giving any comfort she could, for as long as Rey would let her. She didn’t have any answers. Nobody did. Not to this; she had asked herself that question many, many times.