Re: Quiet Home: Misha & Oliver
Misha didn't get het up. He just looked at the boy screaming calm. "You take real offense to a whole lot of things," he observed. "Being entertained by someone ain't bad, sugar, and it ain't up to you whether you entertain me. See, anything can entertain folks. Watching birds can, talking to folks can, seeing a show can, sitting quiet and thinking on how pretty a sky is, that can be entertaining. It's a compliment. It ain't a bad thing." Now, Misha, he wasn't aware Oliver was making big judgements on account of normal talking, but he wouldn't be surprised any. Folks got thoughts in their heads 'bout crazy folks, and wasn't a thing could change the things they thought. His momma, she hadn't been crazy, but it said so on a paper, and so no one even questioned it.
Oliver went on calm again about evil, and Misha took back to listening. "You ain't going crazy. You tell your brother I said, and I got experience with crazy. But folks worrying over you, that's nice. Is it real warm, not being alone?" Misha, he wouldn't know a thing 'bout not being alone down here, in this big ol' real world he loved so well. "You sure he wants you to be like him?" Misha could reach out and close his fingers on that answer, but he didn't want to. It was more important how Oliver was seeing it, than how it really was. Everything 'bout folks was that way, like things seen through real individual panes of glass. "You ain't the planning parties and fucking person type. Go on, get all het up at me for saying. But there ain't a thing wrong with being talented and quieter, Oliver. Some folks like that better than loud folks."
Misha smiled. "I ain't your therapist, but if I was going to give you an assignment for our next session, I'd say try and do something on your own that makes you feel good. Could be real small. Don't think you have to scale a mountain. Just find something you fancy doing, that makes you feel like the sun's shining brighter some."