Re: Webster's Vinyl: Harper L & Ceil L
[It took only one heartbeat for Harper to comprehend that Ceil didn't understand the comment about the couple in the Capital, and with that comprehension came the knowledge that, perhaps, Ceil would be better left in the dark about the new aspects of Harper's life. There was something appealing about keeping the secret, as if her silence was a shield between a beloved sister and the world's realities. Before leaving to the Capital, the world was Repose and little more. Rather small, entirely human, and life spans marked by wrinkles and written in bones that went soft. Now, things were different. Ceil would age and die, and Harper would endure, and she realized she didn't want her sister to know.
In Ceil's eyes, Harper could remain human, and Harper found that exceptionally brilliant. Like a toy longed for at Christmas and then received, bright paper and bows that crinkled, and Ceil would forever be that unexpected present beneath the tree. She would remain Harper's humanity, and Harper hadn't quite let go of the wish that things be different than they now were.
There was too much dark in Harper's eyes when she blinked back at Ceil, sunshine there and bright, and she focused on the telling of Daniel's tale. Harper glanced up the lit stairs, their license plates leading to a closed door, and she rolled her eyes with the facility of the very young.] Babygirl, he was always odd as ducks in winter. [She tucked a strand of cotton-cotton candy hair behind Ceil's ear.] Does this mean we're to keep him? And were you careful? [She asked it with more concern than she'd given matters upon leaving, but Harper had always worried about Ceil's willingness to be open with strangers.] Is he going to show up at the door begging to see your entirely lovely face?