Page 34 of A Thousand Broken Pieces

RUNE:

She would have.

Three dots appeared underneath, and he added:I believe she’s with you now.I blinked away the sheen of tears that built in my eyes.

ME:

I’d like to believe that too.

Those three dots appeared again, then:Your sister will never leave you. And she would be so proud of you.

My chest tightened, and I stared back down at the busy square, the smell of the food trucks drifting up to the hotel’s window I was sitting at. Rune was right. Poppy would be proud of me. She always was. Any little achievement I made in school, she acted like I’d just changed the world. In sixth grade, when I won the science fair, Poppy celebrated like I’d won the Nobel Peace Prize.

ME:

I know

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