Interlude
I do not care for this process. I understand why you feel it is necessary, I understand why the investigation is taking place in this format. But the way you are treating [REDACTED], what you are asking of him, feels gratuitous. Exploitative.
Harmful.
I am the villain in all of this. I am aware. We are all aware.
And once you finish collecting these stories, you will pack up and go home, and we will sit in the aftermath.
The telling is a re-inscription of the pain. Can you hear it in his voice?
I understand that I am the root, the seed from which the rest of this has germinated. I know well what I have done.
Have you considered what you are doing as well?
I am finished with this until I see him again.
I know what comes next whether I listen to it or not.