EPILOGUE
Sometimes I have the same nightmare. One that Tristan can’t save me from.
I’m still in that cabin. In that shed. In that lesson room.
I’m old and gray, and Oliver has a philosophy text open for me to read.
I’m imprisoned, and I’m broken. I’ve accepted my fate.
Chained, I tell him about Plato's allegory of the cave.
I tell him what he wants to hear, and he smiles contentedly.
It’s dark all around me. There is only shadow and cold, and I blindly watch as the world plays out in front of me, but I suspect what I’m seeing isn’t real.
I suspect Oliver is pulling the strings.
I know I should do something about it, but I don’t.
I’m in too deep, and there’s no light to guide me out.
Just before he removes the chains, he murmurs, “You are perfect, Daisy.”
Then I wake up.