where did she live?
nobody's sure.
was she nice?
sure, the nice that borders naivety.
did i ever meet her?
maybe once or twice.
but you were far too young, and she was too far gone by then to have remembered.
what was she like?
a lovestruck ghost.
a runaway drunk on stolen scotch and romance novels.
what was his name?
we stopped saying it.
he gave her hell, and then some.
what else did he give her?
envelopes postmarked "Vietnam"
then some from a prison in Vermont.
did she have kids?
yup, your cousins, Amy, Tab and Brandi.
she never knew them, though.
did she miss them?
she wrote songs, then hitchhiked to Nashville.
sang all about those girls of hers, but never really said a thing.
did you miss her?
she wasn't the missing type.
she was always moving, we were always guessing which side of her we were meant to love.
what was her favorite color?
never thought to ask.
but she wore lots of patterns, kinda like a mask, i guess.
what about holiday?
life itself was just one long day in her world.
were her eyes brown like ours?
probably.
but too wide and dim and glazed to spot much resemblance.
do you think she was lonely?
probably not.
she had him to chase, wherever he wound up, whenever she wanted to.
so she really was in love?
since she was thirteen, she claimed.
just a kid, and we told her she was crazy, but she didn't believe us 'til it was too late.
how did she die?
with his name on her lips
biting her tongue until she bled to death.
what was her name, again?
well, she called herself "Lacey Maye."