Puppet

Mr. Tremblay’s thunderous laugh, Hortus’s empty threats, Tara’s look of pity, Selene’s Australian accent, Walking Eagle’s favorite joke, Charlotte’s way of pushing up her glasses — maybe none of that existed in 1999, or in any other year. Maybe there was nobody watching the sunrise at the Old Port, nobody searching for a lost name. Maybe none of what I said really took place in the real world. But I can accept that, because no matter what, those are the important details of my world, one where I met a girl from my dreams, fell in love with her, lost her before anything truly began, and was saved by her lookalike and original.