Why was six nervous? Because seven eight nine.

It took a moment for Madeline to realise someone was speaking to her, she sort of shook her head and turned to look at Ely. She did her best attempt at a smile, but it was weak at best. Then she looked around and then back at Ely.

Goodness I must have lost track of time. I didn’t expect to see you until the afternoon, and here we are, afternoon already. Then it occurred to Madeline that Ely had asked a question, asked how they were. That was hard to answer, Madeline didn’t like admitting to not being well, and at the moment she wasn’t even sure what was wrong, only that she felt so off lately.

Oh, everything’s just fine. I just was feeling a bit claustrophobic and came out for some air is all. Was that the truth? Maybe partially, but Madeline just wasn’t ready to talk about the nightmares and bad feelings.