Posted by Civilian Dorma Fen (Governor’s Assistant) in You Won, But Did You Really?

Posted by Civilian Cort Belanger (Executive Assistant to Lt. Gov.) in You Won, But Did You Really?

Posted by Civilian Dorma Fen (Governor’s Assistant) in You Won, But Did You Really?
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Dorma snorted a soft, detisive sound. “Don’t be too quick to emphasize with him. Like I said, my family gave him the opportunity to leave and still be a part of the family. He ran away. And he became a common criminal. Gamgs, petty larceny, prostitution… drugs.” The last was almost sneered. “He only returned when he needed our help. He had crossed the wrong person, and they wanted their proverbial pound of flesh.” Ahe shook her head. “Like I said… it did not go well.” Oddly, she didn’t seem upset or angry… just disappointed.

Dorma Fen

Cort set his chopsticks done, having finished, and was quiet for a few moments before he spoke again. “You know, the one thing I learned doing emergency response with the Red Cross is that desperate people make desperate choices, and the ones that tend to make poor choices are usually in a great amount of pain that they don’t know what to deal with. I’m not saying he is right and the family is wrong, and I’m not saying you don’t have to have boundaries so you all don’t get sucked in, but I guess I still feel a bit sad for him, because I’ve seen how one wrong choice can spiral. Maybe he won’t eve be a part of the family, and that might very well be his choice, but a part of me wants to say to not give up on him.” He shrugged. “Then again, I came from a rather privileged background and I know that it colours how I see things. I can recognize that my perspective isn’t always necessary a useful one.”

~Cort Belanger

Dorma smiled slightly and said “One can only hope for another so long before that person must decide to hope for themselves. Oshiru decided his path long ago. Where that path took him, we don’t know. If he still lives, I do wish him well. But whether he is fine or not is a choice he has had to make. All I can is accept that as the reality.”

Dorma Fen

“Yeah, that really is all we can do,” Cort said. “I stopped expecting my parents, and my grandfather before he died, to be any different, and once I was able to do that things became, maybe no easy, but easier between us. Well, mostly with my parents I guess,” he said with a light laugh. “My grandfather was always difficult, but I think most families have at least one person there they can describe as such.”

~Cort Belanger

“One?!” Dorma said with a laugh. “Try a dozen! At least!” and she laughed again. “Parents, siblings, cousins… hells, at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if ghostly apparitions of my ancestors appeared and told me my knife work is atrocious and I use too much ginger.”

Dorma Fen

He leaned towards her, his blue eyes lit up. “Overly critical past generations coming to haunt us? Bite your tongue, Dorma. Don’t jinx us now,” he teased.

~Cort Belanger