With Words I Thought I'd Never Speak (Mikael)

[Elizabeta Anne Beilschmidt]

Eliza stared blankly at what had once been a white picket fence before she'd kicked it down. The wanton destruction of the fence had been brought on by the flash-backs it had brought about. She was usually so good at hiding her phobia...she could usually suppress it. For some reason, though, this fence had set her off. Her mind had made her see barbed wire and big, mean dogs and guns. It was a one-in-a-thousand relapse that she sincerely hoped that nobody had seen.

She carefully brought her fingers up to her face. Tears...? When had she started crying...? She didn't usually cry. She didn't think she'd even cried when the little boy that had lived next door to her as a child had been shot. What was it about this one picket fence...?

'That's right,' she remembered. 'It's his birthday, isn't it...? I can't believe I almost forgot...'

"Happy birthday, Opa," she sighed.

[Mikael Adrien Liven]

Mikael walked out from Honeydukes with some bertie bots and a few sugar quills. He looked at Eliza with his head cocked to the side. Was she crying? He dropped the candy and stared her in he face.

"You okay? You're crying... and who's birthday is it? Mines in August, not July.." he shook his head. He was starting to get worried about her.

[Elizabeta Anne Beilschmidt]

"'m not crying," she grumbled stubbornly, wiping the tears away. She smiled at him wryly. "I...I'm East German. No more tears left...I told you that years ago."

She was shutting him down. She knew that, but she just....didn't want to face it. Didn't want him to know about her irrational fear. She hated it. How embarrassing was it to be afraid of walls...?

"It is...was mein grandfather's birthday. He passed away years ago."