dialogue prompts from sour cherry: a novel by natalia theodoridou.
has ____ always been a monster?
is there anything more enjoyable in life than being needed?
what a long way you've come.
a name can also be a burden. a curse, even.
you've always been smarter than i am.
you're alive. that's what matters.
you don't believe me. i can tell.
what does it feel like to be you?
what did ___ do? tell me.
do you think everyone is worthy of love? no matter what?
what good is a name to me?
there's still so much living left to do. isn't that always the problem, with grief?
memory doesn't always offer the best counsel.
when people have nothing, hurt is all they have.
why do you tell stories, if you don't know that they're true?
truth is a dangerous thing. it has teeth.
didn't anyone try to stop it?
i don't want to tell this part of the story.
you just get better, alright? that's all you have to do.
your father is nothing like you.
what a vivid imagination you have.
you become what you behold.
maybe you still stand a chance. maybe we both do.
why are your clothes so dirty?
protect the world from what?
i'm so glad you had [name].
i'd like to be so alive i could die.
it's not safe for you here anymore.
i have to go. it might be a while before we see each other again.
i want to do what you do.
the world isn't what you think it is.
i know you're telling the truth.
i can see things most people can't.
aren't heroes supposed to be alone?
i'm sorry. i know it's not the story you wanted.
this is the last time i touch you.
it's not what you are, it's what you choose to do.
every person is a house. there are hidden rooms in all of us.
were you always like this? was i?
i don't know how to love gently.
i know you haven't been sleeping.
in the end, we're all haunted by the ones that came before.
it was never the house that was haunted.
there is no way to escape, and nothing to escape to.
we weren't always so alike.
i learned early how to look away.
you need to face the things that scare you. who knows what will happen if you take your eyes off them?
i can never shake the feeling i'm not where i'm meant to be.
perhaps that is so, if it's what the people say.
the forest makes me feel like i'm being watched.
if i close my eyes tight enough, i can still see everything.
you've always been more clear-eyed than me.
it never occurred to me that i could have asked for help.
i've heard that when you die, you remember everything but your own name.
you're not like the others.
sometimes i come back and i'm sure you won't be here.
it's dreadful. it's perfect.
how is it that you keep finding me?
why aren't i more like ____?
you can tell a different story, if you want.
i know this story already. i've lived it. i've always known how it ends.
you're the only one to ever match me.
there's only so much fairytales can do.