âThey called me mad long before this curse.â David shrugged idly, observing the other man closely as he spoke. âThey called me many things, most of them unpleasant or intended to be cruel. There may have been truth in some of them, of course. Thereâs no denying it.â His lips curved into a smile, amused. âI was certainly a wicked one, thatâs for sure.â
He caught the briefest flicker of emotion on the other manâs face before it was quickly concealed, and knew that his words had hit home somewhere. Good. It might have been small of him, but he took some amount of pleasure from knowing he could still be cruel even when he didnât entirely intend to be. âNo, thatâs not why Iâm here. Iâm not like those heroes who want to whine about how theyâve been wronged by this curse.â
He paused, making sure to choose his words carefully. âYou dealt with loss during the curse. You couldnât have your daughter, she didnât know you, but you could see her. You suffered with the constant reminder that she was out of your reach, beyond your grasp.â His jaw tightened, his words faltering as he struggled to show a weaker side of himself to someone who was, essentially, a complete stranger to him. âHow did you cope? Having those memories and knowing there was nothing you could do to reclaim what was lost to you?â
âCope?â Jefferson had to laugh at that, though the noise came out as rather more bitter than it should. He could hardly say that what heâd done in the time since heâd been separated from Grace was coping, heâd spent his time fixated on nothing else but finding some way to get her back after all, even going so far as to watch her through a telescope just to make sure she was doing okay.Â
It had been torture watching her from so far, knowing that she was right there, but still out of his reach. He wondered idly if it was that emotion that had brought David to his door, if there was perhaps someone in this town he missed.Â
âI didnât cope. I focused on finding a way to get her back.â Idly he gestured to the wall of identical hats behind him âDid you think these were just for show? I made every one of them, and hundreds more, just trying to make one work. Iâd hardly call that coping.âÂ
There was one thing heâd used in his darkest moments to help him forget, to help quieten the mess in his mind, but he didnât think someone quite as straightlaced as David was rumoured to be would entirely approve of that particular habit. Though, he said he wasnât a hero, wasnât like the shining examples who lived in the town, so perhaps all those rumours were wrong. Only one way to find out.
âI can give you something, to help you forget. But it doesnât last forever, and there are certain... Side effects.â Personally, heâd quite enjoyed the hallucinogens, but they werenât for everyone, and Wonderland had strengthened his mind to strange goings on enough that heâd barely questioned anything heâd seen. He couldnât guarantee that the same would be said for David.Â