[there is a long pause before Karen gets her answer.]
No.
[yet another pause as Ryuuko sucks in a breath of air, holding it and chewing over her choice in words. she knows what she needs to say, but having to speak the words out loud is painful, comparable to someone delivering direct blows to her vitals. her speech seems disconnected from emotion, if only because she wills herself not to show any vulnerability. she'll keep that hurt locked away, it won't do her any good to let it rise to the surface now.]
He's gone. Has been since early December.
[gone as in deported, that is. but it's not as if he can return to the world they left, after all, only death awaits him there. so to Ryuuko he is simply gone.]
audio.
No.
[yet another pause as Ryuuko sucks in a breath of air, holding it and chewing over her choice in words. she knows what she needs to say, but having to speak the words out loud is painful, comparable to someone delivering direct blows to her vitals. her speech seems disconnected from emotion, if only because she wills herself not to show any vulnerability. she'll keep that hurt locked away, it won't do her any good to let it rise to the surface now.]
He's gone. Has been since early December.
[gone as in deported, that is. but it's not as if he can return to the world they left, after all, only death awaits him there. so to Ryuuko he is simply gone.]