Mara:
Look.
She held up the folded note like treasure.
ALL CHILDREN OF HAB-BLOCK NINE ARE HEREBY PERMITTED TO ACCESS THE UPPER MAINTENANCE CATWALKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF SPRING OBSERVATION.
Chibi looked at it once.
Then again.
Chibi:
It’s fake.
Mara:
How do you know?
Chibi:
Because it says permitted.
Mara frowned.
Mara:
So?
Chibi:
No one permits children anything.
They assign.
They direct.
They correct.
Mara folded her arms.
Mara:
That’s annoyingly convincing.
Chibi grinned a little.
Chibi:
Thank you.
She looked toward the third stair.
Mara:
Maybe it’s real.
Chibi:
No.
Mara:
Then why are you smiling?
Chibi:
Because it’s a good one.
Mara:
Because it almost works?
Chibi:
Because it tells you exactly what you want to hear.
That made her stop.
Mara:
What do I want to hear?
Chibi pointed at the note.
Chibi:
That spring means children get to see something beautiful.
That the rules soften.
That someone finally noticed you exist.
Mara looked back at the paper.
It felt more official the longer she held it.
Mara:
That’s not fair.
Chibi:
No.
A pause.
Mara:
What if we just checked?
Chibi:
That’s how it works.
Mara looked at him.
Chibi:
The trick doesn’t make you believe.
It makes you participate.
She read the note again.
Then again.
Mara:
It only changes one thing.
Chibi nodded.
Chibi:
Just the permission.
Silence.
Mara:
That’s small.
Chibi:
That’s why it gets in.
She folded the paper smaller.
Carefully.
Mara:
We’re not going.
Chibi:
I know.
Mara:
But I’m still thinking about it.
Chibi:
I know.
They walked away from the stair.
Slowly.
And the worst part wasn’t that the note was false.
It was how close it had come to becoming real just because they wanted it to be.
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