PHOEBE
The midwife indeed only knew the outward facing view of the Launceleyn family, and all of it from second hand knowledge. What she knew really didn’t go any deeper than what she had revealed. But his reason for acting on duty perplexed her, and her brows furrowed in thought. ”You know…one of the first things you learn as a midwife is not how to help bring children into the world, but how often people die; how fragile life is.” she said softly, watching him carefully in case this was about to go south. ”And just because a midwife is there, someone who knows all the dangers and possible ways to prevent and fix those problems, it doesn’t mean we can. It doesn’t mean there isn’t suffering. It simply is, and if we carried that weight on our shoulders, midwives everywhere would drown beneath it.” she said, offering him a small, warm smile. ”You shouldn’t try and shoulder the weight of all the bad things that happened while you were gone either. It isn’t yours to bear, nor anyone else’s.”
His next question made her look down as well, falling silent for another moment. ”I don’t not like you.” she corrected. ”You were needlessly cruel to me I think. But I don’t know everything you are going through either that made you react that way.” she said, shrugging a bit. ”You’re in a difficult position and I shouldn’t have tried to insert myself. I just…like helping people. Life is hard, so I try to be a source of warmth and good…even if I am not perfect at it.” she said, glancing at him again, worried he would snap at her. ”So even though you have made abundantly clear that you hate me, I still want you to feel comfortable while you are in my home, because the rest of the world might not be.”
His next question made her look down as well, falling silent for another moment. ”I don’t not like you.” she corrected. ”You were needlessly cruel to me I think. But I don’t know everything you are going through either that made you react that way.” she said, shrugging a bit. ”You’re in a difficult position and I shouldn’t have tried to insert myself. I just…like helping people. Life is hard, so I try to be a source of warmth and good…even if I am not perfect at it.” she said, glancing at him again, worried he would snap at her. ”So even though you have made abundantly clear that you hate me, I still want you to feel comfortable while you are in my home, because the rest of the world might not be.”
When the static clears
And all is said and done
I will realize that we all need someone
