Sasha -
I don't know when you're going to get a chance to read this, but I wanted to send it before I forgot, or before you tried to block me out again. I hope you don't mind me using your email address. Bee tee dubs, hit the "unsubscribe" link more often. It'll save you a lot of trouble. What's The Container Store, anyway?
I get it. You don't want me around. Most people don't, and I get that. But I'm here, and you're just going to have to get used to it. If you stopped fighting me for a few minutes and let me out to play, I'm willing to bet that you'd realize that I'm actually a lot of fun to be around, and it's a lot of fun being me. Just ask Babs or Helena or Dinah. They've got tons of stories to tell. Just...don't tell Babs I called her 'Babs', since she hates when I call her that for some reason. Grown ups, am I right?
I get that what you do is important, and that you fight me because you don't want to risk other people's lives since you're in the business of saving them. But I save lives, too. We're not that different, you and I, even though what you do is way grosser than what I do. That thing you did earlier where you were clamping an artery or trying to save someone's liver or whatever? You had your hands on someone's guts. That's so gnarly. But since that seems to be version of fighting the bad guys, I guess I can respect that.
What was I saying again? Oh, right. I know I don't always have the best timing. Sometimes I show up right in the middle of a fight and accidentally thwart the good guys' efforts, but I've been working on that. And I'll work on not showing up while you've got a scalpel on someone. Or in someone, I guess. But I can't make any promises. Did I mention that some parts of your job are really gross? I thought I was gonna barf in your surgical mask. By the way, when you told me to shut up and sit down, which was pretty rude, you said that out loud and the guy standing next to you heard you. Don't worry though, I think he was ready to pass out. I know I was.
Remember when I said that we aren't that different? We both just want to belong, you and I. We want to be part of something and we want to do good. We want to help people. We want people to like us, and we want friends and to be part of a family and everything we didn't really have growing up. You're miles ahead of me on the growing up front, but that's okay. I see a lot of me in you, but it's not just the good stuff. It's the resentment and the nagging feeling that you'll never find your tribe, too. And it's starting to get to you, isn't it? I almost never let the bad stuff show, and I get the impression that you're the same way. I see what you do. You're an optimist, just like me. Even when we have no reason to think that things are gonna look up, we can't think that they won't, anyway. Some people really seem to hate that, but sometimes it's the only way to get through life in Gotham, or Boston, or wherever else in this weird world.
I don't know what I'm trying to say here. Every teacher I've ever had, including Helena, has told me that I need to work on my focus and my concentration, because otherwise I drift off and switch topics faster than I can bounce. I guess...just don't mind me. I'm here, with no choice but to share this body with you, so you might as well accept it. We could have tons of fun together.
One more thing: when you bounce, don't take any living things with you. I tried that once, and...well, you don't want to know what happened to my dog.
- Charlie
On Mon, Jun 6, 2016 at 7:49 PM, Sasha Prince <alexandra.prince@gmail.com> wrote:
Charlie,
If I'm doing my math right, you're probably going to show up any day now. I wanted to try to leave you a note, but it turns out that I don't actually know what to say to you, or if you'll bother to listen.
This is really weird, whatever it is that's happening. It must be weird for you too, I'd imagine. People keep asking how I feel about this or if it bothers me, and I'm still not sure how to answer them. On the one hand, this is impossible and crazy and I can't make any sense of it. Am I supposed to be okay with the fact that someone else tries to take over my body every few weeks? On the other hand, I get to do some pretty cool things like teleport and heal myself. It's hard to hate that. Speaking of, I got really anxious and stressed out a few days ago and ended up in Morocco. I was able to get back to Boston a few minutes later, but I'm hoping that I can learn to control when I can bounce better. I don't know if that's ever happened to you, but any advice on that front would be greatly appreciated.
I think I understand you better now, or at least what your life is like. I've done a lot of studying, and more recently, some parts of your life that I've read about seem more real to me, like actual memories and not just things that someone told me about or something I read in a book. I'm sorry that you didn't have the greatest of childhoods. I didn't either, though it feels trite to compare my life to yours, when comparatively, it really wasn't all that bad, I guess. Alter egos, or whatever this is, are supposed to put us in better situations or circumstances, but I'm not really sure if that's the case here. What I do must be pretty boring to someone who spends her free time fighting crime, and maybe my past is a little too similar to yours to really be a break from your reality.
I still don't really know what I'm trying to say, so I'll just end it here. And if you really are going to make an appearance soon, and if it's something that you can control, please don't show up or try to take over while I'm at work, and definitely not while I'm in surgery. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt because of this.
Sasha