for Pao

by johannespunkt

She sits on a log and stares at a procession of forest ants. They all seem to be walking one way, toward the stream; it must be morning.

“You can never know someone fully,” she says. This is upsetting her. “You can never know exactly what someone else thinks, or what they would do in any given situation. Sometimes, you can make an educated guess.”

She thinks for a while, and stops frowning. “This does mean, however, that you can always get to know someone better. There is always more to uncover, always another layer of skin to peel off.”