It was absolutely packed with people.
Apparently, as Alex put it when they started to walk up, the only things that brought a neighborhood out in masse was the murder of a child or a really good BBQ. Lillian knew she shouldn't laugh, but she couldn't help but chuckle, and that was precisely why she brought Alexis along. They'd each been handed a candle upon arrival, already lit, and began to make their way through the crowd. "How long am I supposed to hold this for?" Alex asked, "Can I eventually put it down someplace?" "I think, the way these things usually work, is that yes you'll eventually place it at the memorial site they've built." "Don't get me wrong, I'm not coldhearted, what happened was awful, but, like..." Alex sighed, "...kids die every single day. Whether it's an accident, or an illness, or in some cases like this one, a straight up murder, kids dying is nothing new. But the kids who have accidents or illnesses never get shrines or memorialized. Why is murder the only one that seems to bring out the heartfelt sentiment of the neighborhood?" "Because those other two happen fairly naturally. As a neighborhood, we don't like to think that our children are two doors away from the end of their lives," Lillian said, "This is why the whole neighborhood turns out when something like this happens, because we just try and ignore the fact that it can." "When I was in high school-" Alex started. "What, like 6 months ago?" Lillian interrupted, making her smirk. "shut up, but when I was in high school, this girl murdered her boyfriend and they had a whole, like, ceremony for it at the school, and it was just weird seeing these other girls who'd been treated so badly by her suddenly have empathy for this monster. I don't know. Humans creep me out." "I can't argue with you," Lillian mumbled, before knocking elbows with another woman, who turned to face her; Lillian smiled, "Oh, Rina! What...what are you doing here?" "Apparently it's the place to be," Alex said. "I babysat a few times," Rina said, "Maddie's here too, somewhere. Her parents asked me to bring her. What are you guys doing here?" "Didn't you hear me? It's the place to be," Alex restated, making Lillian and Rina chuckle. "We...we just came cause it felt like the right thing to do. I mean, everyone else showed up, so," Lillian said, "This is the second death she's been around in just a few months. First that kid at her party, and now this kid, though she probably didn't know this kid." "They went to the same after school program a few times," Rina said, "In the same school district, so. But no, you're right, she didn't know them, thank god. Girl is riddled with enough problems without adding more on. Who's your friend?" "This is Alex, she works for the costume company I work for," Lillian said, as Rina held out her hand to shake, which Alex politely shook her head at, then held up her free hand, indicating it was gloved. "Germs," she said, "Not gonna happen." "Fair," Rina said. "I'm gonna see if I can track down Maddie, you guys just hang out for a minute, okay?" Lillian asked, the two of them agreeing, before she disappeared into the sea of people to search for Maddison. Rina shoved her hands in her coat pocket and looked around at the people, before looking back at Alexis. "This sort of thing is what keeps me from wanting kids," Rina said, "I'm down with everything else, I babysit for god sakes, clearly I'm good with children, but...the idea that something absolutely horrendous can happen to an innocent child is just..." "It's no bueno," Alex said. "Well put," Rina said, smiling. "No, I know what you mean," Alex said as the two sat on a small concrete planter box and talked; she continued, "I've never really dealt with death well, honestly. I've never had, like, a traumatic experience either, but for some reason I just...I've never really been good with the whole mortality thing. It really bothers me. So yeah, I get why it's even worse when it happens to a literal child." Meanwhile, Lillian was pushing her way gently through the crowd, searching all over for Maddison. When she finally spotted her, Maddie was standing alone, looking at a small corkboard that had been smothered with photos of Stephie. Lillian approached her cautiously and touched her shoulder. Maddie turned around, looked up at her, then threw her arms around Lillian's legs and squeezed her hard. "They didn't give you a candle?" Lillian asked. "They won't give them to children," Maddie whispered, sniffling, "it's okay, I didn't wanna carry one anyway." "How are you doing?" Lillian asked. "I...don't know," Maddie said, pulling away and wiping her eyes on her sleeves, her braids swinging gently behind her, "uh...it's weird, I didn't really know her, but...she shouldn't have died. That boy at my party shouldn't have died." Lillian knelt down so they were eye level, and she noticed the tears streaming down Maddison's face. "why..." Maddie muttered, "...why do people keep dying around me?" This broke Lillian's heart, and she pulled Maddie into her again, hugging her tightly, stroking her braids, telling her it was okay. That she wasn't the cause. That these things just happened. She knew none of this was likely as reassuring as she'd hoped it'd be, but it was the best she could do. *** "I'm glad we finally found some time to get together," Vera said, smiling across the table at Tyler, who smiled back as he sipped his wine. They were seated in a small, but fancy, restaurant downtown and having dinner, which Vera was opting to pay for seeing as her paygrade was better than Tyler's, a fact Tyler didn't mind. She was dressed in a nice dress, and her hair was pulled back into a bun, and Tyler was dressed in slacks and a button down shirt, his hair combed and gelled. "Yeah, I feel like I never get to just go out without it having to be work related," Tyler said. "I know," Vera said, "that's why I asked you to join me tonight, because it just...it feels nice to do something that isn't work related. I feel the same way. I feel like I work nonstop, and it's exhausting. It's nice to just go somewhere, have dinner, talk about things not related to work." "Yet here we are, discussing how much we work," Tyler said, making Vera laugh. "Well, okay, let's move away from that then. Been involved in any hobbies lately?" Vera asked, making Tyler stop and think. "Uh, I guess I've been taking up knitting," Tyler said, "My sister's having a baby, so I wanted to make her something. It's hard, I don't know how people used to knit entire rugs and coats and stuff, that shit is complicated. I can barely manage a pair of booties." "That's really sweet," Vera said, smiling widely, "what made you wanna do knitting? I mean, besides your sisters pregnancy." "I guess, like, it's quiet and slow paced? When your daily life is surrounded by parties, you want your downtime to be something chill, you know? Even if it is still related to children in some way, but that's cool, I like kids," Tyler said, the waiter setting down their entrees and the two beginning to dig in; Tyler scooped some shrimp pasta into his mouth, chewed then added, "I wanna have kids someday." "Yeah, me too," Vera said softly, blushing. *** Lillian and Maddison were walking through the crowd, Lillian having given Maddie her candle to hold because she'd asked to, and Lillian was tired of her hand cramping from it. "I was looking at the photos on that board cause I was jealous," Maddie said quietly, "she had parents who loved her. She vanished while trick or treating with her dad. They had a lot of family trip photos and all sorts of stuff like that. I don't think I have a single photo of myself with my parents." "Don't feel bad, I don't either. The only ones I have were the ones taken when I won another pageant and it was required for my mother and I to have our photo taken together," Lillian said, "sometimes it almost feels like I don't even have a past because I have virtually no photographic evidence of it." "That's so sad," Maddie said, "I want my parents to want me." As the girls approached Rina and Alex, they found Alex was napping, her head resting on Rina's shoulder. Rina nudged gently, waking Alex, who looked around before noticing Maddie holding the candle before noticing Lillian no longer had hers. "Heeey," she said, "Where's your candle?" "I gave it to Maddie," Lillian said. "That's not fair! Here, hold my candle!" Alex said, making them laugh. "How are you doing?" Rina asked as Maddie climbed up to sit with them on the concrete planter. "This is weird," she whispered, "I feel weird being here." "We can leave if you'd like," Rina said, "We can go get something to eat before I take you home. Lillian and her friend can join us, if that's okay with them," she finished, looking up at Lillian who smiled and nodded. Maddie thought for a moment and nodded in response. Together they all stood up and began to head out, before Alex stopped Lillian and looked around. "What is it?" Lillian asked. "Where do I put my candle?" Alex asked, "Aren't I supposed to add it to some shrine or something?" "Just give it to someone, they'll do it for you." "No! You might've dragged me here, but by god I'm gonna do the right thing!" Alex said. Lillian agreed to help Alex find the area to put their candles, and after taking Maddie to the area, she and Alex approached the shrine, waiting to set their candles down, while Lillian and Rina stood back, watching. Alex exhaled deeply, feeling nervous, until she felt Maddie's hand in her own, squeezing it tightly. Alex, at first taken aback at this physical contact, then quickly changed gears and smiled at it, squeezing her hand back. When they got to the front of the shrine, they both knelt and placed their candles on the small tin holders. "There we go," Alex said, "Now we've honored her." "...thank you," Maddie whispered, and Alex patted her on the head. "Thank you," she replied softly. Alex and Maddie got back up, rejoined Lillian and Rina, and the four of them headed to a fast food place to get something to eat. It had been a somewhat somber evening, and now it was time to make it a little bit better. After all, as Alex put it on the way there, they weren't dead, so they should try to have a good time. *** Tyler and Vera were walking down the street, near the riverwalk, the lights in the trees lit up overhead. The sound of the water softly lapping against the lip of the walk, the boats slowly drifting by them, Vera felt like nothing could ruin such a perfect night. Walking alongside her, Tyler looked at his shoes, kicking little pebbles on the ground into the nearby water. "I feel like my life is nothing but work," Vera said, "to the point where even my social life, with you, is work related in some way." "Well, I can quit the job, get something normal, then this wouldn't as awkward," Tyler said. "No," Vera replied, chuckling, "No, I don't want you to quit your job, Ty. I like the closeness this gives us. It keeps us entangled, in one way or another, no matter what. If anything, I'm the one who should quit. I have no real upward mobility, partially thanks to my skin color, and I need to find something long term." "We love having you there," Tyler said, "Group wouldn't be complete without you." Vera stopped and looked at Tyler, who stopped and looked back at her. The strung up lights in the trees brightened her face just a bit, and he could see her eyes shine. She looked even more beautiful than he normally thought she looked. "They say you shouldn't mix business with pleasure, that office romances never work out," Vera said. "Well then," Tyler said, approaching her, "I guess it's a good thing we don't work in an office." And he leaned in and kissed her. She didn't hesitate, if anything she embraced it, and kissed him back. The tension between them had been bubbling for ages, and they both finally felt it was an okay enough time to give into it, and neither one regretted it. Yes, this was the best date either one had had in years. *** After parting ways with Rina and Maddie, Lillian started to drive Alexis home. Alexis had her forehead resting against the passenger side window, Lillian was playing soft classical music on the radio, and it was starting to rain ever so gently. As they pulled up to a red light, Lillian looked over at Alex. "You okay?" she asked, "You're not mad that I made you come are you?" "No," Alexis said. "...no to which?" "I don't know, both, I guess," Alexis said, "Being there it just made me think about my family, about all the people who aren't here anymore, and you're right, I get it, I get why you're protective, cause a child shouldn't have to endure that much loss in that short amount of time span at their age. But she has a good support system. We didn't." "Alex, you can tell me if-" "I don't think I wanna be alive anymore," Alex whispered, "...my life is going nowhere. Look at what I do for a living. Meanwhile my brother and sister are practicing professionals and here I am, dressing up like a fucking pirate for kids parties, and it isn't even that shame that really gets to me, it's the fact that I don't feel like I deserve better. Like this is all I'm really capable of." The light changed to green and Lillian kept driving, still listening to her friend, who was now crying as she spoke. "...my parents don't expect anything out of me, and I'm in my mid twenties," Alex said, "I can go weeks at a time without contact and they don't even notice." "Where's this coming from? You were in a good mood earlier." "I was high, dude," Alex said, surprising Lillian; Alex wiped her eyes on her sleeves and nodded, "Yeah, yeah I was high. I took heroin before we went. Drugs are all that make me function remotely like a normal person anymore." "Jesus, are you-" "I'm fine," Alex said sternly, "they only drug test at mandatory get togethers, and I make sure not to do it within a certain time frame surrounding those. I'm not going to lose my job. I know it's wrong, or at least that's what society thinks, but...in the grand scheme of things, how wrong is it?" "What do you mean?" Lillian asked, turning a corner, getting closer to Alexis's apartment. "I mean, we went to a candlelit vigil for a little girl tonight. Someone brutally murdered a child. I think there's varying degrees of evil, and on that sliding scale, taking heroin isn't really all that bad. It isn't like I'm hurting anyone, and I'm not dangerous to myself, so who's the bad guy here, Lil? The guy who viciously killed a small girl in her Halloween costume, or the girl who works kids parties for a living and does heroin in her spare time?" "...probably the guy who killed a child," Lillian said. "Exactly." As they pulled up to the curb, Lillian came to a full stop and looked at Alexis. "You wanna stay over?" Alex asked quietly. "...you don't wanna be alone? I can stay if you don't wanna be alone, I don't have to work tomorrow, so," Lillian said, "If you just want a friend around-" "please," Alex whispered. "Of course." Lillian got out of the car, as did Alexis, and together they headed up the stairs into the complex. Lillian actually hadn't wanted to stay, she was looking forward to a quiet night by herself, but she figured Alex could use the companionship, and she didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone in this state of mind. So Lillian went into he apartment with her, they ordered in food, and they watched game show reruns all night, and in the morning, when Lillian woke, Alex had already gone out to get coffee and and brought her back some too. All in all, sometimes the people you work with, Lillian thought, might just be most suited to be your best friends.
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Despite working at them for a living, Lillian had ironically grown to hate parties. Parties of any kind. Birthday parties, new years parties, you name a kind of party and Lillian hated it. Except for this party. This was the one and only social event of the year she looked forward to, and it was the company's annual Halloween party. This was the time she could wear whatever she wanted, instead of her princess getup, and she appreciated that.
Sitting in the car, riding with Alex who had asked her to carpool, Lillian was dressed as a Genie while Alex was dressed as a werewolf. Alex was applying eye makeup in the rearview mirror while Lillian drove, and she occasionally glanced over at Alex, somewhat scoffing. "What?" Alex asked. "Who ever heard of a werewolf using beauty products," Lillian said, making them both chuckle. "Well," Alex replied, "most werewolves aren't as ravishingly beautiful as I am, so there." Lillian laughed again, loudly this time, as she turned into the parking lot of the usual building the company rented for this event. After parking and getting out of the car, the two women started to head through the lot, towards the building. It was brisk out, and they could hear the shouts of a nearby house party as kids ran up and down the street in Halloween costumes, trick or treating. The sounds made Lillian remember why this was her favorite holiday. "It's so easy to feel like a kid again when Halloween comes around, even when you're older," she said, "I mean, it's the only holiday that has absolutely no restrictions on it. Candy for everyone, we all get to dress up and it's entirely nondenominational." "You make a valid argument," Alex said, pulling her werewolf mask down over her head, then looking at Lillian, asking, "How do my eyes look?" "You know, I now understand why you were doing makeup, because it really does add to the effect," she replied. Just then Tyler, dressed as a golfer, jogged up to their side and began walking beside them. Lillian and Alex started chuckling and pointing at him. "That's your costume?" Alex asked. "It was easy," Tyler remarked, shrugging, "at least I'm gonna be comfortable all night." "...shit, he's got a point. This thing is gonna make me sweat," Alex mumbled. *** Happily walking down the street, her little braids bobbing up and down, young 9 year old Stephie Marks was having the night of her life trick or treating with her dad. Her mom had stayed home to hand out candy, and when she asked why dad couldn't do it, he'd told her, "because people don't trust candy given by strange lone men", which made her mom laugh. She liked it when her mom laughed. She liked it when her parents made eachother laugh. Honestly, there wasn't much in the world that Stephie Marks didn't like, except perhaps dark chocolate. She much preferred milk chocolate to that, and even white. Stephie had picked out her costume months in advance, and not because it was difficult to make or anything - she was just dressed like a mermaid - but because she loved Halloween that much. Now, skipping down the street hand in hand with her dad, who was also skipping along with her, Stephie was thrilled to finally have her favorite holiday be here once again. At school that day, they'd spent the whole afternoon doing Halloween activities - reading spooky stories, watched a scary movie and having a Halloween parade around the school so all the kids could show off their costumes - and now it was the long awaited trick or treating. "Stay in my sight, okay?" her father called as she skipping ahead of him. Stephie raced up the stairs of one house, grouping herself with another bunch of small kids, and as the door swung open they all hollered "treat or treat!" and the woman who answered smiled at them all before dumping handfuls of candy in their respective containers. After she was finished, only Stephie thanked the woman profusely before running back down the steps to her father, who waved politely at the woman as he took his daughters hand and kept up with her down the street to the next house. Yes, Halloween was the best night of the year. *** Alex couldn't believe that most of the women here, all in their twenties or thirties, were dressed in fairly skimpy or sexy costumes, and now she felt especially out of place. Tyler patted her back and chuckled as Lillian continued past them to the snack table. "Well, at least you can take some sort of solace in the fact that you aren't a sexy werewolf," Tyler said. "Jokes on you, everybody would wanna sleep with a sexy werewolf," Alex said as they followed Lillian to the table. Alex immediately scooped up a handful of chips and, lifting up the mask, stuffed them into her mouth and chewed as Lillian picked up a small cracker with nice cheese and a small slice of meat atop it and nibbled on it. "Did you not eat before coming?" Tyler asked, and she shook her head. "No, I expected them to serve something here," she replied, "I mean, I wasn't expecting a five course meal or anything, but still you'd think a company this large and successful would've somehow found a way to manage feeding their employees for just a few hours. Hell, there's not even any Halloween themed cookies or anything." "There's pumpkin pie," Alex said, pointing at a pie that hadn't even been opened, making Lillian roll her eyes. "Great, yeah, cause pumpkins are used during Halloween. They really went the extra mile here, didn't they," Lillian mumbled, making Tyler laugh as Vera walked over to them. Vera was dressed like an elf from a fantasy book, and Tyler raised an eyebrow as she approached. "Wow, you look fantastic," Tyler said. "Thanks!" Vera said happily, pushing her hair behind her elf ears placed over her actual ears, "I wanted to do something different, as most years I don't really try very hard. I always liked reading fantasy novels when I was younger, so." "You don't read fantasy anymore?" Lillian asked. "I only read dirty magazines," Alex said, making everyone look at her until she quietly added under her breath, "...but, like, for the articles." Vera, barely able to container her laughter at Alex, said, "I don't really have as much time to read anymore, and a lot of fantasy is in depth, complex and very lengthy, so it takes a lot of time and patience, and I just don't have those qualities as an adult." "It's true, as a kid I had nothing but patience to sink time into things others considered pointless or trivial," Tyler said, "now I feel like my time is precious." "It's because as an adult you realize you only have such a finite amount of it before you die," Alex said. "You know, it's no surprise to me that you don't get invited to many parties," Tyler said at her. Lillian wandered away from the group as they gathered around the snack table, and she noticed someone sitting on a chair near an office door, fiddling with their costume. Lillian slipped away from the group while they bickered amongst themselves and walked towards the person. They looked up as Lillian stood in front of them, and smiled down. The person appeared to be a teenage girl, and Lillian was surprised to see her here. "My dad's around somewhere if you're looking for him," the girl said, and Lillian drug a chair next to hers and seated herself. "No, you just looked bored, so I thought I'd keep you company. I don't like parties myself," Lillian said. "Then what are you doing at one?" the girl asked. "Well, I'm legally obligated to be here, since, you know, I work for these people," Lillian said, "Trust me, I sat out one one year and was firmly reprimanded because of it. They essentially told me if I didn't wanna be a part of the team, then I shouldn't be signed up with one, even though we all work separately and only ever see one another during times like this." "You're not a loner. You came with people," the girl retorted, making Lillian glance back at the crew, still by the table, clearly discussing something intensely. "I mean, those are actual friends, not just coworkers. But okay, that's fair, perhaps I'm not as withdrawn as I make myself out to be," Lillian said, her thoughts immediately leaping to that of Maddison and Rina. She had been more social lately, it seemed. She sighed and stood up, adding, "Well, I just thought you might like some company, but I can leave if you'd like." "No, you...you don't have to go," the girl said, "It's nice not to be alone." Lillian seated herself again and the girl shifted in her seat. "So what's your dad usually dress as for work?" Lillian asked. "A monster," the girl said softly, "not much of a stretch of the imagination, if you ask me." This statement worried Lillian. *** It was getting late, and Stephie's father wanted to begin heading home. The streets weren't empty, exactly, but they had certainly thinned, and he was getting tired. Stephie, of course, still had energy to spare, because children never run out of steam, especially on a long awaited holiday. He checked his watch and scratched his forehead before tapping Stephie on her shoulder while she dug through her candy bag while walking. "I think we should start heading home," he said. "Just one more house!" Stephie said excitedly, making him smile. How could he turn down that level of unbridled enthusiasm? "Alright," he said, "but just one more." He didn't really recognize this neighborhood, and that alone should've tipped him off that they'd gone too far from their usual route, but Stephie was having such a good time he didn't think much of it. He stopped and looked across the street at a house party going on, and he thought back to the kind of Halloween parties he and his wife used to attend before they had Stephie. Those days were long gone, now. These days their idea of a wild night was to stay up until 2am and eat a few bowls of ice cream apiece. He turned back as he heard the sound of small feet shuffling up beside him and looked down, expecting to see Stephie, but instead seeing a little boy. He quickly apologized, and the mother understood politely, taking her little boy by the hand and leading him down the street. Stephie's father continued to turn in circles, looking everywhere in his immediate vicinity for his daughter, only to come up empty time and time again, and he began to grow worried. Where had she gone? Just one more house. Just one more house. It was something he'd regret saying for the rest of his life. *** "Parents are dicks," Lillian said, "I mean, even the ones who seem to try for your best interests wind up being dicks, because they never ask you what you want, they just think they know what you want. So even if their heart is in the right place, their actions speak louder than words." "It's embarrassing having a dad who works for parties for a living as a costumed character," the girl said, "everyone else's dads are doctors or lawyers or work in office buildings or are involved in some remotely kind of respectable career, but my dad just...does parties in a monster costume." "I like to think that we perform an important service, bringing joy to kids," Lillian said. "Funny how he can bring other peoples children joy but he can't make his own kid happy," the girl replied. "I know what you mean," Lillian said. "Do you? Because you sound just like every other adult who's tried to relate to me," the girl said, almost snapping at Lillian and surprising her now, continuing, "every therapist, school counselor, teacher, whatever...you all sound the same. Do you really understand, or are you just saying that to get me to let my guard down?" Lillian was surprised, taken aback by this sudden vinegar, and didn't know how to respond. The girl stood up and took off quickly, walking into the crowd and vanishing. Alex took her seat, eating a piece of pie crust and looking at Lillian. "You okay?" Alex asked. "...I guess just because you're friends with one kid doesn't mean you can be friends with them all," Lillian said. "Teenagers are scary," Alex said, finishing her pie crust, and then sliding a paper plate with another piece of pie on it onto Lillian's lap, smiling, "here, I brought you a piece before it was all gone." "...thanks Alexis," Lillian said, smiling lightly; she couldn't deny that Alex was a real friend, and perhaps she should just be grateful for that. So Lillian spent the evening in the chair, talking with Alexis, occasionally dancing with her when Alex asked, and just overall having a surprisingly decent time. On the way back to the parking lot that night, she spotted the teenage girl screaming at her dad near their car, and as Lillian lifted a fairly drunk Alexis into the passenger side seat, she shifted and opened one eye. "What's with all the screaming?" Alex asked, groaning. "It's nothing," Lillian said, "none of our business." And then she drove Alexis to her apartment, letting her spend the night, thinking she shouldn't be alone. As she drove past the teenage girl and her father, their eyes caught briefly, and she could see the teenage girl looked genuinely remorseful for how she'd acted, but it was too late now. The party was over. Maybe next year. *** Stephie, despite hearing her father say to stay in his sight, had immediately rushed up the porch of a house, and rang the doorbell. The lawn was well taken care of, the house looked nice and clean, and a man almost her fathers age, dressed well, opened the door to her. She held up her bag and said "trick or treat!", and the man immediately grabbed a bowl of candy inside near the door, dumping some into her bag. Stephie thanked him, then turned, her back to him, as she looked through her bag before heading back to her father. The man looked around, noticing how empty the streets were, and then swiftly placed one hand around her mouth, the other around her waist, and pulled her violently into his house, shutting the door behind him. Stephie's father would eventually return home, much to his wifes shock, with a slew of policemen. They would stay up all night, waiting for the cops to find their daughter, only for morning to break with no sign of a return. It wouldn't be another week until they finally found Stephie, wrapped in a carpet and dumped in the back field of a nearby high school. She'd been strangled to death. Even days after that, her father, Jackson, could still hear the shrill sounds of his and his wifes screams when they were brought to the morgue to identify their little girl. No fingerprints or any other evidence was found, and no suspect was ever named. Every night, before he fell asleep, Jackson would be lying in bed, trying to clear his mind but all he could hear was that sentence, destined to be forever haunted by four little innocent words... Just one more house. Just one more house. Just one more house. |
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A young woman named Lilian Phillips, who plays a princess at birthday parties, befriends a little girl who had a child die at her own birthday party. Archives
April 2024
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