Renee's hand, which had been stroking the back of Vera's hand, began to press the pulse gently on Vera's wrist.
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“Sometimes there is a pulsation. The more intense the emotion, the more evident it becomes.”
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“…Why are you talking about it now?”
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“It was because almost everyone who looked at me had a passionate voice when they talked to me.”
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“Don’t you think that you are just being overly self-conscious?”
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“No way. I’m certain. The tremors in the voices of those who told me that I was beautiful, and the heat that came along with it, each contained a hazy hue. There is only love, as far as I know, it's a tone with such a vivid color.”
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“Everyone who saw you fell in love? Aren’t you ashamed to paint your face with gold?”
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“I'm telling the truth.”
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Vera felt a smirk coming out of Renee's face as she said it without any shame.
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"That's enough. I asked you a stupid question."
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“It’s a pity that there is no way to prove it.”
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Renee's hand, which was holding the pulse, fell off, and the warmth that had permeated Vera's wrist disappeared.
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Vera, feeling the sensation of emptiness, exhaled briefly, then shut his mouth tight.
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As the body weakens, does the mind also weaken?
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Vera felt that the emotion he had just experienced had harmed his pride.
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To feel regret from the departing warmth, he must have lived a life in which he had asked no one for help. This weakness sprouted within him for some reason when he dealt with her.
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His shallow imagination kept coming up with meaningless assumptions in his mind.
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If I had met you at a different time, different place, and in a different position, would I be different from how I am now? What if I had met you before I became evil? Would I have lived a different life than the one I have now? If it had been before you scarred your face, would I have fallen in love as you said?
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A never-ending chain of assumptions. As a result, Vera felt his stomach churn again and shook it off by biting his lips.
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It was because of the growing misery following those rising assumptions.
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It took a while for the silence to settle, in order to shake off those trivial thoughts.
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"…Then I'll go out for a while."
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Renee opened her mouth.
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Vera hesitated and sat up, looked at Renee as she staggered against the wall, and uttered those words again.
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“You'd better leave the Rosary behind.”
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“How could I ever do that?”
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It was a word of rejection that came back.
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Vera looked at Renee as she walked slowly away from him, feeling suffocated and unwilling.
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As a result, he uttered unnecessary words.
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“…I guess the prayers you've been praying for the whole time must have been a prayer for someone to kill you.”
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"Please. I'm not going to die until you get out of bed."
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Renee said that, opening the door of the shack with 'creak' and went outside.
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“I'll be back.”
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Words in the usual calm tone, as always.
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Those were Renee's last words that Vera heard.