OH, TO BE HERE ON THE GROUND
Toro falls silent as the necklace reaches over him and falls gently against his chest.
Anzhelo says, ”No one has ever protected me,” and El Toro-
El Toro wants to protect him.
And Anzhelo smiles. Anzhelo, who wants to throw himself off a cliff, Anzhelo, who no one has thought worthy of protecting-
”I’m still standing, aren’t I?” and the little stag reaches up to brush his lips against Toro’s cheeks.
A kiss.
A folk hero.
The hero, the boon, the lover.
The what?
”I trust you to return it.” Toro swims through the clouds in his thoughts, and nods, feeling his telepathy press the scale to his chest, just for a moment. ”Thanks,” he half-croaks, half-whispers. El Toro dips his head and turns away, and disappears into the crowd.
@
"What I say,"
What I think,
