“Green tablet. Green space. Green eyes. Green girl.”

“He stops just close enough for me to see the blue of his eyes and forget the red on my hands and the green I wish I wore.”

“But I've already broken the glass; I've given the green away; I've made my choice.”

“I keep my eyes down, looking now at my fingers as they twist the fabric into a knot."I'm sorry. About the way I acted yesterday." When I straighten up, Ky has already moved on."Don't be," Ky says, pulling a tangle of climbing green vines away from a shrub so that we can pass through. He throws the vines at me and I catch them in surprise. "It's good to see you jealous once in a while." He smiles,”

“Any other questions?""Just one," I say. "What color are your eyes?" I want to know what he thinks, how he sees himself - the real Ky - when he dares to look."Blue," he says sounding surprised, "they've always been blue.""Not to me.""What do they look like to you?" he says puzzled, amused. Not looking at my mouth anymore, looking into my eyes."Lots of colors," I say. "At first I thought they were brown. Once I thought they were green...""What are they now?" he asks. He widens his eyes a little, leans closer, lets me look as long and deep as I want."Well?""Everything," I tell him, "They're everything.”

“I wouldn't take that tablet Cassia. Not for a report. And perhaps not ever. You are strong enough to go without it.”

“I will be strong enough to go without the tablet. But there are other things I’m not strong enough to go without, and I intend to fight for them. (Cassia Reyes)”