petunias.

Kaneki has been gifted with a pot of pink petunias.

He's feeling slightly better
only slightly
barely
maybe
not really
notatall
butifhethinksit
itcouldbecometrue
right?
so he angles his bed up to look at the card and takes a drink while he's at it

although
like a child

he dribbles water all down his front when he reads what the card says this time.

>liar. take this too, and call someone to clean/fix ur window so the plants can get some sun. isn't nature pretty?

Kaneki scribbles frantically, hands shaking, water dripping from his chin onto the card too, leaving ugly blotches like tear stains.

<how do you know that?

now he's angry.

no one else can tell he's lying

no matter what he says
no matter what he does
no matter how discreetly obvious

no one realizes he's lying.

and yet

this

random
mysterious
anonymous
unknown

creepy?

well-meaning?

person

can see though his lies
can see right through him

even though he's alone
and no one is watching him cover his chin
and his handwriting looks the same as always

and goddammit why now
why now
whywhywhyw h y ?

when he can barely remember what he didn't eat for breakfast
when he has to look at his list notebooks to remember himself
when he waits for the nurses to tell him why he's in the hospital instead of asking

when he can barely remember if--
--when he speaks--
--the lies are truths

or are the truths lies?

...

is he even speaking at all?

is anyone listening?

...

caN tHEy HEaR tHE vOICeS ANd scREAMs TOo?