Snippet #2301408

"Alice," She said at length, and, for the first time, her face broke out into what was unmistakably a smile. Perhaps she was proud for the boy's sake that he'd finally said something that indubitably made sense, or for her own for somehow enlightening him, but whatever the reasons for her grin, it still likely seemed somewhat out of place. Yet, there was something indescribable about it that was undoubtedly earnest, making it almost impossible to assume that her next words were spoken in jest. "See?" She said, grinning. "Getting answers from me is easy, if you just ask for them. In certain cases, anyway. Like, if you were to ask me what the meaning of life was, I'd probably be wrong. Donuts are good, but not that good." She shook her head once or twice, as though trying to somehow physically derail the train of thought before it got too out of hand. This course of action seemed less than effective, however, for she swiftly ceased the movement, halting almost as though frozen by something in the middle of her motion. Struck, apparently, by a sudden thought, she returned to her previous contemplative demeanor, her expression lapsing into one of thoughtful stoicism as she seemed to lose focus on reality. After a few moments, she spoke up.

"Wait," She said with surprising seriousness. Although she didn't move overly much, the way she frowned ever-so-slightly made it seem like she was in deep concentration, as though pondering a very important or mysterious matter. Speaking slowly, as though unsure of the adequacy of her words or the truth of her belief, she abruptly took up an old matter, as though she had suddenly realized something she'd missed upon first contemplating Jacob's words.

"If you need to observe me more closely to understand me, does that mean I should turn upside down again?" The question was asked innocently enough, albeit with a certain inexplicable sense of ever-so-slight trepidation and, of all things, eagerness, but the implication was less than modest. It seemed now that she'd misunderstood Jacob's attempt at a metaphor, despite her own apparent love of misplaced, misused, and oftentimes nonsensical comparisons. Although she didn't seem confident in the conclusion she'd drawn, it was nonetheless apparent that her ability to comprehend most normal concepts seemed tremendously low, and her propensity for misconception was truly unprecedented.