Veil - Vol. 1 - Chapter 8

Dialogue Transcript Veil — Vol. 1 - Chapter 8 26

[Aleksander]: ...It came back to me. She made a call back to her place. It only lasted a minute. At the same time, the phone rang, she took it, it was her first one. And that call was: "My cat left my house, and I'd like you to find it." She replied: "I'm terribly sorry I can't find it myself." And she truly was sorry. The cat didn't come back in the end. But I see it wandering around the block a lot. That's the thing with freedom, when you taste it once, you want to have it forever. The same goes for her, since she stopped using her "stick". Her hair sure has grown too, compared to the beginning. And since she met my sister, Beth, her wardrobe has expanded too. But I never take my eyes off of her. It's too dangerous. She could bump into someone sitting on the stairs again, or fall down some stairs. Especially since she's started wearing heels. So, right, no way. No way am I letting her out of my sight.

[Aleksander]: But there are tables...

[Emma]: There's no counter?

[Aleksander]: You'd rather be on a counter?

[Aleksander]: I'd have as many holes as those crumpets to you? So...

[Emma]: Alright...

[Aleksander]: Alright...

[Aleksander]: I'm hungry.

[Aleksander]: "Our section is looking for someone to take calls!" Truthfully, I only said that as a joke... (I mean, we were looking for someone, but anyway...) And she did look desperate, walking towards a dark future, in every sense of the word. I thought about asking her family to come and get her, but she refused tooth and nails. I was really troubled. Well, troubled, but when she said, very confidently, that she felt responsible for hitting me with her stick (that's what she calls her cane) I felt like that responsibility fell on me too, as I was sitting in her way. So, in the beginning, I was a bodyguard and young runaway girl's escort. Only in the beginning.

[Emma]: Yes.

[Emma]: When we sit face to face, you're always staring at me.

[Aleksander]: So let me confess...

[Aleksander]: When we're sitting side to side, I happen to look at you some- times.

[Emma]: Do you believe I don't know?

[Emma]: That's borderline professional misconduct, mister policeman.

[Emma]: If I could see like you...

[Emma]: I'd probably look at you a hundred times more.

[Emma]: I'd see right through you, I believe you people say.

[Emma]: What about me, how many do I have?

[Aleksander]: So...

[Aleksander]: Don't you worry.

[Aleksander]: You only have three very charming holes.

[Aleksander]: Well some- times...

[Aleksander]: You let as many holes show as a hand has fingers...

[Aleksander]: It's pretty rare, if I do say so myself...

Nose, mouth and eyes

Chapter Summary

Veil Vol. 1 - Chapter 8 follows Aleksander as he remembers how Emma came to the station and why he still refuses to let her out of his sight. He recalls jokingly offering her the call-taking job, her first lost-cat call she could not solve, and her fierce refusal to return to her family. Noting her grown hair, abandoned cane, and wider wardrobe, he confesses to watching her, which turns into playful teasing over tea about stolen glances.

Chapter Analysis Veil — Vol. 1 - Chapter 8

Veil Vol. 1 - Chapter 8 centers on Aleksander remembering how Emma first came to work at the station and why he continues to watch over her so closely. He recalls that his offer of “Our section is looking for someone to take calls!” was only meant as a joke, even though they did need someone, and that she looked desperate as she walked toward a dark future. When he considered asking her family to come and get her, she refused tooth and nails, insisting she felt responsible for hitting him with her stick, which is what she calls her cane, and he felt that responsibility fell on him too since he was sitting in her way. That memory explains his present protectiveness, and Veil Vol. 1 - Chapter 8 connects it to Emma’s first call and her gradual change. She made a brief call back to her place while at the same time taking an incoming call about a missing cat, answering that she was terribly sorry she could not find it herself. The cat never came back, though Aleksander still sees it wandering around the block. He reflects that freedom works the same way for her, since once tasted it is wanted forever, pointing to how she has stopped using her stick, grown her hair longer, and expanded her wardrobe since meeting his sister Beth. Because she could bump into someone on the stairs or fall down stairs, especially now that she has started wearing heels, he concludes there is no way he is letting her out of his sight. The chapter then shifts from memory to playful teasing over tea about looking and being looked at. Emma notes that when they sit face to face he is always staring at her, while he confesses that when they sit side to side he sometimes looks at her. She calls that borderline professional misconduct, mister policeman, and adds that if she could see like him she would probably look at him a hundred times more. When she asks how many holes she has, he answers that she only has three very charming holes, and she jokes back about holes like a hand has fingers, leading to the title idea of nose, mouth and eyes. Veil Vol. 1 - Chapter 8 therefore uses Aleksander’s past guilt-turned-care to frame a tender present where watching becomes mutual attention rather than mere supervision.

Prev: Vol. 1 - Chapter 7

Next: Vol. 1 - Chapter 9

Veil — Vol. 1 - Chapter 8

Dialogue Transcript

Chapter Summary

Chapter Analysis: Veil — Vol. 1 - Chapter 8