[Her back is turned to him, but her shoulders raise up into a shrug]

'If...' It's such a heavy word.

I don't think I would have had such an aversion towards parties had I not realized during that first gathering that I was all alone at ten years old in the world. A witch, but still seen as a human. A human who had paid the price for her power by leaving behind things that took her years to realize were precious in their own right.

And I had no one to blame for my loneliness except for myself.