“Sorry if the hug was uncomfortable.” Lysa broke the silence. “Being a baby for so long kind of destroys your sense of having personal space. It’s something you just have to get used to.”
Dante smiled. He felt a small thrill surge through him. He was inches away from crashing his car into his parents garage. “Not necessarily.” Lysa shook her head, sadly. She cupped Dante’s face in her hands.
“Kid, I’ve already told you:” nothing but pity showed in her eyes. “There’s no getting out of here. There’s no winning because we’ve already lost. We’re here because of a higher power.” Dante looked over to see if the Judy was still watching. She wasn’t.
“If this power is so high,” Dante asked, “why is it that they have limits?” Now it was Lysa’s turn to be truly dumbstruck. She dropped her hands down to her side, and stared in bewilderment.
“Lived on the East Coast before you died, didn’t you?” he remarked, more of a statement than an actual question. Lysa didn’t correct him. “I bet everyone here lived in an Eastern Time Zone, too. That’s why the exact time of my death was important.”
“And,” he went on, “you died on October 17th, same as me. “That’s why the door to this nursery was 1017.” Dante could almost taste her disbelief. “Aaaand,” Dante built up steam, “there’s only so many babies that can be held here. That’s why they have 1017A, 1017B, and so on. Then they have to make room for a new nursery. Tell me I’m wrong!” She wouldn’t be able to.
“I don’t think I can,” Lysa said. Knew it! “But what’s your point? What does knowing all this prove?”
“It proves that they’re not all powerful or omnipotent. If they were, every kid that ever died would be in this place. They wouldn’t need a filing system or separate nurseries! They have limits here. And if they have limits, that means”
“I don’t like where this is going, kid”, Lysa quavered. “This has bad idea all over it, and it’s still just your first day.”
“Oh, I’m not getting out today.” Dante practically shouted, his blood pumping. “It’ll take a while, obviously. But it’s possible. There’s still hope!” Lysa rolled her eyes and smacked her own forehead.
“Now what did I specifically tell you NOT to do?”, she said. “Are you a slow learner or something? Hope is a poison here. Too much hope, and you’ll go insane with despair when it doesn’t pan out. Or worse.”
“What could be worse than ending up like, her?” Dante said gesturing towards Midori. Midori smiled, only knowing that she was being talked about.
“What’s worse?” Lysa said indignantly, “What’s worse?! Let’s go someplace, and I’ll show you what too much hope can do to you. Mama Judyyyyy!” she called out.