"Did something horrible happen to someone you love?"

It was clear Mitsuri meant romantic love. Dot knew that intellectually. She knew that but that didn't stop the words from drawing the memory of that awful night five years ago to the forefront of her mind. For just a split second, her smile falters.

She shakes her head, both in reply and to dispel such thoughts. "Oh no, no, nothing like that. I'm a journalist by trade but I dabble in other writing as well. One of my best reviewed original works was a grand poem - a bittersweet, tragic love story." Pat, pat. Everything is fine. No cause for alarm.