[ Born in Virginia but still no accent. Huh. His comment about living a lot of places clicks something into place for her, but it's not the puzzle of this place or of mystery guy himself. It's something a lot more personal than either of those. ]

My mom didn't have an accent that matched where she lived, either. [ How weird it feels to be sharing that with a stranger, but this is a very strange place. ] I never really thought about it before now. I don't know how many places she lived or when. Her gift was long life but I don't even know how old she was.

[ Maybe he's like her. Maybe he's not. Maybe he won't tell her a damn thing either way. ]