The little one, Rosie, was staring at him, all big eyes and blonde ringlets, and he slouched as close to the damn door as he could get. He wasn't afraid of her so much as every little damn thing she represented. Everything he'd lost. Everything he didn't even remember having in the damn first place.

"I've asked around. Nobody's got more explanation than that. You and that envelop turn up outta thin air. You're either one of the clueless bastards like us that don't got a clue, or you're the rest of the damn people in this city, who all act like nothin' weird's going on."