Contents
Chapter 71
Overview
In a flashback, Elsie prepares Cess’s body with dignity after killing her father, despite knowing it will implicate her. She then bids farewell to Daphne, who urges her to fight. Elsie’s memory frames Daphne as a conjured companion, underscoring Elsie’s isolation and acceptance of the consequences.
Summary
In the aftermath of killing her father, Elsie returns to Cess and covers her with a blue silk bathrobe, placing a pillow beneath Cess’s head and smoothing her hair. Elsie recognizes these acts will look like tampering in court but chooses dignity for Cess over legal caution.
Leaving her father in his blood, Elsie seeks out Daphne to say goodbye. Daphne wants to resist and keep fighting, but Elsie, exhausted and resigned, insists she will be fine, invoking the nickname “Mad Mabel.”
Daphne rejects the nickname, calling Elsie “Maybelline,” and they share a tearful hug. Daphne waves from the window as Elsie departs, echoing childhood memories of conjuring a comforting figure in a window.
Elsie recalls how, like a mirage or answered prayer, Daphne appeared when she was a child and desperately needed a friend. This cements Daphne as a created companion who helped Elsie endure, even as Elsie now accepts the inevitable fallout of her actions.
Who Appears
- Elsie “Mabel”Narrator; tends to Cess’s body, accepts blame, and says a final, resigned goodbye to Daphne.
- DaphneElsie’s conjured companion; urges her to fight, calls her “Maybelline,” and waves farewell from the window.
- CessFound dead; Elsie covers her with a robe and pillow to preserve her dignity.
- Elsie’s fatherRecently killed by Elsie; left in a pool of blood as she departs to find Daphne.