"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."
― Charles Dickens, The Tale of Two Cities
"Got it?"
"After much hard work"
"Good. Are you sure you got it?"
"Yes. I'm most definitely sure."
"And I believe that you haven't done any of the tricks up your sleeves to cheat me. Did you?"
"No"
"Honestly?"
"Yeah"
"Why am I not able to gain any confidence in you?"
"Trust me"
"I don't know if I should trust you"
"What's there to know?"
"Actually, I'd do anything but trust you, after what you have done."
"I apologized"
"Yes, you did."
"And you accepted it"
"Well, did I?"
"Yes"
"Oh. Actually, I wanna rethink that decision."
Her eyes widened. "No. Please"
He took a deep breath, "Okay. Show me"
She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, "Here you go."
"Ah. Nice."
She smiled.
"After how many attempts have I got this?", he asked.
"Three, right?"
"It was meant to be a rhetorical question."
"Oh. Sorry."
"Are you sure no one else saw you?"
"I tried my very best"
"That doesn't sound like a promising answer. Does it?"
"I think no one saw me"
"Now, that also doesn't sound like a promising answer, does it?"
"No one saw me"
"I hope."
"So..."
"So?"
"Do you really want me to ask it?"
"Why not?"
"So you 'will' keep my secret. Right?"
"Well, I think I may require some time to think about it."
"You promised"
"Yes"
"You promised"
"Did I ever say no to that?"
"You must keep my secret"
"Must? Are you someone to order me around?"
"Please"
"Now..... I think 'No'"
"Please"
"No"
The girl broke down.
Crying.
Trembling.
Sobbing.
And ran away...