[In truth, Ellie's been braced for this question ever since she arrived. Everyone's been too polite to ask, and she's appreciated the reprieve, but it's only made things feel worse. They must be imagining something horrible and traumatic happening to her. Some accident, or...

Ellie's told herself she'll tell the truth. Lying to Glimmer doesn't cross her mind. But she still stares up at the ceiling, gripping the sheets.]

It's okay.

[Ellie lapses back into silence, gathering her thoughts. When she speaks, her voice is steady, but a little distant, like she's recalling it happening to somebody else.]

... I was drowning the person who killed Joel. She -- bit them off. While she was trying to get away.

It was a few months before I came here.