Fear

“it’s like being afraid of elves”
i say
“no”
she says
“these are real”
“have you seen any lately”
i say
“of course not”
she says
“they’re extinct, gone”
“that means they don’t exist anymore”
i say
“so”
she says
“they used to”
“some people believe they never did”
i say
“true”
she says
“but some do”
“they’re not an immediate threat”
i say
“neither is lightning”
she says
“and that’s scary”
“what’s so scary about them in the first place”
i say
“big teeth”
she says
“they’ll eat you”
“i don’t think they ate people”
i say
“okay”
she says
“are you willing to chance it”
“there’s no way they could harm you”
i say
“maybe”
she says
“but stranger things have happened”
“like what”
i say
“coelacanth”
she says
“wasn’t actually extinct”
“bullshit”
i say
“bullshit”
she says
“i’ve been dead for years”
“you don’t scare me”
i say
“i do scare you”
i say
“bullshit”
i say
“bullshit”