• There was nothing else to do. Ice had replaced my heart. Love was dangerous; life was dangerous. I climbed down from the huge, protective tree. My face was stained with tears from my hysterics before. I felt the harsh emptiness that I hadn't felt for a long time. Not since before I met Erik. While we were together he made me feel... bubbly inside. He gave me the love I never got from my family, no matter how hard I tried to get it from them. Erik let me cry on his shoulder; he hugged me and was a safe place from the bitterness of my life. Nothing mattered but being with him and the joy I derived from it. The, he took my heart and threw it away. He cut it into a million tiny pieces and burned them to a crisp.

    But I'm still alive. Just clinging to the sliver of life I had left.