It was the sort of beauty you feel so deeply it becomes contagious and somehow makes you feel beautiful too.

Outside, the September air was enticingly fragrant, yellow with pollen and rich, lemony sunlight.

Are people drawn to each other because of the stories they carry inside?

That was the way love was, invisible, there whether or not you wanted to see it or admit to it.

I thought you were supposed to be the champion of your people,' I said. I live because I need to do that. For anyone who is left.' Don't you see? No one will be left. Protect them now or there will be no one to protect!' This is a battle that goes on and on. It never ends. You're too young to understand. No! You're too much of a coward to fight.' I was sick of lies and secrets and of battles so old we had to erase who we were to fight back. And still we lost. Still we were tied to posts.

How could I tell the doctor what was wrong with me? I didn't understand it myself. I couldn't articulate the pain; it was the pain of nothingness. My fear was of the weather, the atmosphere, the very air. What good did safety tips do me now? 'Avoid water, metal objects, rooftops; stay off the telephone in a storm, don't think glass can protect you; even if a storm was 8 miles away, you're still not safe from a strike. Avoid life perhaps that was the answer. The number one safety tip, stay away from it all.

But what we are given is taken as well, so that we know God's glory comes to us from His will alone.