And when she dreams, she dreams of a girl who was lost at sea but one day found the shore.

It wasn't even 8:00 yet. Pretty early for such deep thoughts.

Daddy always said that an option that you know to have a bad outcome is only a fool's option, i.e., not an option at all. And I liked to think that Daddy hadn't raised a fool.

Win walked over to me. He held out his palm. In the middle of it was a single black sequin from the dress Scarlet had lent me. "You lost this," he said. I giggled, slightly embarrassed to be leaving bits of myself behind. "I'm shedding.

He kissed me, though not in a sexy way. Gentle. Tender.

Someday, we’ll run into each other again, I know it. Maybe I’ll be older and smarter and just plain better. If that happens, that’s when I’ll deserve you. But now, at this moment, you can’t hook your boat to mine, because I’m liable to sink us both.

Death is a state of mind---many people on Earth spend their entire lives dead.