Because I am about to be devoured by poodles," I quip. "Remember me always, my love.

I survive at the edge of friends circles.

The moment she was cursed, I lost her. Once it wears off- soon- she will be embarrassed to remember things that she said, things she did, things like this. No matter how solid she feels in my arms, she is made of smoke.

We all wind up drawn to what we're afraid of, drawn to try to find a way to make ourselves safe from a thing by crawling inside of it, by loving it, by becoming it.

Farewell, Father," she said. He fell back upon his chair, choking. She laughed, not with mirth or even mockery, but something that was closer to a sob. "You crafted me so sharp, I cut even myself.

Once, there was a girl who vowed she would save everyone in the world, but forgot herself.

After that, she wasn't sure what the game was or if she'd imagined it. All she knew was that she had lost.