She wanted none of those days to end, and it was always with disappointment that she watched the darkness stride forward.

A REASSURING ANNOUNCEMENT Please, be calm, despite that previous threat. I am all bluster - I am not violent. I am not malicious. I am a result.

Mistakes, mistakes, it's all I seem capable of at times.

It was one of those moments of perfect tiredness, of having conquered not only the work at hand, but the night who had blocked the way.

She looks at the swings, and I can see she’s imagining what they’d look like if the kids weren’t there. The guilt of this holds her down momentarily. It appears to be there constantly. Never far away, despite her love for them. I realize that nothing belongs to her anymore and she belongs to everything.

How do you tell if something's alive? You check for breathing.

How'd it feel?" Rube asked himself. "I don't know exactly, but it made me want to howl.