So many times it seemed like there were chances to stop things before they started. Or even stop them in midstream. But it was even worse when you knew in that very moment that there was still time to save yourself, and yet you couldn't even budge.

It's not always easy being her daughter.' I think,' she said, 'sometimes it's hard no matter whose daughter you are.

And for one second, it was like I could feel the timing clicking together, finally pieces falling into place.

“In Truth,” I said, “there are no rules other than you have to tell the truth.” “How do you win?” he asked. “That,” I said, “is such a boy question.

But what he didn't understand was that this dreamland was preferable, walking through this life half-sleeping, everything at arm's length or farther away. I understood those mermaids. I didn't care if they sang to me. All I wanted was to block out all the human voices as they called me name again and again, pulling me upward into light, to drown.

So it just wasn't in my house. Anywhere, I looked like I knew about the toilet.

Its 75 Degrees! In December!