I watched my mother do what she did best, and realized there would never be a way to cut myself from her entirely. No matter how strong or weak I was, she was a part of me, as crucial as my own heart. I would never be strong enough, in all my life, to do without her.

Who says there has to be a point?" He asked. "Or a reason. Maybe it's just something you have to do.

So finally, I decided that the best response — the safest — was none at all.

You know, feeling and action are always linked, one can't exist without the other. It's sort of a hippie thing.

Now I felt like I was drifting, sucked down by an undertow, and too far out to swim back to the shore.

He'd always had that fearless optimism that made cynics like me squirm. I wondered if it was enough for both of us. I would never know from here, though. And time was passing. Crucial minutes and seconds, each one capable of changing everything.

But risk is just part of relationships. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.