and when he kissed me i didn't know what to do.

Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there.

I'm on a frosting sailboat, tossed around by blue-green waves, the deck shifting beneath my feet.

You’re not leaving me here alone,” I say. Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this arena, trying to think my way out.

Why? Do you find this" - he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose - "distracting?

A light was on in the kitchen. His mother sat at the kitchen table, as still as a statue. Her hands were clasped together, and she stared fixatedly at a small stain on the tablecloth. Gregor remembered seeing her that way so many nights after his dad had disappeared. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to scare her or shock her or ever give her any more pain. So, he stepped into the light of the kitchen and said the one thing he knew she wanted to hear most in the world. "Hey, Mom. We're home.

I’m in pain. That’s the only way I get your attention