The greatest loves are those kept in secret.
Fear is a rushing sound, like water, in my ears.
I slept a lot. Which I liked, because being unconscious meant not remembering.
I mull that over. Amber treats everyone out here like normal people, not homeless street losers, and in return they give her their names.
But maybe what's important is not that I matter to them, but that they matter to me. And mostly that 'I' matter to me.
As I do, I'm reminded of textbook pictures I once saw, of ancient priests in the middle of their ceremonies, faces raised to the sun. They knew that was where the real power lay.
Then, suddenly, I reach out and wrap my granddad's hand in mine, like he once held mine, and for a while, the anger inside me quiets.
Sometimes out here, people swear to prove they're not scared.
We recognize the people we love no matter how much they change.
The life takes your self-respect. And once that's gone, well, you're lost.
Life might throw crap at you, but there's always a silver lining.