Saving Rain

by Kelsey Kingsley

And I turned to him then, not caring that I was supposed to be this big, tough guy, and I let him hug me as I bent at the waist and shed a few silent tears against his shoulder.

my heart

After tying my hair back in a low tail at the nape of my neck,

will absolutely be ignoring this physical descriptor

It was eleven eleven, and it had been my first good day in River Canyon.

MY HEART

The heart I owned had been locked away for so many years, but at the sight of her watery gaze, I listened as the door creaked open to that musty, old cellar, and I heard that telltale beating. Every thump a reminder that it was still somehow there, waiting for someone to hold it, to keep it safe.

“I know what to do with pain, Ray,” I said, keeping my tone barely above a whisper. “Give yours to me. Let me carry it, so you don’t have to anymore.”

“Soldier.” My name was spoken breathlessly, almost as a sigh. Nobody had ever uttered my name that way before. Nobody had ever said it as if it were the most cherished, most precious word to ever exist in the English language, and I wanted to wrap it up in a neat little bow to save for always.