The Return of Ellie Black

by Emiko Jean

Never. I’m ashamed to admit that a small, secret part of me was smug. I thought I was invincible. But then, I learned. I learned that I didn’t need shackles or chains to keep me bound. All I needed was four walls of pristine forest. And fear. The kind that festers and blisters, makes your limbs twitch. Yes. The best prisons are the ones created in our own minds.

That the truth is these people are not strangers. They are the men who you sleep with, the men you work with, the men you raise. I wish this wasn’t what it means to be female—it is not a matter of if something bad will happen, but when.

More than anything, Chelsey wishes there was a way to know when you were experiencing the happiest moments of your life.

He should have taught his daughters that you cannot save yourself from heartbreak. You cannot save yourself from grief.

People are conditioned to believe girls plus bad choices equals bad things. It’s a type of inoculation. Lead a good life, and nothing heinous will befall you. But no one is invulnerable. No one untouched.

The greatest trick the devil ever played wasn’t convincing others he didn’t exist, but that your friends were your enemies.

She lets the grief roll through her and crest. A foamy burst. Because what is grief but the other side of love?