Gray After Dark

by Noelle W. Ihli

Opening up your heart is messy—and risky. But keeping your heart locked is risky,

I learned that it didn’t actually matter whether you kept your heart open or locked. Twisted metal and broken glass sliced through it either way. So did loss.

“He’s still breathing,” she cried out, tears streaming down her face. They were the most beautiful words I’d ever heard.