Starfish

by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Taro has always been smart, but he lacks motivation. He’s the person who aces all his tests but doesn’t turn in any homework. Maybe it has something to do with his armor—maybe the only way to protect his heart is to not care about anything.

“You don’t have to cry,” I say, shifting awkwardly near the doorway. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say; my second instinct is to feel bad for her. “I don’t think those things at all.”

“I feel like all my kids hate me. My parents never did a thing for me, and I don’t hate them. I don’t get it.” She sniffs.

And he may have fooled Mom and maybe even Dad—we’ve never talked about it, so I don’t really know—but he will never make me think I imagined it.

Hearts aren’t meant to be broken an infinite amount of times.

But you can’t spend your life trying to make a starfish happy, because no matter what you do, it will never be enough.