Things You Save in a Fire

by Katherine Center

“People make mistakes.”

That’s how life is. Things happen. Lives get broken. Some people never can put themselves back together.

Human connection had its upsides, but it sure was a lot of work.

“I’m just saying that … pretty much every time I see you, all I want to do is to put my arms around you.”

Of course, you can’t argue with walking by the ocean,

I’d sleep on a bed of nails to be next to you.”

It’s not the easy moments that define who we are. It’s the hard ones.

It’s a big deal to share your grief with other people—to give them a glimpse of the pain you carry. It connects you in a profound way.

Even though nothing about the story had changed, I had changed.

“Because I’m crazy in love with her,” he said with a shrug. “I have been since the first day.”