The Last Flight

by Julie Clark

The death of any dream deserves to be mourned, all its intricate facets touched one last time.

breeze. “If you pay attention, Claire, solutions always appear. But you have to be brave enough to see them,”

All choices had consequences. It was what you did with those consequences that mattered.

Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear.

But if only is a useless question, a spotlight shining on an empty stage, illuminating what never was, and never will be.

“You know, life is long. Lots of things can go wrong and still end up all right.”

Take some advice: people will believe whatever you want them to, as long as you don’t hesitate. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you.”

That was the funny thing about regret. It lived inside of you, shrinking down until you could almost believe it had vanished, only to have it spring up, fully formed, called forward by people who meant you no harm.

Are we who we say we are, or do we become the person others see? Do they define us by what we choose to show them, or what they see despite our best attempts to conceal it?

Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear.

the past held nothing of value for her. That sometimes, the death of a dream can finally set you free.

“I’m living an upside down and backward version of the life I wanted. I’m

“I love the smell of the evening, when the sun has disappeared and everything starts to cool down. No matter how much life changes, this never does.”

“It takes a long time to learn how to see the world as a place where people aren’t doing things to you. My husband didn’t set out to break my heart, or Ellie’s. He was just acting on his own desires, living his own story. I hope I’ve become someone who doesn’t get angry when others are just trying to get by. I hope I can be the kind of person who looks toward forgiveness first.”

But what I’ve learned in life is that in order for true forgiveness to occur, something has to die first. Your expectations, or your circumstances. Maybe your heart. And that can be painful. But it’s also incredibly liberating.”

it’s a system that tells women we are unreliable, and then expendable. That our truths don’t matter when set side by side with a man’s.