The Measure

by Nikki Erlick

“You know, I watched a lot of people come to the end, and everyone around them kept begging them to fight. It takes real strength to keep on fighting, and yes, usually that’s the right answer. Keep fighting, keep holding on, no matter what. But sometimes I think we forget that it also takes strength to be able to let go.”

Jack had to remind himself that it wasn’t such a crime to feel lost—he was only twenty-two, after all. Wasn’t this the time in your life when you were allowed to feel adrift?

“If forever doesn’t exist,” she said, “we’ll invent it ourselves.”