I Could Live Here Forever

by Hanna Halperin

Just a perfect day You made me forget myself I thought I was someone else Someone good

Deep down I knew that I was pretty, but it seemed embarrassing to admit this, because I knew there was something ugly about me, too. My prettiness wasn’t straightforward or consistent and it was something I felt more when I was by myself. I was never the prettiest girl in the room, and never would be. I wondered if he was lying to me or if it was possible that he saw me how I saw myself in my most private, most generous moments.

The things that he saw humor in were the same things that made him sad.

The nice thing about writing was it took pain and warped it into something useful. I could shape it into a beginning and a middle and an end. It was manageable that way. And it was mine. Sharp and beautiful. By the time I was done with it, it was just a story.

feel bad for anyone in the world who isn’t us.”

The only thing I wanted was to be known completely by someone, to know someone completely.