I take it back, she says.
I didn't mean it.

Too late, he says.
I don't believe you.

The front door closes, and he is gone. Wait! she cries, now alone. Come back!

She sinks to the floor, shaking and sobbing. One cheek pressed against the cold linoleum, her tears trickle sideways on her face. She lays there all night, curled up in a ball. Over and over, she whispers his name. Come back, she says. Don't go, come back....


Never had there been a deeper love than her love for him. It was the kind of love that shook the mountains and the rivers and the trees. She loved him wholly, he meant everything to her. They fought all the time; he called her a b****, she called him selfish. But their fights had a thirty second rebound, bringing them right back to their in-love selves. With a love like that, nothing could come in between them.


Morning comes, and he still hasn't returned. She begins to think what will later be confirmed. He's never coming back. She cries the rest of her tears, blaming herself for everything. I never should have said it, she says. Those words, her biggest regret.




I don't love you.