They decided to call it a night after that, and Carson went home to think. This girl—this incredible girl — had gone through so much. How was he going to take care of her? It was about this point that he stopped thinking clearly.
The forest was empty
And he followed her through
She was laughing, grabbing his hand
But, every breath took more of him
And more of him
And more of him
And he tripped over stumps
And the rocks hurt his bare feet
And the branches cut into him
But, he held on
Because, wherever she was going
Wherever she was taking him
He wanted to go
They reached the field of green
And she sat down
And he watched her eyes
And he felt his own blaze to life
Because she hadn’t left him
And he couldn’t have let her go if he wanted to
He certainly did not
Their hearts beat
At the same tempo
And then there was silence
He shuddered, but only once.