ONE. the titans live in the space between his heartbeats and they’ve taken him, even though you asked them not to. he is a) your best friend b) a monster and c) a victim. what are you going to do?

TWO. let the loneliness ebb through you, solidify into something so cold it burns. now flex your wrists. now bend the skyscrapers backwards.

THREE. imagine here a battlefield. imagine a city’s skeleton: mangled concrete and the harsh lights of bloodied bonfires. you can’t run from the truth: you did this. you did this. you did this.

FOUR. you are more than grief. you are grief personified. you are grief, breathing and bruised. but you are angry and weakened and tired, and you miss him, and it wasn’t anyone’s fault, anyway.

FIVE. every slate can be cleaned if you have the heart to do it. here, i’ll help you: the words are i’m sorry.