He held her while she shook; violently, terrified.
When the shaking ceased she stood still as stone, and waited for the tears to fall,
but when the tears didn’t fall,
and the earth began to shift she walked on.
Pushing the arms that had held her through the fight, she pushed forward as her world fell back.
The darkness grew and the cold became bitter, and she walked on alone,
because lonely was all she ever knew.