She hugged him so tightly

the air between them turned to mist

and in the mist rose words unspoken

of love and hate, desire and need

words of lust and betrayal, happiness and pain

no sooner were these worded formed did

the mists dissolve into yearning for a different life

a life free to seek her own fate

or drown as hope closed about her face

gently at first

but with ever greater weight as

she took one last breath before exhaling

all the sin she carried for others in her soul

never knowing if she would wake

forever changed

or crippled and bent

beneath the weight of the world



one last thought

they can never hurt her now