“I just…it was so hard and I wanted to take it out on my pillow but I guess I took it out on you guys instead and I hate myself and I can’t believe I acted like such an ass and I know you all hate me now and I’m so sorry and you have every right to hate me now! I just couldn’t handle all that and you were the only ones there that I could be angry with and I—I—I just can’t!”

I was becoming incredibly bored in our silence when Incredibly Attractive Tom walked in. Yessssss. We’ve known each other for about a month now, and I must say, our flirtationship is coming along quite nicely.

I’m alone…again. I’M ALLLLLLLL ALOOOOONNNNNNEEEEEEE! Even my thoughts are echoing in my head. That’s how alone I am. Alone, alone, alone. That word sounds funny after you say it a few times. Alone, A-lone, a-LONE, aLoNe, AlOnE…wow.

“I fell down the stairs and my trunk fell after me and attacked me with its ferocious sharp trunk claws that ate away at my back muscles until I was reduced to a quivering mass of flesh and digested food that can’t walk.” Obviously, I edited my story until it was sufficiently awesome. 

Millions of crystalline pebbles hit the ground. I looked at them for a moment. They reminded me of my life: without Rose, without a home, without a family, and without any love, I was shattered into a million pieces. A million worthless pieces.

A tawny owl dropped a letter at my place.

“Hey, guys, I got a letter!” I said excitedly. I almost never get letters, so I’m like a little kid in a candy store when I get mail. The handwriting on the envelope looked vaguely familiar, but I didn’t recognize it from anywhere. I ripped open the envelope and read.

At some point, and I’m not exactly sure when it was, I realized that I would love her my whole life. And I knew that I was okay with being just her good old friend Al all my life, if that was what made her happiest. When you love someone for such a long time, there’s a shift. You realize that though them loving you back would make you happiest, that’s not what you want anymore. It’s not about you anymore.